What are the Best Yoga Poses for Kids?

Is it necessary to discuss yoga poses for kids now?

Pandemic lockdown is a stressful time. The line between personal and professional life is mixed together. Kids walk in during a team meeting. The sound of Curry leaves splattering in the background. These are becoming the new norms of our work life.

Home is our comfortable place. We come home after a long day of work to forget about everything and curl up. But now that we are at home 24/7, familiarity breeds contempt.

The elderly are not able to go out for a peaceful evening walk. Meeting their fellow pals, assembling in a circle, and chatting about stuff is not possible at this moment. Yes, modern technologies do help. But it is not the same as talking in person.

Adults struggle a lot too. Because of the diminishing life-work balance, it is hard to blow off the steam at home. It is this kind of situation where we’d usually pick up a lot of bad habits too.

Across the universe, binge-watch is rising. People are struggling to keep a healthy and balanced diet.

Whenever we talk about the impact of these situations, we only think about the adults and the elderly. Its effects on kids is hardly discussed anywhere.

Yoga for Kids

We ignore kids in these scenarios thinking they are ignorant. I am not negating that. They are. That is why it is our responsibility to think for them.

In a way, they are glad about not going to school. But they’d sure miss their friends, the silly funs, lunch hours, and games.

As adults, they are also on the verge of adapting to some bad habits. Consumption of digital contents, lack of regular physical activities, and zero exposure to the outside environment.

This is the best time to insert yoga into their routine. At their age, it is easier to adapt to something new. They are more flexible to do yoga poses. If we teach them in a fun way, they will pick up this good habit. It would help them their whole life.

Strike while the iron is hot.

Yoga Poses for Kids

Just because this is for kids, do not take the content lightly. Use the relevant animal names for fun. Teach them about the benefits of particular poses while they are doing it.

It would help them learn more and understand why we are doing this.

If you want to take it one step further, make a song about these poses. Do yoga with them. It is suitable for everyone.

Suggestions and Precautions

• Ask them to wear a comfortable outfit. If possible, use that outfit only for yoga purposes. It infuses discipline in their view.
• It is not necessary to have a yoga mat. But if you ask them to use a yoga mat and take care of their mat themselves, they’d be more responsible.
• Kids tend to fall frequently. Because they are not structurally balanced and well, they are kids. So, practice yoga in a space where there are no sharp edges.
• Teach them to practice these yoga poses on an empty stomach or at least 4 hours after their last meals.
• If they are uncomfortable in certain poses, give it some time to ease.
• Try to make it fun as much as possible so that they should wake you up to practice yoga with them.

Yoga Poses

1) Tree Pose (Vriksasana)

Tree pose is a balancing pose. Like a mighty tree, we should be steady while on the pose. According to Wikipedia, ‘Sadhus used to discipline themselves by doing meditation on this pose.’

How to do?

• Stand straight. You should not move. The feet’s soles should be touching the floor, and they should be 2 inches apart from each other.
• Relax your body, shoulder, and loosen up.
• While exhaling, take your right leg off the floor and place it on your left leg’s inner thighs.
• Your right leg’s knee must be bent during this pose.
• Your right leg’s toes must be pointing to the ground.
• While inhaling, raise your hands above your head, stretching the spinal cord.
• If you don’t feel balanced, you can keep it at waist level.
• Hold the posture for 15-20 seconds.
• Lower the arms and the right leg.
• Repeat the pose on the other leg.

Benefits of the pose

• It improves our balance, stability and tones our thigh muscles.
• Stretching our spine gives proper alignment to our posture.
• It improves our neuro-muscular coordination.

2) Chair Pose (Utkatasana)

Chair pose is the punishment yoga poses we get in our school. It tones our leg muscles and improves our balance.

How to do?

• Stand straight and relax your body. Keep your feet hip-width apart.
• Inhale and raise your arms above your head. Keep your spine straight.
• Exhale. Bend your knees and lower your abdomen to a squat position.
• Your thighs should be parallel to the ground.
• If you don’t feel balanced, lower your arms to your chest level.
• Stay in the posture for 20-30 seconds.
• Inhale and straighten your knee. Exhale and lower your arms.

Benefits of the pose

• It tones your thighs, hamstrings, calves, glutes.
• Stretching the spine improves your general posture.
• Removes the stiffness in shoulders.

3) Plank Pose (Phalakasana)

Plank pose is usually entered from Downward facing dog (Adho mukha svanasana). But kids can’t do two poses back to back. They need to rest in between. So, for beginner purposes, we’d practice only the plank pose.

How to do?

• Stand straight and relax your body.
• Lower your body as you’re going to sit down. Lean front and place your palms on the ground. Your fingers should be facing forward.
• Take your legs backward and sit them on their toes. Now you’re in the push-up pose. Keep your toes hip wide apart.
• Keep your arms perpendicular to the ground.
• Don’t sink your body into the ground. Keep it at your shoulder level. Don’t drop your head too much. Keep it aligned with your body.
• Don’t bend your knees or hip.
• Breathe slowly while keeping the pose for 10-15 seconds.
• Bend your knee and relax in the child pose and relax in the child pose.

Benefits of the pose

• The core strength would be increased.
• Upper body stability
• Tones your thigh

4) Warrior Yoga Poses-2 ( Virabhadrasana 2)

Kids like warriors. So, don’t forget to tell them about this yoga pose. Encourage them by saying, ‘you could become one if you practice well.’

How to do?

• Stand up straight and relax your body.
• Spread your feet away from each other. You can jump and spread your feet, or you can move them.
• Your feet should be a little more than your hip’s width. Toes should face forward.
• Turn your left foot 90 degrees in the anti-clockwise direction.
• Turn your right foot to balance your left foot. But don’t go beyond 20 degrees.
• Raise your arms to your shoulder level. Palms should be facing the ground.
• Turn your head in the left leg’s direction. Keep them focused on your left fingers.
• Exhale and bend your left knee slightly. Do not change the direction of the bend. Use your hip to sink further.
• Do not bend your spine. Keep it straight.
• Keep the posture for 15-20 seconds. Straighten your left knee and go back to your original position.
• Repeat the same on the other leg.

Benefits of the pose

• Improves your balance and stability
• Tone your thigh muscles.
• Improves blood circulation in our body.

5) Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)

This pose can be entered from Warrior 2 pose. Steps 1-6 of the Warrior pose is the same for the triangle pose.

How to do?

• Take a deep breath and incline your body towards the left leg. You should be leaning sideways.
• Touch the ground with your left hand and raise your right hand towards the sky.
• Turn your head up and look at your left hand.
• Don’t bend your knees in the posture.
• Keep that pose for 15-20 seconds. Go back to the initial position.
• Repeat the pose on the other leg too.

Benefits of the pose

• Improves your balance and stability
• Tone your thigh muscles.
• Improves circulation.

6) Boat Pose (Navasana)

This is an important pose for improving our core strength.

How to do?

• Sit on the ground and stretch your legs in front of you.
• Relax your leg muscles.
• Lift your legs off the floor. Try to keep your knee straight.
• If you feel unbalanced, bend your knees.
• Raise your arms to your shoulder level
• Don’t lift your legs too high.
• Because of your leg lift, you will fall on your back. So, try to balance it.
• If possible, keep your spine straight.
• Stay in the posture for 15-20 seconds and lower your legs.

Benefits of the pose

We spend most of our day sitting. This pose would help wake up our body and improve our balance.

In Conclusion

These 6 are the basic poses. It doesn’t require heavy effort. Ease your kids into doing these yoga poses. Once they get the hang of it, they’ll follow them correctly. If you see improvement in their posture, grip, balance, and stability, visit this page for intermediate poses for kids. Introduce some good habits into their daily routine while there is still time to mold them. Do it with caution. Yes, this is a digital era. Kids would be more interested in video content. But if you do these yoga poses with your kids, it would boost their involvement. At the same time, your fitness too.

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