There is no kidding when it comes to yoga, but there should be some kids involved as well. Introducing children to yoga from a very early age will be very beneficial for them. They will learn all about a healthy lifestyle. Kids yoga takes a bit of planning and effort, but it will be all worth it. Here are all the things you need to know.
Kids Yoga in the Garden: How To
When we say kids yoga in the garden, we mean it both literally and figuratively. Seeing as gardens are marvelous places for the little ones to explore, relax, and learn, they can become the perfect setting for your yoga sessions.
It can prove a bit difficult to convince a child to spend half an hour to an hour doing yoga poses that mean nothing to him or her like downward dog and warrior 1. However, if you combine yoga with the idea of spending time in the garden and discovering it, it will be a lot more fun for the children.
Author Giselle Shardlow brought that idea to life in a beautifully illustrated book called Rachel’s Day in the Garden
The main characters of the book are a little girl named Rachel and a puppy. They wake up one morning and decide to go into the garden to look for signs of the coming spring. While in their backyard, they will have to stretch just like the caterpillars do. They can buzz like the little bees and flutter around like the colorful butterflies.
While enabling your child to do all these things under the excuse of discovering nature, you will be, in fact, convincing him or her to do their yoga poses.
Kids yoga can also relate to gardening in the sense of personalizing the exercises to reflect the garden itself. Here are some examples of kids yoga poses in the garden.
- Rolling away the stones. Have the little one bend his knees, keep his feet on the floor, and hug his legs close to his body. He should then roll back on the floor just like he would be if he were a rolling stone.
- Cutting the tall grass. You and your munchkin have to embrace a relaxing and calming sitting position on the floor. Hold out your arms as straight as you can to your sides, fingers pointing forward and twist your torso at the waist. Swing like that from left to right as many times as you want. Imagine that the garden where you’re sitting has some very tall grass and that you are cutting it with your arms in this way.
- Washing up is fun to do. After all the kids yoga or ‘work’ you did in the garden, it’s time to do a load. Consequently, you can wash the clothes you’ve been wearing. Have the little one imagine he or she is a washing machine. Place your hands on your shoulders while in a sitting position. Proceed to turn your torso from side to side like in a gentle washing cycle.
All the work is now done. After all this kids yoga, you and your munchkins can sit back, relax, and have a few scoops of ice cream.
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