Hear the word 'Yoga' and it is easy to think of a load of children in a hall doing sun salutations and standing poses and then thinking how on earth will they manage this!
Kids Yoga is taking elements of yoga and putting them to music, story and song. The result is a fun and great way to exercise whilst giving the children tools to increase their confidence.
The other day I took a well known children's story book - 'We are going on a Bear Hunt' and put simple yoga moves with the story. My two daughters, 5 and 3 loved it and we did the sequence 4 times that evening before I had to call it a day, much to the disappointment of my daughters!
Once you know some yoga poses yourself, with these in mind whilst reading simple stories you will be surprised at how easy it is to make a sequence and your children love it as they can really get involved with the story and without realising it are doing some exercise.
Yoga is great for teaching children how to relax. After a busy day this is really important and something that many adults struggle with. If you can teach your children how to do this at a young age just think of the great start you are giving them.
At the end of my classes I always incorporate a good 5-10 minute relaxation (time dependant upon age) and you can do this with your own children. How you do this is up to you. You can ask your children to lie on the floor, close their eyes, legs hip width apart and arms by their side or maybe get them to lie in their bed. (At this point I like to give them a lavendar pillow for their eyes). You can simply play them some relaxing music or a guided meditation from one of the CD's available try one of the online music stores for a good selection. If you have a child who finds it difficult to get to sleep on a night, you are likely to find this will improve it.
As you can see, kids yoga is easy to incorporate into every day life. Over the coming weeks I will be adding lots of photos and ideas for simple things you can use at home with your children.
