5 Easy Yoga Poses to Do with Your Child! 🧘🏻‍♀️



Yoga is a fun and creative form of exercise that is just as suitable for very young children as it is for adults. With yoga you train both strength, flexibility and endurance and it is also a good tool for unwinding. The majority of studies show that there is a connection between yoga and mental well-being in children. In some of these studies it is also shown that yoga can improve children's endurance, mood and ability to control emotions and stress.


In other words, there are many reasons to roll out the carpet together with your child. Is there an age limit for yoga? No!

Below are five simple exercises you can easily do at home with your child.


The child's position

This is how you and your child do the "Child's position":

  1. Roll out the mat, and tell your child to sit on his shins. Let his big toe meet if possible.
  2. Next, ask the child to spread the knees. It should feel comfortable!
     3. Then fold the upper body forward towards the floor. Use your hands for support if you need it.
  3. The forehead should meet the floor.
     5. Extend your arms in front of your body or if you prefer, let them rest alongside your body with your palms facing up.
  4. Stay here as long as it feels good, and breathe long, deep breaths all the way down to the lower back.
  5. Slowly come up with the upper body by pointing the tailbone down towards the floor. Use your hands.

The tree

This is how you and your child do the “Tree position”:

  1. Stand next to or opposite each other on the mat.
  2. Ask the child to stand on one leg and try to place the leg that is in the air at knee height like the picture above.
  3. If balance is present, raise the hands above the head and let the hands meet.

The dog / Downward dog


This is how you and your child do the "Dog position":

  1. Ask your child to place their knees under their hips and then place their hands in front of them on the mat. Ask your child to spread his hands like a fan!
  2. Try stretching your legs like the picture above. The dog should form like a "v", and if possible, the heels should reach down to the ground.
     3. Breathe three breaths!

The Third Warrior / "The Bird/The Airplane"

This is how you and your child make the “Third warrior”:

  1. Stand up on the mat.
     2. Ask your child to lift one leg and then lean forward. Use arms and hands as help to find balance!
     3. The arms can be in front of the child, or at the far sides like an airplane!
     4. Try to tense the body and you and your child will find the balance easier to stand in this position for a few breaths.


The rag doll


This is how you and your child make the "Rag Doll":

  1. Stand up on the mat.
     2. Bend forward on the mat. Keep your eyes fixed on the carpet. Dangle your arm like a rag doll. Breathe! A development of this exercise is to then try to touch the toes with the arms (similar to the picture above). After this, you should both slowly roll up. Make it a competition to take as long as possible to roll up to standing again!



Sources:

  1. Khalsa SBS. Yoga in schools research: improving mental and emotional health. Invited Presentation at the Second International Conference on Yoga for Health and Social Transformation Haridwar: Patanjali Research Foundation (2013). [ Google Scholar ]

  1. Telles S. The Effect of Yoga on Mental Health of Children. In: Nayar U. editor. Child and Adolescent Mental Health. New Delhi: Sage Publications; (2012). pp. 219–27 [ Google Scholar ]
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