Child Friendly Yoga

Your Child Will Learn

A way to calm and stretch their bodies

Here’s What to Do

Find an open space with room to move.
Do the Spaghetti Test: wiggle your child’s arms and legs to make sure they’re relaxed, like spaghetti!
Self Hugs: have your child lie on their back and hug their knees tight into their chest. Encourage them to squeeze all the muscles in their body and then let go. Repeat 3 times.
Mouse Pose: have your child sit on their heels, then bring their forehead down to rest in front of their knees. Then, ask your child to rest their arms alongside their body with palms facing up. Take 5 deep breaths in mouse pose.

PAUSE

Stand up and close your eyes. Pay attention to how the floor feels beneath your feet.

ENGAGE

“Can you relax your leg muscles so much they are loose like spaghetti?”
“Squeeze all your muscles as hard as you can. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze… and relax.”

ENCOURAGE

“Hmmm… I don’t think this spaghetti arm is wiggly enough, can you relax your muscles more?”
“Do you think you could try to stay still in mouse pose? See if you can let all your muscles relax and just pay attention to your breathing.”

REFLECT

“How did these exercises make you feel? What other times of the day do you think it would be helpful to try yoga?”

Encourage your child to try a few simple stretches like touching their toes.

Look up more yoga poses on the Internet and add a few new moves to your routine.

They will learn a strategy to make their bodies feel relaxed and calm

10-15 minutes

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