5 ways to do Yoga with Kids

It is summer, we are all inside- thanks to COVID- and how long can our children dig that hole in the backyard?

Digging a hole in the backyard is not a horrible thing unless you are like my brother in law and decided to fill that hole with some type of explosive and then convince your mom to set it off. That was a house of all very smart, engineering thinking boys- but they all survived to get married and have their own very smart children.

Now how can we interact?

 Hopefully with fewer explosives.

1. We can read.
As I said I will be posting a new book review every 2 weeks that covers the topics of mindfulness and yoga. I am looking for new authors that just came into the market. Hopefully, these reviews will entice you to expand your little library that you are growing.

2. We can learn a new pose.
I am working with a fantastic Illustrator, who is creating pictures of yoga poses for me. Then once every 2 weeks I will release a new pose and yoga picture that comes from the Iyengar style and is in a child's language.

3. Play with your kids.
Just last week I posted the instructions for a yoga game, "Going on a Journey". There are other amazing yoga teachers who have created goal-oriented games with fantastic illustrations for children to play. I will be explaining other games that I know, and I will review games that are already in the market, as my children love them.

4. Create your own yoga sequence
Children love to create. I love listening to children when they make up stories. My daughter likes to make up a story and then read it back to me. Once a month I will write a "fill in" story/ sequence. Your children get to choose what yoga pose goes where to tell what goes on in the story. Then you read your story and do your yoga sequence.

I promise they will love when the "frog runs to the "eagle" and they break into the castle to save the "warrior prince".

5. Create a new pose
Creating stories is not the only thing that children are good at. Let them create their own pose and name it. I would love to see what ideas they come up with. My Emma does this often and is so proud of how she can make her bodywork and move. You can do a few traditional poses and then take turns making new poses, or a whole sequence of silly made-up poses with silly names to make it even more silly for the kids.



The goal is to put you in a spot where you feel in control around your kids.

Now please understand. This does not mean give them a remote and a video game. We are all there. They have been playing Minecraft since they woke up from naps. I am writing to all the mom's who think they can't do it. As my therapist told me today, "You are stronger than you think, make one goal- to play with your kids- and that is all you have to do."

So try it, and your kids will think you are the most 'amazing stupendous mother in the whole world' or teacher..... I heard that on Father's Day.