How to Start Teaching Yoga for Kids: A 7-Step Guide for Educators
You’re an educator who CARES. You show up every day with energy, creativity, and a desire to connect. Maybe you took a mindfulness PD workshop or tried a yoga video during the pandemic. And if you are anything like us, you left that session thinking:
"Wow! I feel so much better. My students need this!"
But as soon as the sweat dried, reality kicked in - you’re not a yoga teacher. You’ve only taken a class or two. You’ve got a full curriculum to manage, and honestly… you’re not sure where to begin.
We’ve got you.
You don’t need to be an expert. You don’t need to know every pose. You just need curiosity and a little guidance.
Here’s your step-by-step path to begin teaching yoga for kids in a way that’s meaningful, manageable, and 100% aligned with the joyful classroom you’re already building.
Want a video version of this blog? Click here to watch on YouTube!
How to Start Teaching Yoga for Kids - in Seven Steps
These easy-to-follow steps will launch you on your Kids Yoga journey from wherever you are!
1. Start Taking Yoga Classes
Before you teach yoga, try it for yourself. You don’t need to be fit, flexible, or have the latest yoga gear from Lulu Lemon! Just take a class, follow a video, or revisit a that PD workshop you liked.
Ask yourself:
- How does this make me feel?
- What parts feel calming, fun, challenging or grounding?
- Could I imagine adapting this for my students?
Yoga is more than just a physical poses. When you practice, you’ll feel the benefits throughout your own life and you’ll share more authentically with your students.
2. Choose a Few Poses - and Make Them Playful
You don’t need to teach a full yoga routine to get started. Just begin with introducing 2 or 3 simple poses. Think Tree Pose, Cat & Cow, Downward Dog - basic poses that are frequently taught in most adult yoga classes and might feel natural to you.
Then make them playful! Add animal sounds. Tell a story. Sing a song. Or turn your lesson into an adventure, traveling to the jungle, the zoo, or even into outer space.
Feeling uncomfortable or not sure where to start? Use a video from a trusted source (like our YouTube Channel) to try it out with your students. They’ll love it.
Try This: Bought Me A Cat
This fun kids yoga activity includes Cat and Cow, Downward Facing Dog, Baby Cobra, Squat and more!
Moving along to a song and adding animals sounds keeps children engaged in the fun.
Children learn about repeating patterns and get to test their memory as we build a yoga sequence, adding one pose for every verse.
3. Try One Breathing Exercise
Breathing is a powerful reset - and it’s an easy way to begin our yoga practice. When we consciously and comfortably extend our exhale, we calm our nervous system.
Try this one right now:
- Inhale through your nose like you're smelling a flower 🌸
- Exhale through your mouth like you're blowing out a candle 🕯️
How did that feel?
Another favorite is Bee Buzzing Breath…take a deep breath in and then buzz like a bee on the exhale. It’s fun, it’s calming, and it builds emotional awareness and regulation in just 30 seconds.
Get 7 Breathing Exercises for Kids That Actually Work
Try This: Bees
Our Bees actvity combines mountain pose with a shoulder opener, arm and leg isolations and breathing work.
It creates focus and balance while strengthening the legs, ankles and feet.
The shoulder movements increase flexibility while expanding the chest.
4. Add a Yoga Game
Games keep kids engaged and make yoga feel like play.
One of our favorites is Strike a Pose! Kids walk, dance, or march around the room to music. When the music stops they freeze in their favorite yoga pose. It’s quick, fun, and perfect for all ages.
Yoga games are perfect for transitions, behavior resets, or simply bringing some silliness and connection into your day.
Try This: See The Bunnies Sleeping (Hop A Lot, Stop!)
This activity helps release tension and big energy after a full day.
Children will practice active listening, which helps regain focus.
The transitions between quiet relaxation and big loud movement help children experience both ends of a broad energetic spectrum and realize they have capacity for both.
5. Create a Short Sequence
Now that you’ve got a few new tools, you can combine them into a mini-sequence.
Here’s an example of a simple flow you can use:
1. Bee Breath
2. Cat/Cow
3. Downward Dog
4. Tree Pose
5. Strike a Pose
6. Candle breath and a quiet moment
That’s it! Five to ten minutes, done right in your classroom, gym or wherever you are!
Try This: Farm Mini Adventure
Meet your favorite farm animals in this fun Yo Re Mi musical yoga adventure perfect for young students.
Sing hello, take deep breaths, warm-up and travel by bicycle to the farm.
Become a chick, rooster, goat, horse, cow, pig and more through yoga poses and kids yoga songs!
Want more? Watch the full-length Farm Adventure on YouTube
6. Invite Your Students to Collaborate
You don’t have to do it all yourself. Magic happens when children have the opportunity to lead and share their unique (and often amazingly creative) ideas!
Ask your students questions like:
- “What pose would a robot do?”
- “What pose make your body feel calm and relaxed?”
And don’t be precious about it looking like an adult yoga class. It’s not supposed to. Kids yoga is loud, creative, and silly. And that’s where the learning lives…in the play. You have our permission to be SILLY!
When kids help co-create, they feel empowered, seen, and connected.
Try This: What Do You See in the Sea?
Dive into the ocean and practice singing and making sea creatures out of yoga poses with our fun song.
Turn your body into a fish, a turtle, or maybe even a starfish!
This activity invites children to share their ideas of different aquatic animals and come up with creative ways to shape their bodies into yoga poses.
7. Still Love It? Take a Training!
If you’re feeling inspired and want more kids yoga tools, it might be time to take a training.
We truly believe that teaching kids yoga is a great way to grow your impact and income.
Our Yo Re Mi Children’s Yoga Teacher Certification is designed for educators like you. You’ll learn how to integrate music, movement, mindfulness, and social-emotional learning in a joyful, inclusive, and creative way.
Everything you need to feel confident and supported is waiting for you here!
Congrats! You’ve Already Made Progress🎉
You’re here. You’re curious. You care.
You’ve noticed an opportunity for early education to get better and you’re right. It’s here!
You don’t need fancy leggings or Sanskrit. You just need to take that next small, brave, joyful step. And then another.
Let’s bring wholistic learning back - together!
We’re here to help. Visit our Free Resources for classroom-ready yoga videos, resources, and inspiration and take the next step on your journey with us.
READ NEXT: More themed yoga poses
Save this article for later and don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel for children’s musical yoga and mindfulness videos.
