Yoga is a great way to help children develop focus, flexibility, and a sense of calm. Introducing yoga poses to children can help them build strength and improve their balance, coordination, and body awareness. Plus, yoga can be a fun and engaging way for kids to learn about mindfulness and relaxation techniques. In this guide, we will explore some easy yoga poses that are specifically designed for kids. These poses are simple, safe, and can be practiced by children of all ages and abilities. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or caregiver, you can use these poses to help children improve their physical and mental well-being, while also having fun and staying active.
The following kid’s yoga poses have been listed based on my work experience over years. Over time, I have seen that especially with younger age groups, yoga poses that are too complicated or difficult can reduce their motivation or they may feel less confident about doing yoga. Let’s always remember that our first aim is to ENJOY! Learning while having fun… Remind yourself that yoga is not just about poses, that kids yoga poses are simple tools for us to move, and that our most important aim is to have fun. That is why you can find the basic kid’s yoga poses and explanations below, where breathing is easy, children’s awareness of their bodies increases, and they can achieve body, mind and spirit harmony while doing all these. I hope theseyoga poses for kidswill guide you on your kid’s yoga journey.
For More Yoga Poses for Kids:
54 Partner Yoga Poses For Kids And Teens
67 Easy Animal Yoga Poses For Kids
Easy Backbending Yoga Poses For Kids
Easy Standing Yoga Poses For Kids
Let’s begin!
1- Banana, Crescent Moon:
Standing tall with hands on the sides, sweep the arms up overhead palms touching. Lean over to one side so that the biceps touch the ears.
2- Bat, Monkey Swinging from a Tree:
From standing position, open your legs wide. Placing your hands on your hips, fold forward from the hip. Move the head towards the floor looking upside down.
3- Bed, Crab:
Sitting on your bottoms, walk your hands behind you, fingers pointing towards your hips. Feet flat, bend your knees. Lift your hips up off the ground.
4- Bicycle:
Lying on your back, pretend you are on a bike. Raising your leg above the floor, bend your knee and bring it close to the chest. Begin a slow cycling movement of the legs. You can place your hands under your tailbone or behind your head.
5- Box, Oyster, Seashell:
From a seated position, bring the soles of your feet together. Fold forward, resting your hands on your feet. Your head should hang down toward your heels.
6- Bus, Car, Truck:
Sit on the floor stretching your legs out in front of you. Make sure you are seated on your sit bones. Keeping the feet straight with toes pointing towards the ceiling. Hold your imaginary steering wheel and lean back as if going up and fold forward as if going down.
7- Butterfly, Book:
Coming to seating position, bring the soles of the feet together. Flutter your knees up and down just like butterfly wings.
8- Campfire, Eating:
Sitting on the ground, cross the legs. Fold forward resting the elbows on the ground and enjoy the campfire or eating!
9- Candle:
Lying down on your back, raise your legs up to the sky. Wiggle your toes as the flickering candle flames.
10- Cat:
Hands and knees in tabletop position, round your spine. Let your head drop down, tucking chin to chest.
11- Cow, Rhino:
Come to hands and knees. Raise the neck upwards, bringing the belly towards the floor while curving the lower back inwards. Extend the hip outwards and slightly upwards.
12- Table:
Place your palms and knees on the floor, hips over the knees, shoulders over the wrists with a long neck.
13- Climbing, Stairs:
Standing tall, raise one leg slowly up and lift the opposite arm as if you are climbing up.
14- Easy Sitting Pose:
Sitting on the floor, cross your legs. Place the hands on the thighs with elbows bent. Keep the head, neck, and back straight.
15- Crocodile:
Lie on your side, your arms long over your head. Raise the top leg up towards the ceiling. Taking the leg up and down, open your big crocodile jaws.
16- Dinosaur, Giant:
Standing up, legs wide, move into a forward bend. Take hold of your ankles. Lift up one foot after the other. Walk with your big dinosaur/giant footsteps.
17- Dog, Tunnel:
Coming to all fours, tuck the toes, lift your knees. Send your hips up and back.
18- Dragon:
Standing up, come down onto one knee. Reaching your arms over your head, lift your chest. You may link your thumbs together and stick out your tongue as you breath out dragon fire.
19- Ant, Ball, Cloud:
Lie on your back. Feet together, bring your knees towards your chest. Clasp your hands around your legs as if you are hugging your knees.
20- Elephant:
Standing tall, take your feet wide apart. Reach one arm high to the sky like an elephant trunk, the other arm behind the back. Sway like an elephant swinging its trunk. Move it around as you wish.
21- Fox:
Come onto your knees and place the palms on the floor. Lift one leg, bending at the knee. Pointing the toes to the sky, look up.
22- Frog:
Squat down with your fingertips on the floor. Push up to your tiptoes, take heels off the floor and hop!
23- Giraffe:
Standing tall, we reach our hands up tall, making a long giraffe neck and start walking with your long giraffe legs.
24- Gorilla:
Place your legs wide apart. Folding forward from your hips, make your hands into fists and thump the floor like a strong gorilla.
25- Half Sandwich:
Sit on the floor with the legs stretched out in front of you. Bend the right knee and bring the right foot placing it close to the inside of the left thigh while the left leg is still stretched out in front of you. Lifting your arms above your head, go forward with the arms stretched and reach for the left foot with your hands.
26- Happy Baby, Ladybug, Beetle:
Lying on your back, bring your knees into your chest with the soles of your feet towards the ceiling. Gently grab the inside of your feet, pressing the soles deep downwards. Keep the shoulders relaxed with the neck.
27- Hello Earth:
Standing tall, bend forward at the hips. Take the upper body downwards bringing it close to the legs.-
28- Hello Sun:
Stand with the feet hip distance apart. Lift your arms upwards and continue the movement doing a back bend.
29- Hero, Superhero:
Sit on the floor on your knees. Keeping the knees together, spread the feet and place them away from your hips. Bringing the hips to the floor, sit back completely. Sweep your arms above you. Interlock your fingers and flip your palms facing the sky. Keep your gaze forward.
30- Horse, Zebra:
Step one foot forward and put your back knee down, tucking the toes. Sweep your arms up, palms to touch above your head.
31- House, Tent, Cave, Rocket:
Open your legs wide but a comfortable distance apart. Lift your arms up over your head bringing your hands together.
32- Hugging:
Sitting on the floor and crossing your legs, wrap your arms around yourself and give a caring hug.
33- Ice Skater:
Standing in Mountain pose, bring the left foot forward and bend the knee. Extend your arms out wide parallel to the ground, palms facing down.
34- Face Massage:
Seated in Easy pose, bring the heels of your hands on your cheeks. Massage your entire face, moving the hands on the face and feeling the bones.
35- Lake, Pond, Stingray:
Sitting up tall, spread your legs wide. Keep your toes flexed, arms outstretched on your legs. Bend forward.
36- Lion, Dragon Breath:
Kneeling up, hands wide, inhale and then exhale with an haaaa letting the tongue drop down and the eyes open wide. Let everything release with this roar.
37- Goddess, Lobster, Planet, Monster:
Standing with your legs wide, bend your knees and squat down. Bring your arms out like a cactus, your hands pointing up towards your head like lobster claws / opening all the fingers to be faced in front.
38- Mermaid, Princess:
Sitting on your bottom, bend your knees and swing the heels to the outside of your right hip. Place your left palm on your right knee. Twist the torso to the left, placing your left hand on mat behind your left hip. Gaze to the left.
39- Mountain:
Stand with the feet together, big toes touching each other. Keep the stomach tucked in, chest forward, spine stretched up and the neck straight. Bring arms close to your body. Eyes can be open or closed. Focus on the breath and the steadiness of the body.
40- Child’s Pose, Mouse, Leaf, Rock, Seed, Cloud:
Sitting on your heels, bend forward. Rest your forehead on the mat in front of you. Place your arms wherever you feel comfortable, they can be extended or down by your sides.
41- Neck Rolls:
Sitting with crossed legs, bring the arms stretched out on the knees. Begin with the rotation of the neck slowly in the clockwise direction and then the anti clockwise direction.
42- Octopus, Seaweed:
Lying on your back, raise your legs and arms up. Move your legs and arms in all directions and very slowly.
43- Owl:
Standing up tall on your knees, raise your arms spreading your wings wide and long. Keep your palms downward facing. Gently move your wings as you fly up and down.
44- Bird, Parrot, Toucan:
Open your legs wide. Come halfway up into a flat back. Lift your arms out at your side like wings floating up and down as you fly like a bird.
45- Peaco*ck, Scissors:
Lie on your back, arms down by your sides. Lift your legs up to the sky and open your legs wide like opening peaco*ck feathers.
46- Penguin, Clown:
Standing with your legs and heels together, arms to sides and palms facing down, now let’s walk and waddle side to side like a penguin.
47- Pig, Warthog:
Hands and knees on the floor, make your hands into fists and tuck your toes like pig trotters.
48- Polar Bear:
Kneeling up, knees wide, bring your big toes together. Taking your hips back towards your heels, relax your body towards the floor. Make a cup over your nose with your hands.
49- Porridge, Cake Baking:
Sitting up tall, bring the legs wide apart. Interlock the fingers and stretch the arms out in front as you bend a bit. Pretend that you are making circles with both the arms and the body moving clockwise and anticlockwise. Repeat the movement of the spine in circles keeping the hips firm.
50- Puppy Dog, Mole:
On all fours, walk your hands to the front of the mat, bringing your forearms to the ground. Lower your chest towards the floor. Entire hips moving upwards, bring your face to rest on the floor.
51- Rabbit, Hare:
Sitting on your heels, lean forward. Stretch your arms and shoulders behind you. Interlock your fingers, opening your chest. Bend forward from your hips lifting your arms up to the sky.
52- Ragdoll:
Standing up with your feet hip width apart, fold forward. Your arms are either dangling or you may clasp the elbows with the opposite hands. Gently shake your head side to side like a ragdoll. You can keep your knees bent.
53- Reach Behind:
Beginning in crossed-legged position, place the left palm on the right knee and right palm back on the floor – fingers pointing outwards. Turn and twist your body to the right along with the neck to look back.
54- Relaxation, Dreaming:
Lying comfortably on your back, close your eyes. Feeling the ground, allow yourself to melt downward. Let your feet and arms relax.
55- Sandwich, Suitcase:
Seated on the mat with both legs stretched out in front, fold forward. Bring the chin as close as possible to your knees. You may hold your toes with your fingers and gently pull yourself forward.
56- Scarecrow:
Stand with the feet together, big toes touching each other. Open the arms at shoulder level while standing with the spine stretched up. Bend your elbows into cactus, hands up, palms open and facing forward.
57- Seal, Wolf:
Lying down on your tummy, place the palms on the floor close to your chest. Raising the upper body from the floor, stretch the arms out by pushing the palms on the floor. Keep your shoulders away from ears.
58- Shark:
Lying down on your tummy with face down, place your arms close to your body to the sides. Raise both legs from the waist. Raising your chest off the floor, extend your arms behind your back and clasp your hands together.
59- Snake, Caterpillar, Worm:
Lie on your tummy, bring the hands up by the side of the chest, push the hands into the floor and lift your chest up.
60- Squirrel, Meerkat, Badger:
High on your knees, curl your toes. Slowly lower down and sit on your heels with toes curled under. Bring your hands together in front of your chest, pointing the fingers down like squirrel paws.
61- Star, Full Moon:
Standing up, widen your feet placing them far away from each other. Lift the arms parallel to the floor. Extend the arms at shoulder level.
62- Stir the Pot, Cauldron Stirring:
Crossing your legs, place your hands on the knees. Begin to make circles with your upper body by rotating your spine slowly from one side to the other.
63- Storm, Tornado:
Standing tall, extend your arms at shoulder level palms facing down. Sweep both hands to the left keeping the rest of the body facing front. Twist one way and then repeat on the other side, keeping your feet on the ground.
64- Submarine, Periscope:
Lie on your back with your legs stretched out and feet together. Raise the right leg and then repeat with the other leg.
65- Swimming:
Lying on your tummies, stretch the arms out in front of you. Raise the right leg and left arm up. Balancing the body on the tummy, keep the other leg and arm on the floor. Lowering the arm and leg, switch sides.
66- Thank you, Please, Wish:
Sitting tall and crossing your legs, bring your hands together in touch in front of your chest, in prayer position.
67- Tiger, Leopar, Jaguar:
Hands and knees on the floor, bring one arm out extending in front of you at shoulder level. Extend the opposite leg out behind you at hip level. Balance the body on one palm and knee.
68- Tree:
Standing tall, bend your right knee. Place your right foot on the inside of your left leg either above or below your knee joint. Bring your hands in front of your heart or you can lift your arms up to the sky.
69- Whale, Bridge:
Lying on your back, bring the feet close to you bending both the knees. Place the arms on the floor besides you. Using the support of the arms and feet, raise the lower back high up towards the sky. The shoulders are firm on the floor. Then, slowly bring the entire body back to the floor.
70- Windmill:
Standing up, open your legs wide. Come forward bending from the hips and bring the hands to rest on the floor in front of you. Twist from your body and raise one arm up as you press the other hand towards the ground. Look up towards your lifted hand.
71- Woodchopper, Digging:
Standing up, bring your feet wide apart more than hip distance. Taking the arms behind you, interlace your fingers behind your back. Fold forward letting your arms drop over your head.
72- Seated Side Body Stretch, Swaying Grass:
Crossing your legs in easy pose, reach up with your right arm while extending your left arm to the ground next to you. Feel the stretch in your right side body.
73- Sphinx:
Lying down on your belly, bring the feet together. Place the forearms close in line with your shoulders. Raise the head up arching the neck, pressing the palms firmly. Stay in this gentle backbend.
74- Gardening, Planting, Garland:
Opening legs up about hip distance, squat down. You may keep the heels on the floor or place a rolled-up towel under the heels. You can bring the palms in touch in front of your chest.
75- Thunderbolt:
Place the hips on your heels with the knees bent. Sitting on the gap between the heels and on the ankles, place the palms on the thighs just before the knees.
76- Runner:
High on your knees, step one foot forward and place both your hands down on either side of your front foot. Resting the back knee on the floor, look upwards.
77- Standing Pelvic Circles:
Standing up, begin hip rotation with taking the hips from the front towards the right, then back, then to the left, making a full circle. Focus on the stretch at the lower back and the hips.
78- Motorbike:
Standing nice and tall, come halfway up into a flat back. Extend your arms forward, your hands in fists.
79- Stargaze:
Lying back, arms stretched out and legs wide apart, begin relaxing the muscles all over. Feel the weight of your body and contact with the ground.
80- Stick:
Lying down on your back, stretch the legs out. Raise the arms above your head and stretch the entire upper body upwards while stretching the entire lower body downwards. Pull the feet and toes towards the floor.
In conclusion, introducing easy yoga poses to children can have numerous benefits for their physical and mental health. Yoga can help children develop better balance, coordination, and flexibility, while also teaching them relaxation and mindfulness techniques. The poses we’ve explored in this guide are simple, safe, and suitable for children of all ages and abilities. By incorporating these poses into their daily routine, parents, teachers, and caregivers can help children build healthy habits and improve their overall well-being. So, whether your goal is to promote physical fitness, mental clarity, or simply have some fun with the kids, practicing easy yoga poses is a great way to get started.
