As anyone who has taught or watched a kids yoga class knows, teaching yoga to kids is very different from teaching an adult yoga class. Keeping the attention of students and presenting material in a way that is accessible and engaging means that we need a lot of tricks in our kids yoga teacher toolbox. In my classes, I use many different modalities to make yoga more exciting and fun for children including songs, creative & imaginative play, art, and games. However, especially for the elementary school age group (ages 5-10), games are one of my favorite and most well-received activities.
In yoga class, games turn learning and challenges into fun by finding creative ways to engage children in learning yoga poses (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), and meditation (dharana). I’ve also used games to teach children the sanskrit names of yoga poses and help them understand the yamas and niyamas. Games also teach important developmental skills including: cooperation, teamwork, honesty, concentration, rule-following, and strengthening short-term memory. In a 15 minute yoga game, children can practice upwards of 20 yoga poses and breathing techniques. Games also allow for repetition of poses which leads to mastery.
Some of the games we play in my kids classes are “yoga-ized” adaptations of traditional and ubiquitous children’s games like “Duck Duck Goose” “The Floor Is Lava” and “Simon Says”. Other games I created specifically for use in yoga class and a few were created by students themselves.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when yoga classes moved online, I had to think carefully about how to adapt or create new games that would work in this novel medium. Some games that I had used in my in-person classes translated easily with few or no adjustments. Others required rule changes or creative adjustments to get them to work. And some work even better online than in-person due to the ability to show images close up and larger on the screen, the new possibility of having digital props (images and videos shared through the screen-sharing function), and children having props at home that they wouldn’t have at school or at the yoga studio (dice, stuffed animals, pillows, etc). Being online also facilitated the creation of new games.
In online classes, visuals are a lot more important so having yoga cards that could be held up or digital cards that could be screenshared was a must. Utilizing tools embedded in Zoom are also helpful - including using the chat function where kids can share guesses in a game or answer a question if they don’t want to speak out loud. Given the physical isolation kids have experienced throughout the pandemic, It’s also important to me that the games we play in yoga class foster connection. Many of the warm-up games that I teach include opportunities for children to share about their day or week as well as opportunities to find shared interests and make connections with other children in the class. Despite our physical distance, these games help kids feel more connected and provide them an outlet to share about their lives.
Online yoga games are simple to learn and play, work well with a wide range of ages and abilities, and create an atmosphere of fun and engagement in yoga class. If you are looking for more ideas and demonstrations on how to incorporate yoga games into your online yoga classes or as brain breaks during virtual school, check out my recorded workshop Adapting Yoga Games for Online Kids Yoga Classes, which includes 7 teacher-tested/kid approved games that you can play in your online yoga classes with children, including one game that gets requested by students almost every single class.
If you’re ready to dive into the world of games in yoga class, check out these great resources in the Shining Kids Yoga online store:
