As a parent, you may be wondering, “what happens in a Zoom yoga class for kids?”
The short answer is, almost everything that happens in an in-person yoga class for kids, plus a few special things that are ONLY possible in a virtual/at home format!
Since March, Shining Kids Yoga teachers have been teaching yoga classes via Zoom; it’s safe to say that we’ve learned some tips and tricks along the way to keep kids engaged and excited about yoga as well as connected to each other. While we can’t wait to get back to teaching our in-person yoga classes at schools once it’s safe to do so, we’ve come to love the online platform, too, and the new ways that we can teach and experience yoga together online.
FOSTERING CONNECTION
Every online yoga class starts with a check-in and a chance for children to connect with each other. Fostering social-emotional connections with other children is so important, especially right now. At the beginning of yoga class, kids get a chance to share something interesting they did that day, show off a favorite toy or pet, and connect with each other. As part of our warm up activities with elementary-school age children, we sometimes play a game that allows us to use yoga poses to learn more about each other. We ask Yes/No questions, and depending on the answer, a child will do a different yoga pose (ex. Down Dog for “Yes” and Child’s Pose for “no”). Then they get to follow up by sharing more about their answer. For example, if the question was, “did you celebrate someone’s birthday this week?” and they do the pose for “yes” then they get to share whose birthday it was, how they celebrated, etc. We even got to sing “Happy Birthday” to one of our yoga student’s moms on Zoom one day (we couldn’t have done that in an in-person yoga class!).
At home, sometimes siblings or pets walk by, and we might even get to do impromptu cat yoga or partner yoga! We get a little more connected to each other just by getting to see that cool cardboard fort that one student created, or hear another student play her ukulele that she’s been practicing.
FAMILIAR YOGA POSES, NEW ACTIVITIES
When we do yoga online, we still get to practice all of the same yoga poses that we teach in our in-person classes. All of our classes for children and teens include a combination of balancing poses, backbends, standing poses, seated poses, and supine poses. We also learn and practice the Sun Salutation sequence which is one of the most famous yoga pose sequences.
One of the hallmarks of our kids yoga classes for grades K-5 are the yoga games that we often play as a fun way of learning new yoga poses and breathing techniques. Some of our in-person games translate well to the online format, but we’ve also found some fun games that are uniquely suited to online classes. The Spinner Game has turned into a big hit with many children who have taken our online yoga classes. In this activity, yoga poses and breathing techniques are put onto a spinner app, and each child gets to choose the color they think the spinner will land on. When the spinner stops, everyone does the pose or breathing technique on the spinner; anyone who guessed the correct color gets to choose a bonus pose to practice next.
We’ve also added specialty classes like stuffed animal yoga and pajama party yoga which enables kids to use stuffed animals and other items from around the house to incorporate into yoga class activities.
AT HOME YOGA PROPS
Another special benefit of doing yoga online is that kids have all of the extra props and materials for some fun yoga activities right at their fingertips. When we teach classes at schools, we aren’t able to bring lots of extra props with us and since kids are often coming right from school, they can’t bring extra things from home with them either. At home via Zoom, we are able to incorporate pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, balls, and even pets into our yoga practice. With the addition of pillows, we are able to teach a style of yoga known as “restorative yoga” where students lie over multiple pillows in different configurations and rest there for 2-5 minutes to receive the benefits of a stretch on the body without the muscular effort. This allows the body to relax, as well as provides calming benefits for the mind.
THE COMFORTS OF HOME
When children take yoga class at home, it is easier for them to honor when they need a break, grab water from the kitchen, or choose to participate in the class but without being seen. While we encourage students to have their cameras on to foster group engagement in our class activities, children are allowed to turn off their cameras, as desired, if they want more privacy during the class, or just need to take a few minutes for themselves. During final relaxation, children can rest with their own pillows, blankets, and other items to help them feel even more calm and peaceful.
RELAXATION IS EVEN MORE RELAXING!
One of the perks of online yoga is during final relaxation time, children can relax with a blanket, a stuffed animal, or anything else at home that helps them feel calm and peaceful and there are not the same time constraints as there would be during an in-person yoga class. Sometimes in our in-person classes, children get really relaxed (which is wonderful) and then have a difficult time getting up and handling the transition at the end of class when it’s time for parents to pick up and go home. With our online classes, children are able to rest as long as they want at the end of class. There’s no need to get back up at the end of yoga class, they can simply keep resting and relaxing even after yoga class is over. This allows children to keep that sense of peace and relaxation they cultivated in class for the rest of the afternoon and evening. To make final relaxation at home extra relaxing, your child can create and use their own lavender relaxation spray at the end of class.
Shining Kids Yoga is excited to be offering many online yoga classes this fall for various age groups from 1-13! You can check out our full class schedule here
If you have any questions about which online classes might be best for your child, please contact us at info@shiningkidsyoga.com
