Thanks for joining us at the NJEA conference in Atlantic City. Truly, the best way to do kids yoga in the classroom is to practice teaching it. Don’t worry if your first try isn’t perfect. Yoga is a great way to give kids a mental and physical break while still enhancing the learning process. We would love to hear about the positive results you experience!
Our contact information for your reference:
Ann Robideaux Sue Tobert
Founder/Director of Asana Alphabet™ Yoga stobert@hamilton.k12.nj.us
AsanaAlphabet@gmail.com
Why we love yoga in the words of our students:
“It’s very fun and makes your strength a lot.” -John
“You get to stretch and do stuff you never did before.”-Jason
“Yoga is kinda like stretching and has helped me in my balance. It’s so fun!”-Rachel
“Yoga is…moves and movement.”-Afriyie
“In yoga you exercise and there are a lot of fun things to do.”-Kailey
“It’s relaxing and worth giving up recess.”-Ashley
We sang some yoga songs today! Kids yoga music downloads are available at AsanaAlphabet.Bandcamp.com. We mostly recommend “Asana Alphabet’s Yoga Songs for Kids” located in the right hand column for elementary school teachers.
How Does Yoga Benefit Kids Physically?
- Increases physical strength and flexibility
- Cultivates body awareness
- Develops coordination
- Improves overall health
How Does Yoga Benefit Kids Academically?
- Improves concentration & attention
- Helps kinesthetic learners
- Improves integration of sensory input
How Does Yoga Benefit Kids Socially?
-
Tree Pose in a circle
Builds confidence & self-esteem
- Fosters relationships with peers
- Promotes teamwork and respect for others
What is a Kid’s Yoga Program?
- Pranayama—breathing exercises
- Asanas—poses
- Mudras—hand gestures that communicate with the brain
- Mantra—singing and giving ourselves positive
- Savasana—relaxation
How Can Teachers Incorporate Yoga?
- Story time
- Transition time/Breaks
- Indoor/Outdoor recess
- Free time
- Curriculum
Can Everyone Do Yoga?
- Yes!
- Yoga is a fun and constructive activity that kids of all ages and abilities can enjoy and benefit from.
Easy Classroom Yoga Poses: We recommend these because they can be done next to a desk if need be!
Mountain Arms Up
Chair
Forward Bend
Warrior II
wa
Triangle
Triangle pose with middle school students
Downward Dog
Squat/Easy Crow
Tree Pose
Childs Pose: the miracle calming, relaxing and quieting pose!
Simple Routine #1
- Mountain
- Mountain Arms Up
- Forward Bend
- Mountain Arms Up
- Mountain
Simple Routine #2
- Mountain
- Mountain Arms Up
- Forward Bend
- Mountain Arms Up
- Mountain
- Tree Pose
Simple Routine #3
- Mountain
- Mountain Arms Up
- Forward Bend
- Squat/Easy Crow
- Chair Pose
- Mountain Arms Up
- Mountain
Simple Relaxing Activities
Hold a musical instrument like a bell. Walk from one end of the room to the other or pass it from person to person around a circle without making a sound.
Have your students close their eyes. Students are asked to mentally count the number of times they hear the sound of a bell (or other relaxing tone). Once eyes are open, students can say how many of the tones they heard and see how close they got to getting the right answer.
Additional Resources
Yogarilla 55 Yoga Cards by Kimberly Mielke Yoga Journal (www.yogajournal.com)
Children’s Book of Yoga by Thia Luby Omazing Kids (www.omazingllc.com)
Yogi and Yogette Learn the Asana Alphabet by Ann Robideaux
Asana Alphabet Yoga Songs for Kids (song download; look in right hand column of page
While qualitative research definitely indicates that yoga is a positive class at many levels, research is still out on more quantitative data. Please click on the links for more in-depth readings:
Promotions by Physical Therapists
- Contact Information:
- Sue Tobert: stobert@hamilton.k12.nj.us
- Ann Robideaux: AsanaAlphabet@gmail.com; www.AsanaAlphabet.com
Asana Alphabet 