The most famous story of someone trying to do yoga with kids goes like this: Krishnamacharya, who was known in the early 1900’s for being able to stop his heart at will, wanted his son Desikachar to do yoga. He wouldn’t.
So, Krishnamacharya did what any level-headed parent would do: he tied him to a tree.
If you’ve been a parent of anyone who is toddler age or older, you know that if we pressure our kids to like something, they’ll probably go the other way.
(If we tie them to a tree, chances are about 100% they’ll hate yoga.)
Desikacharya eventually became an engineer.
Yet, in his 30’s he suddenly realized that what his dad could do was pretty cool, and he asked him to teach him everything he knew.
Krishnamacharya is said to have stopped his heart one last time to impress his son, and then pronounced “I will never do that again. It has fulfilled its purpose.”
In the end, his son Desikachar became a world renowned yoga teacher, and started Viniyoga, a school of therapeutic yoga.
So, it all worked out but it took a while… I’m not even sure Krishnamacharya was alive to enjoy it.
The moral of the story: sharing yoga with kids is tricky. But it can be done, and it can be fun.
From placing a teddy bear on our little one’s belly so they can rock him to sleep with their breath to setting intentions for the day so they learn they have the power to create their experience, yoga is way more than just “Star Pose.”
But how do we get our little ones to actually love yoga?
Most important: it’s not another thing to achieve or accomplish.
It’s a way for them to play, to explore what their breath and body can do, and to understand that as long as they are doing their best, they’re doing enough.
Here are my 7 tips for doing yoga with your kids:
Yoga with Kids Tip 1:
Let yoga be fun, like a game. Keep it moving and changing. If they start losing interest in a particular pose, time to move on.
Play animal games, find ways they can crawl under and on you in poses, and do Simon Says.
They might just say, “let’s play yoga!”
Never worry about “teaching” them how to do poses or even what they’re really called.
Just give them an opportunity to have fun with their bodies.
Yoga with Kids Tip 2:
Don’t be Desikacharya’s father, so invested in whether your kids do yoga or not.
Yoga is about freedom. Let them join you or not.
The important thing is that they see you loving it, and they feel welcome to be creative or silly or fall over and they know it’s all part of the fun.
Yoga with Kids Tip 3:
Every morning, even if it’s only 2 minutes, enjoy moving and breathing on your mat.
Eventually, you can negotiate: I get to do yoga for 5 minutes, then I’ll play for 5 minutes.
Let your child see what it is to have a practice that restores and renews you.
As they grow, tell them when you need yoga: I’m stressed, my body doesn’t feel good, I feel low energy – I need to go do yoga.
They may not do it even as a teenager, but the idea
will be planted inside them for when they need it.
Desikacharya came back to his dad in his 20’s to
learn about yoga after completing his engineering
degree and became a world-renowned yoga teacher.
As long as your kid understands what yoga is, you’ve done your job. They will come back to it if and when they need it!
Yoga with Kids Tip 4:
Kids are actually YOUR yoga teacher.
When they breathe, their whole body breathes.
When they move, they move with their breath.
When they act, they are connected to their truth.
They are naturally curious and love exploring what their bodies can do.
Yoga isn’t there to change them, or fix them, or make them better: just to help them develop more awareness of who they are and who they can be.
Yoga with Kids Tip 5:
When they get old enough to play school, have them pretend they’re the yoga teacher and teach you.
Who doesn’t love to be in charge? They might have a blast making mom do wacky things and follow their every instruction.
Or, take turns teaching each other a “pose”.
Make up ridiculous positions to be in, and let them teach YOU how to play.
Every once in a while you can stick in a real pose like butterfly or star pose.
Yoga with Kids Tip 6:
When they get older and they want to spend time on the screen, tell them they have to move their body every day for a certain amount of screen time.
My daughter could rack up the screen time hours with reading, yoga or exercise, or chores.
They might just fall in love with a yoga video and find themselves with a daily practice! Or, they might not, but at least they’re getting exercise…
Yoga with Kids Tip 7:
Always include a short meditation.
Even if it’s only 3 breaths, they’ll start to learn how to connect to their quiet, peaceful place inside.
End with setting an intention for the day:
What kind of day do you want to have today?
They’ll realize just how powerful they are to create their own experience – and their lives.
We hope you – and your kids – enjoy!
