Attention Getters are life savers during a kids yoga class. A kids yoga class never goes 100% according to plan. It’s never happened and never will happen. It’s crucial to have lots of ways to get the attention of distracted kids. All you need  to do is learn a few of the attention getting exercises.

For example, below is the Frere Jacques attention getting exercise…

“Sing the original Frere Jacques song with the kids: “Frère Jacques, frère Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines! Ding, daing, dong. Ding, daing, dong.” When they get good at the original song, change the words to: “Are you listening? Are you listening? Everyone! Everyone! If you are listening. If you are listening. Look at me. Look at me.” At the end of the chant they can snap their fingers (and or pat their heads).”

The Attention Getting Exercises Include:

• Bell Sound
• Clap If You Can Hear
• Clap Pattern
• Consequences
• Countdown
• Eyes On Me Chant
• Eyes On Your Chant
• Frère Jacques Chant
• How Did You Do That
• Sentence Starter
• Smile

Don’t make the mistake of teaching adult yoga to kids. You’ll bore the socks off them and they’ll never come back. Your job is to provide education and entertainment (edutainment). These kids yoga games do just that.

For example, below is the Alphabet Game: 

Go through whole alphabet with creative interpretations of poses. Let kids move naturally from one pose to next. Alligator “A”, Boat “B”, Cat “C”, Dog “D” , Rag doll with elephant’s trunk “E” , Frog “F”, Gorilla “G” , Handstand “H”, Inversion “I” , Jumping Jacks “J”, Knee to chest “K” , Locust “L”, Mountain “M” , Namaste Mudra “N”, OM “O”, Plough “P” , Quiet Sitting “Q”, Reclining Bound Angle “R”, Seated Forward Bend  “S”, Tree “T”, Upward Facing Plank “U”, Vayu Mudra “V”, Warrior I “W”, X Factor (make up a pose) “X”, Yoga Mudra “Y”, Zzz Relaxation “Z”. 

The Kids Yoga Games Include:

• A to Z Trial Game
• Alien, Tiger, Cow Game
• Alphabet Yoga Game
• Alphabet Yoga Trail Game
• Around The World In 80 Poses Game
• Association Game
• Attitude Of Gratitude Game
• Ball Throw Game
• Chairs Game
• Christmas Nativity Game
• Circle Question Time Game
• Clap Focus Game
• Count to 20 Game
• Creativity Time Game
• Dance 1 Game
• Dance 2 Game
• Door Sign Game
• Electric Shock Game
• Farm Game
• Freeze Game
• Freeze Dance Animal Game
• Gradient Laughter Game
• Gratitude Game
• Greetings Laughter Game
• Ha Game
• Halloween Game
• Hand Squeeze Game
• Hearty Laughter Game
• Hello Game
• Hi Fives
• Hoop Yoga: Over Under Game
• Hop Yoga: Pass The Hoop Game
• Hoop Yoga: Sun Salutations Game
• Hoop Yoga: Walk, Hop, Hoop Game
• Human Mandala Game
• Imaginary Ball Throwing Game
• Invent A Pose Game
• Jeepers Peepers Game
• Kids Become The Teacher Game
• Laugher 1 Game
• Laugher 2 Game
• Leading Game
• Magic Animal Pillowcase Game
• Mandala Game
• Massage Game
• Mexican Wave Game
• Mirroring Game
• Mistakes Game
• Mobie Phone Game
• Musical Chairs Game
• Name The Asana Game
• Nativity Game
• Object Association Game
• Obstacle Course Game
• Old McDonald Had A Farm Game
• Partner Yoga: Camel Game
• Partner Yoga: Camel & Child Game
• Partner Yoga: Lunge Game
• Partner Yoga: Lunge & Down Dog Game
• Partner Yoga: Seated Forward Bend 1 Game
• Partner Yoga: Seated Forward Bend 2 Game
• Partner Yoga: Simon Says Game
• Partner Yoga: Starfish Game
• Partner Yoga: Tree
• Partner Yoga: Warrior II
• Picnic Trip Game
• Pyramid Poses Game
• Rasperry Noises Game
• Silly Game
• Simon Says Gam
• Slow Motion Tag Game
• Sun Rise & Sun Set Game
• Surfing Game
• Teach A Pose Game
• Trust Building Game
• Walkies Game
• What Are You Doing Game
• Why Is Yoga So Amazing Game
• World Trip Game
• Wrong Association
• Yes, Lets Game
• And many more!

It’s important to teach “Kids Yoga Asanas”, not adult ones. If you teach adult poses to kids, it’s 100% guaranteed to bore them. I’ve made sure all the kids poses are not only interesting, but mini adventures.

For example, below is the Butterfly Pose (Baddha Konasana) mini adventure…

“Sit up tall with legs outstretched to become a caterpillar. Imagine you’re a wiggly caterpillar that is attached to a leaf and your skin is started to shed to reveal a hard skin underneath. We’ve now going to sit quietly before we turn into a colourful butterfly (wait several seconds). Wow! Look you’re turning into a butterfly. Bend your knees. Bring the bottoms of your feet together and hold onto them. We’re going to flap our wings and fly from our leaves. Gently bounce your knees up and down. Well done everybody. You’re flying.”

The Seated & Floor Asanas Include:

• Bananasana
• Basket
• Bike Riding
• Boat
• Bow & Arrow
• Butterfly
• Camel
• Camel Baby
• Cat
• Cheetah
• Cobra
• Cougar
• Cow
• Cow Stretching
• Crab
• Crocodile
• Dog Tub Rub
• Downhill Ski Slope
• Fish
• Flower
• Force Field
• Frog
• Happy Baby
• Happy New Year
• Hedgehog
• Hedgehog Ball
• Jaguar
• Kayak
• Lamb
• Leopard
• Lion
• Lion Roar
• Mountain Cat
• Mouse
• Nest
• People Bridge
• Playful Monkey
• Plough
• Ramp
• Rest Time
• Rhino
• Rock
• Scary Mummy
• Seed Pod
• Shark
• Sheep
• Sleeping
• Sleepy
• Sphinx
• Up Doggie
• Wheelchair Ramp

This category has all the traditional “sun salutation” poses. Rach of the poses has a cute, eye-catching sun.

For example, below is Upward Facing Dog Pose 

The Sun Salutation Asanas Include:

• Cobra
• Down Dog
• Forward Bend
• Knees Chest Chin
• Lunge
• Mountain
• Plank
• Up dog
• Upward Salute

A child’s fragile and still-developing brain is less suited to handling stress and negative emotions, such as fear, anger or sorrow which is why approximately 170,000 UK children are seen by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) each year. That’s where kids breathing exercises can come to the rescue.

For example, below is the shooting star breathing exercise: 

“Everyone knows that if you see a shooting star, you make a wish. Ready? Sit with legs crossed. Bring palms together across your heart with fingers pointing up. Gently press hands against each other and straighten back. Inhale and bring hands over head. Exhale and lower hands to sides, twinkling your fingers. Whisper the word “wish” as you lower your arms. As we’ve just seen a shooting star let’s all wish for… (e.g. world peace).” 

The Breathing Exercises Include:

• Balloon Breath
• Feather Breath
• Fireworks Breath
• Fireworks Group Breath
• Happy Sad Breath
• Lava Breath
• Shooting Stars Breath

These magic hand exercises (Kid Mudras) build self-empowerment by learning how to access and send energy where it needs to go for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being.

For example, below is the “Turtle In It’s Shell” magic hands exercise…

“Turtles have a hard shell that protects them like a shield. It’s so protective that they don’t have any predators interested in eating them. Are you ready to put your Turtle head inside your shell? Place your thumbs across your palms and wrap the fingers over the thumbs. Rest your hands palms face down on your knees or thighs. Did you know that the turtle is one of the oldest living animals. The oldest fossils of turtles are over 200 million years old. And they can live up to 100 years.”

The Magic Hands Exercises Include:

• Aakash Mudra
• Anjali Mudra
• Apan Vayu Mudra
• Apana Mudra
• Asthma Mudra
• Atmanjali Prayer Mudra
• Bhairav Mudra
• Bhramara Mudra
• Bodhisattva Dhyan Mudra
• Bronchial Mudra
• Chin Mudra
• Crocodile Mudra
• Dharmachakra Mudra
• Dhyani Mudra
• Figa Mudra
• Ganesh Mudra
• Garuda Mudra
• Giver Of Kindness Mudra
• Hakini Mudra
• Hridya Mudra
• Jalodar Nashak Mudra
• Jnana Mudra
• Ksepana Mudra
• Kubera Mudra
• Linga Mudra
• Lotus Mudra
• Maha Sacral Mudra
• Matangi Mudra
• Merudanda Mudra
• Mukula Mudra
• Mushti Mudra
• Namaste Mudra
• Owl Mudra
• Power Mudra
• Prana Mudra
• Prithvi Mudra
• Pushpaputa Mudra
• Shakti Mudra
• Shankh Mudra
• Shiva Linga Mudra
• Shunya Heaven Mudra
• Suchi Mudra
• Surya Mudra
• Turtle In Its Shell Mudra
• Ushas Mudra
• Uttarabodhi Mudra
• Vajrapradama Mudra
• Varun Mudra
• Vayu Mudra

It’s important to teach “Kids Yoga Asanas”, not adult ones. If you teach adult poses to kids, it’s 100% guaranteed to bore them. I’ve made sure all the kids poses are not only interesting, but mini adventures.

For example, below is the Alice In Wanderland (Tadasana) mini adventure: 

“Imagine you’ve got a magic potion given to your by Alice In Wonderland. Drink. Wow!  You’re becoming taller and taller (stretch hands over head).”

The Standing Asanas Include:

• African Dog
• Alice In Wonderland
• Archer
• Bat
• Bird
• Chimp
• Dancer
• Dolphin
• Down Dog
• Duck
• Eagle
• Elephant
• Farmer On A Tractor
• Frog (standing)
• Get Back Up
• Giraffe
• Gorilla
• Helicopter
• Horseback Rider
• I Am Confident
• Invisible Chair
• Jeep
• Jellyfish
• Kangaroo
• Lemur
• Monkey
• Mountain
• Peaceful Warrior II
• Peregrine Falcon
• Rocket
• Royal Chair
• Sailboat
• Skate Boarder
• Snow Boarder
• Standing Back Bend
• Standing Forward Bend
• Standing Side Bend
• Star
• Surfer
• Thunderbolt
• Tree Beard The Ent
• Ugly Duckling
• Volcano
• And many more!

The “Xtras” are the extra poses that I’ve added that I think are useful, but don’t fit in any other category. For example, you might want an image to represent “breathe in” and “breathe out”. Well, you’ve guessed it, I added them to the “Xtras” category.

The Xtras Include:

• Breathe In
• Breathe Out
• End Repeat
• Game Reserve
• Inhale/Exhale
• Left Foot Forward
• Namaste
• Namaste (Activate Flying Mat)
• Repeat
• Repeat 2 Times
• Repeat 3 Times
• Repeat 4 Times
• Repeat 5 Times
• Right Foot Forward
• Story
• Sun Salutations
• Sun Salutations A
• Sun Salutations B
• Sun Salutations C
• Warm Up

African Animals Adventure (Part I)
Kids Yoga Lesson Plan Bundle

With this bonus bundle, you’ll receive a pre-filled kid yoga lesson plan with the theme of “African Animals Adventure” (A to L). This lesson plan includes African animal names from A to L including: African Wild Dog, Bat, Cheetah, Chimpanzee, Dolphin, Elephant, Frog, Giraffe, Gorilla, Helicopter and Lemur.

Bundle Includes:

• Pre-filled lesson plan
• Short version of the lesson plan (one page)
• Pre-filled aims and objectives
• Handout (African Map Kids Illustration)

You can use the “handouts” as teaching aids or to give to the kids and/or parents.

Around The World In 80 Poses Theme
Kids Yoga Lesson Plan Bundle

With this bonus bundle, you’ll receive a pre-filled kid yoga lesson plan with the theme of “The Around The World In 80 Poses”.  This lesson plan includes a scary, but fun journey.

Bundle Includes:

• Pre-filled lesson plan
• Short version of the lesson plan (one page)
• Pre-filled aims and objectives
• Handout (travelling poses)
• Handout (African Animal Poses)
• Handout (America Animal Poses)
• Handout (Arctic & Antarctica Animal Poses)
• Handout (Asian Animal Poses)
• Handout (Australian Animal Poses)
• Handout (European Animal Poses)
• Handout (Middle Eastern Animal Poses)

You can use the “handouts” as teaching aids or to give to the kids and/or parents.

Halloween Theme
Kids Yoga Lesson Plan Bundle

With this bonus bundle, you’ll receive a pre-filled kid yoga lesson plan with the theme of “Halloween”.  This lesson plan includes a scary, but fun journey.

Bundle Includes:

• Pre-filled lesson plan
• Short version of the lesson plan (one page)
• Pre-filled aims and objectives
• Handout (The Great Big Boo Breath)
• Handout (Blue Monster Pose)

You can use the “handouts” as teaching aids or to give to the kids and/or parents.

The Cat Who Became A Lion Theme
Kids Yoga Lesson Plan Bundle

With this bonus bundle, you’ll receive a pre-filled kid yoga lesson plan with the theme of “The Cat Who Become A Lion”.  This is a great theme for getting the kids to use their amazingly creative brains to come up with a story for a short sequence.

Bundle Includes:

• Pre-filled lesson plan
• Short version of the lesson plan (one page)
• Pre-filled aims and objectives
• Handout (kids sun salutations)
• Handout (kids sun salutation teaching tips)
• Handout (lion breath)
• Handout (confidence of a lion relaxation)

You can use the “handouts” as teaching aids or to give to the kids and/or parents.

World Famous Storyteller Theme
Kids Yoga Lesson Plan Bundle

With this bonus bundle, you’ll receive a pre-filled kid yoga lesson plan with the theme of “The World Famous Storyteller”. This is a great theme for getting the kids to use their amazingly creative brains to come up with a story for a short sequence.

Bundle Includes: 

• Pre-filled lesson plan
• Short version of the lesson plan (one page)
• Pre-filled aims and objectives
• ABC yoga adventure cards

You can use the “handouts” as teaching aids or to give to the kids and/or parents.

You’ll receive access to a community of yoga teachers worldwide who love nothing better than to share their kids yoga lesson plans. You’ll be able to edit any of the 500+ shared yoga lesson plans (or you don’t have to change anything).

Downloadable Yoga A to Z Adventure Colouring Card Deck
PNG Format (2001 x 2480 pixels)

You can download, print and laminate the ABC Kids Yoga Adventure Cards.

They make an amazing teaching aid. There are 26 cards, one for each letter of the alphabet. Each card is in PNG Format (2001 x 2480 pixels).  You can make the cards as big or small as you like without losing any quality. All kids love colouring! Colouring is a great way for kids to learn the poses while having fun.

Kids Yoga Lesson Planning Secret Formula

It’s really important for your creativity and sanity to come up with a Kids Yoga Lesson Planning Formula that suits your personality, and to stick with it. Changing your mind about your formula each week is a massive energy leak and usually leads to uninspiring, mediocre, run-of-the-mill lesson plans.

That’s why I’m giving you my proven Kids Yoga Lesson Planning Formula.

Downloadable Kids Yoga Dice
PNG Format (2480 x 3543 pixels)

I created this yoga dice from the ABC Yoga Kids Adventure Cards. The dice has 6 sides (camel, down dog, lion, upward facing dog, frog and cobra). You can print as many as you like. All you need is a bit of glue and some elbow grease. Kids love the Yoga Dice Game because it’s a lot of fun and they get to become the teacher.

Steps to create the yoga dice

1. Download the yoga dice
2. Print the template on thicker than average paper
3. Cut the template out
4. Bend all the tabs and lines to make construction easier
5. Glue it together to make the dice

Game instructions

1. Let the child throw the dice
2. The child becomes the teacher and performs the pose
3.  The class copies
4.  Give the dice to another child and repeat steps 1 to 3

Sequence Game

1. Download and create 4 dice
2. Let four children throw the dice
3. Teach the sequence