5 Easy To Do Yoga Poses For Kids

Down Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Come with your child onto all fours. Both inhale, flip the toes under and carry the buttocks up to the sky. Your bodies should make a triangle with the floor. Downward dog is a position that allows playing around. You can “walk the dog” or bring knees closer to the face one at a time. It's important to teach kids to press the feet firmly on the ground and 'push' the floor with their palms. The more you invest into the pose, the more you'll free the mind from wandering. This is a great move to oxygenate the body due to the reverse blood flow.

Butterfly Pose (Baddha Konasana)

It's important for you and your child to sit straight on the ground. Bend the knees and bring the feet together, and open them like a book in front of you. Press the knees to the sides towards the floor. Spine should be straight, and belly button sucked towards it. Shoulders should be relaxed. Stay in this position for five breaths or how long you and your kid desire. It's great to open up the hips and provides a good amount of stretch for ankles. It's amazing for active kids, after running or biking, since it relaxes the lower back. To get even better stretch, instruct your kid to extend the arms in front of the body and both stay there for five more breaths.

Cat–Cow Pose (Marjaryasana – Bitilasana)

Again come at all fours. Instruct kids that their knees should be underneath the hips, and shoulders directly above the wrists. Spread your palms as wide as possible. Head should be in neutral position. This is a flow between two positions, which prepares body for activity, and is best to practice in the morning.

First, start from Cow Pose. Drop the belly down towards the mat. Chin, chest, and buttocks are lifted. Draw the shoulders up, away from ears as possible. Look towards the ceiling. Now, move to Cat Pose. While exhaling, draw the belly toward your spine and round the back toward the sky. This position resembles a scarred or stretching cat and kids will find this interesting. Switch between these two poses, inhaling and exhaling, and repeat 10 to 20 times.

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Lay down on the floor with tops of your feet and stomach facing down. Spread your hands under your shoulders. Instruct kids to press their lower bodies to the floor, strengthen the arms and lift them completely away from the floor. Stay in this position for couple of breaths. This pose opens the chest and strengthens the spine.

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Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

Have the child stand straight, with one foot pressed to the mat and the heel of the other leg slightly lifted from the floor. Arms should be lifted above the body or put together in front. If child feels comfortable, let them experiment by lifting the leg up to the inner ankle, or lifting foot completely and letting it sit onto the other leg for the most advanced version. This position is good to practice balance and to quiet one's mind. Even though it looks easy, most children struggle with this pose, since standing still and concentrating on anything can be extremely engaging for them and exactly this concentration makes the pose so beneficial.

Benefits Of Physical Activity For Children

Humans didn't evolve in circumstances where acquiring food simply meant a trip to the restaurant or supermarket. We evolved in a setting where food had to be gathered or hunted, and survival of the species depended on physical traits that helped to gather that food. Ancestors had to have amazing skills to catch the prey and run away before being eaten or having taken the acquired food by other animals. Physical traits like being able to jump, run, bend or hang were likely extremely important.

It's essential to understand that human body has more than 600 muscles, and it's pretty clear it was constructed to function best when active. We blink 100.000 times a day, our eyes move constantly, our hearts beat, our kidneys and every other organ constantly move and do their work. It seems obvious we should move too.

Learning about yoga and developing early practice can be a very good habit. Yogis usually start teaching their kids as soon as they're able to walk, but you don't have to be a hardcore yogi to try it with your children too. Interesting and fun positions named after animals can be good motivation for your child to want to try them from an early age. Children love to see cats, dogs and butterflies when going outside. We bet they'll enjoy bending like those animals at home too. For them, physical activity is really refreshing since it's not about obtaining smaller waist, losing weight and other boring grown-up things, but simply getting down on the floor and having fun.

Being active at least one hour a day brings a lot of benefits:

• better sleep

• stronger bones and muscles

• decreased risk of diabetes

• better weight control

• improved cardiovascular health and fitness

• increased confidence and self-esteem

• better concentration

• improved social skills

Research has shown that physically active children tend to be more alert and academically successful in the future. Not to mention that exercise builds self-esteem. Sign them to football or ballet classes. If you teach them to run, dance, or to bend like a yogi, they're going to be among best athletes in their PE classes later on, and it's very good for their confidence.

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Children love their games and computers. To inspire and help them become more active, you have to get creative and make activities fun. Try something that can be done by the whole family, like hiking, flying kites, and of course — yoga. Besides obvious benefits for kids like improving their concentration and attention span, reducing risk of injuries, improving posture, balance and strength, helping your child become more active increases the amount of time you spend together and is awesome for bonding.