8 Yoga Poses That You Can Practice Together With Your Child For A Fun, Invigorating Workout

Kids today lead a sedentary lifestyle, and it can have an adverse effect on their health. Here we bring you 8 asanas that kids can easily perform.

In the present times, kids have a faster and more complex life as compared to the childhood of the millennials and the Gen X. To meet the fast-paced and competitive environment, kids need to have a calm, stress-free, and relaxed mind, and enjoy good sleep. These can be achieved by including yoga and meditation in their everyday routine. While yoga may sound intimidating for kids, following are a few easy asanas for beginners to practice. You can perform these alongside your child to make it more exciting and enjoyable.

Child Pose

Child Pose can serve as an opportunity to rest between more challenging poses, or it can be practiced by anybody for a calm and focused mind.

How to Do

1. Kneel on the floor and sit back on your heels.
2. Bend forward to rest your forehead gently on the floor.
3. Relax your arms in front of you, palms facing down.
4. Imagine you are a hippopotamus in the water.
5. Close your eyes and relax your body for several breaths.

Benefits

This asana helps the kids calm their minds, restore their energy, and stretch their muscles.

Butterfly Pose

The Butterfly Pose gets its name from the appearance of a butterfly flapping its wings. It improves flexibility and is a classic hip opener, suitable for everyone.

How to do

1. Sit up tall and bring the bottoms of your feet together to form your butterfly wings.
2. Breathe in as you lift your knees. Breathing out as you lower your knees.
3. Continue to breathe and flap your wings.

Benefits

This helps in strengthening and stretching their inner thighs.

Triangle Pose

This is a traditional Asana, resembling a right-angled triangle in the final position.

How to Do

1. Stand straight, feet apart, and must be parallel to each other.
2. Raise your hands from the side, palms facing in front, and bring them to your shoulder level.
3. Now turn the right foot outwards making it rest at a right angle to the left foot.
4. Now looking at your right palm, slowly bend to your right to touch the right toe.
5. Simultaneously, let the left arm rise straight, towards the ceiling, without bending your wrist, elbows, or knees and keeping your lower body fixed.
6. Now, turn the neck to look up at the palm of the stretched left hand, ensuring the hands are aligned in a straight line.
7. Turn the neck to gaze at the right palm and unbend to return to step 1.
8. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits

This asana stretches, develops, and tones the muscles to the sides. It has a favourable effect on the abdominal and pelvic organs, as they compress alternatively, and this aids blood circulation. It also helps in improving digestion. It stimulates the nervous system and alleviates nervous depression.

Tree Pose

Focus, concentration, and balance can be difficult for some children. With practice, Tree Pose offers an opportunity to enhance those skills and build confidence.

How to do

1. Stand straight making sure your toes, feet, and knees are together. The palms should be placed together at the sternum. Find a focus point with your eyes.
2. When you are ready shift your weight to the left foot and turn your right knee out to the side.
3. Rest your right heel on the left ankle, keeping your toes on the floor. If you are feeling balanced, try lifting your right foot to rest on the inside of your calf, or bring your foot up all the way to press into your inner thigh.
4. Slowly grow your arm branches by reaching up to the sky. You can bring your hands together over your head or keep them apart.
5. Balance here for three to ten slow, deep breaths or for as long as you can.

Benefits

This enhances the balance in your body and increases focus on activities. It also strengthens and stretches your limbs.

Frog Pose

The Frog Pose is a great asana to add to your yoga routine as it helps you practice deep, slow, mindful breathing. It encourages movement and mobility while strengthening your core.

How to do the Frog pose

1. Bring your feet wider than your hips with toes turned slightly out.
2. Drop your hips down and back but keep your spine straight and feet flat.
3. Join your hands in front of your heart and keep your chest open as you breathe deeply.

How to do Frog Jumps

1. Get into the frog pose.
2. Stand, hop, and down back into the frog

How to do Modified Frog Pose

1. Get into the frog pose.
2. Now bring your palms to the floor between your legs.
3. Lift your right-hand making sure the fingers are pointing towards the ceiling stretching it straight and high.
4. Look at your right hand on top.
5. Hold for 10 counts
6. Bring your hand back to the floor. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits

This helps the kids by opening their hips and strengthening their inner thighs.

Talasana (Giraffe)

A cultural asana for an upward stretch of the spine. This posture stretches all the muscles of the body lengthwise.

How to do

1. Stand straight with hands at their respective sides with feet slightly apart and parallel to each.
2. Keep the neck straight, chest thrown well forward, and chin parallel to the ground.
3. Focusing on a point straight ahead, raise your arms for a full upward stretch to reach a vertical position.
4. Simultaneously, raise both your heels, to achieve maximum stretch to the body.
5. After holding for 6-10 seconds, turn your palm position outward, keeping the arm straight, bringing it down through a backward and downward circuit.
6. Simultaneously lower the heels to resume the starting position.

Benefits

This asana stretches the entire body and aids in increasing height.

Paschimottanasana (Bag Coming Pose)

A foundational pose that explores the mental aspect of yoga, it helps in redirecting your attention to the sensation of letting go. With the physical flexibility it imparts, it brings emotional release to the mind as well.

How to do

1. Sit down with your back straight and legs and feet together.
2. Lift your hand above your head and maintain the stretch in your back, fold forward trying to touch your toes with your hands and your forehead close to the knees.
3. Stay there for a few breaths.
4. Come out of the pose by releasing your toes and coming back to the start point.

Benefits

Practicing this pose with intention releases stiffness in the lower body and opens out the spine. It activates the quads and lengthens your torso releasing any tension.

Stick Pose

It is known as the Stick Pose because it resembles a stick lying straight on the floor.

How to do

1. Lie on your back, with legs fully extended, feet together and the hands beside the body.
2. Raise both the hands in a semi-circular arc, keeping the hands fully stretched and parallel to each other, to take them above the head.
3. Simultaneously point the toes.
4. Feel a full-body stretch trying to reach out with your fingers and toes.
5. Relax the body and toes, bringing the hands back close to the body, to complete 1 round.

Benefits

This asana stretches the entire body and aids in increasing height. It also creates a deep pressure on the muscular tissue enabling the muscular tissue to use a surplus deposit of fat. It aids in better circulation of blood and helps in correcting the faulty posture of rounded or drooping shoulders. It also tones the usually relaxed abdominal and pelvic muscles.

You can try out these asanas with your kids to introduce them to yoga. There are many benefits to yoga no matter who you are or how old you are. Together, you can practice these with your kids every day as a fun activity benefitting both, you, and your child.

(This article is co-authored by Natasha DS, certified Yoga Therapist and Wellness Expert, Thinkright.Me, and Sabrina, Certified Yoga teacher and happiness coach, Thinkright.Me)