Instructions for Kids Yoga Classes
Dear Program Coordinators/Caregivers/Teachers,
First of all, a heartfelt thank you for the work that you do! You are there every day with children, teaching, nurturing and supporting them. This is demanding and often thankless work, requiring patience, flexibility and creativity. Working with kids is truly a gift that you bring to our society.
We appreciate your swift thinking and knowledge of the children’s needs to help us to run our Yoga classes smoothly. Your support is indispensable. Here are some pro tips that we would like to share with you about kids’ yoga classes. We hope these instructions help you to feel as supported as you help us to feel.
1. Kids love it when their teachers/caregivers join the class!
If you are in the room with us, please join the class! The kids look to you as a model and love to see you courageously trying something new. Have fun, listen to your body and don’t worry about how ‘good’ your poses are. Stay focused on the wonderful way that you are encouraging the kids to try something new and challenging.
2. It’s ok if the kids don’t behave perfectly.
Yoga is a time when kids can explore their bodies, start learning stillness and mindfulness, get creative, make some noise and have fun. In that way, kids’ yoga classes can get a little silly or a little wild. Rest assured, the yoga teacher has a plan to support the kids over the course of the sessions. Even if they struggle to stay quiet in savasana today, by the end of a few weeks together they will be quieter. If they don’t follow the instructions perfectly, they are likely feeling restless in some way; as grownups we know how hard it is to manage Big Feelings - even more so for kids! Please be patient. It might take a few weeks for the kids to start learning how to settle down.
3. The yoga teacher does not think it’s your fault if the kids are struggling in class.
Believe us, we are teachers too and we have seen it all!! We know how challenging it can be to encourage kids to behave in a certain way. We are not judging you. On the contrary! We think you are superheroes :) Don’t worry if the kids are not behaving in expected ways. Let’s talk about how to best support them.
4. Your advice is welcome.
You know these kids much better than us. Can you think of anything we can do to support them and make yoga a positive experience? We are always grateful for your feedback.
5. Please tell us how we can help.
Are you working on a certain module that we can complement with a yoga class? E.g. Ocean animals? Earth Day? Anti-bullying/Kindness? Is there a behaviour management strategy that has worked well for you? Do your students need more calm, more fitness, more team-building games? Let us know and we’ll be glad to support your curriculum, behavioural strategies and other particular requests.
6. We are here to support you!
Yoga is a platform on which kids can learn can help to build attention span, self-regulation, body positivity, confidence, strength, flexibility, balance, resilience, and social-emotional awareness. All of these tools help the kids that you work with which, we hope, will also help YOU! Please consider us allies, supports, and people who care about you, the kids you work with and the programs you deliver. Tell us what’s going well and how we can support you better. We are grateful for you and love to hear your feedback.
Thank you so much for supporting our work.
Love,
The Yoga Buggy Team <3
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