For my daughter鈥檚 third birthday, my mother gifted her a child-size yoga mat as she was aware that her class had learned some basic yoga for kids, including and . (Actually, my daughter practiced Three-Legged Dog, but who am I to argue with a toddler?)
Although I had little confidence that my boisterous child could ever sit still long enough to practice meditation, I appreciated the thought. After I thanked my mother, I rolled up the mat and placed it next to my own, certain it would become another workout tool collecting dust.
I was wrong. It took a few months, but my daughter began gravitating toward her practice. She鈥檇 roll around on the mat and eagerly show me her focus during a wobbling Tree Pose. Of course, there were also times she鈥檇 turn her mat into a bed for her baby dolls. But hey, it was getting mileage!
Then she began to comply when I asked her to take three deep breaths at the end of a meltdown, something we鈥檇 been unsuccessfully practicing for months. She also began to verbalize when she needed space or had an urgent desire to move her body. Was my daughter learning that yoga isn鈥檛 just how we move into shapes but also how we move through our day?
According to , a longtime yoga teacher and mom to a four-year-old, the answer is a resounding yes.
How to Introduce Mindfulness and Yoga to Kids
鈥淚t鈥檚 never too early to introduce mindfulness and compassion,鈥 explains Ravichander, co-founder of in Morrisville, North Carolina. 鈥淲e count to five and inhale, we count to five and exhale. We imagine a happy light inside us. No matter a child鈥檚 age, you can start teaching the yogic principles of nonviolence and emotional management techniques.鈥
Born in Chennai, India, Ravichander was introduced to yoga early in life as part of her school curriculum. 鈥淵oga is about community connection. We all need that, especially when we鈥檙e young,鈥 she says.
Ravichander advocates for meeting the younger generation exactly where they are. She stresses the importance of encouraging kids to experiment, such as letting them go upside-down and do fun and funky backbends that adults may have a hard time doing. There is a lot of stillness in yoga, but it鈥檚 okay to match kids at their energy level.聽鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to make them sit and meditate, they鈥檒l probably hate it,鈥 she explains.
It鈥檚 also about introducing children to more than yoga鈥檚 physical postures. If you鈥檙e unsure where to start, here are five easy ideas for introducing your child to the principles of yoga. It might not click for them immediately, but as with most things, it鈥檚 the intention that counts.
1. Yoga Mat + Flash Cards
Dappled with whimsical illustrations, this Mindful & Co ($120) introduces something Ravichander refers to as 鈥測oga play.鈥 Each of the 26 flash cards illustrates poses and explains how to put your body in each shape, allowing the cards to meet each child at their age and awareness level. The mat is hypoallergenic and biodegradable, made with recycled tree rubber for a non-slip grip, and has a soft, microfiber suede surface that comes imprinted with an array of likable characters. (And, like all the best kid-friendly products, the mat is machine washable.)
2. Books, Books, and More Yoga Books
Like flash cards, illustrated children鈥檚 books are an accessible way to expose children to the shapes of yoga while helping them connect the practice to the importance of mindfulness. For younger children, Aparna recommends and Older children might benefit from another Mariam Gates鈥 book, written specifically for tweens and teens.
3. Yoga Dice Game
There are few better ways to engage kids than with a game. ($17.99) asks them to roll the posture dice to explore a particular pose and the time dice to see how many repetitions to try. Instruction cards explain each pose so even newbies can play. It鈥檚 versatile enough to play in a group, one-on-one, or solo and offers 1,296 possible combinations of how you could practice with 24 poses and 12 cards. It might even be an opportunity for adults to sneak in some movement because what is parenting if not multitasking?
4. Yoga Tonie Learn + Listen
If you鈥檙e unfamiliar with the Tonie Box, it鈥檚 an audio player that connects to a small trinket called a Tonie and plays a curated list of songs or stories. In my home, we鈥檝e been on a steady rotation of Frozen Tonies (one Elsa, one Anna, of course) and I look forward to the moment when we can move onto something more zen, like ($17.99). Through a series of stories, the Yoga Tonie teaches kids about mindfulness, yoga poses, confidence, and friendship. It鈥檚 a fun, screen-free alternative that keeps children engaged as it introduces them to broader yoga basics. And it鈥檚 less likely to play on a loop in your head than 鈥淟et it Go.鈥
5. Peloton鈥檚 Kid-Friendly Yoga Classes
Longtime yoga and Pilates instructor Kristin McGee recently left Peloton but her joyful spirit lives on in her . These are easy-to-follow classes that introduce yoga poses and gentle movements to children in a playful, digestible manner. Her Fit Family Flow series includes videos as short as 10 minutes and as long as 30 minutes for tweens. My daughter and I especially appreciate these classes on rainy days when we鈥檝e been cooped up without our usual neighborhood stroll.