When you practice yoga you are generally following a sequence – but what does this mean for kids yoga?
In an adult yoga class, whether you’re doing a set sequence like the Primary Series in Ashtanga or a teacher-choreographed one in vinyasa flow or power yoga, you are guided by your teacher through a range of yoga postures and end your class in Savasana (relaxation). Even if your teacher is only working on a few postures in the class, they will have thought through the order of those poses to make sure there is an arc to the session, taking you through some form of warm-up, strength building, balancing, twisting, opening, stretching and finally relaxing back into Savasana. The connecting factor throughout being the breath and mindful awareness in watching and observing what is happening as you practice.
In Kids’ yoga we sequence the postures to fit within a story – this is a great way to sequence kids yoga!
The sequence of postures in a kids’ yoga class is often built into a story with each posture bringing an event or feature in the story to life. We warm up the kids as preparation for our adventure by ‘making a picnic’ (seated twists and forward bends) or by bringing out the sunshine with a ‘hello sun!’ (sun salutation). Thereafter the class, just like the arc of an adult class, will include more twists or forward bends as well as back bends, balance poses, hip openers, side stretches, strengthening poses, and core work before finishing in ‘relaxation’. All of these postures have to make sense in the context of the story so the kids follow it. Along the way we draw attention to our feelings and experiences to bring in the idea of noticing what’s happening – an introduction to mindfulness.
Have a look at our latest episode and see if you can see the sequencing in action – and the story!
