Laura's Yoga Club
Yoga class flows and planning tips for children. By Laura Coates
Reading time: 3-4 minutes
As an ex-primary school teacher I am used to planning. I planned every lesson I taught for nearly eight years. When I turned my focus to teaching yoga, the habit stuck. The problem I encountered searching for yoga lesson plans for kids, though, is that they were plain boring. So I decided to create my own! I have planned and illustrated countless yoga flows, for the tiniest toddler yogis all the way through to superstar teens. Now I want to encourage you to release your inner artist and get creative. Here are my top tips to add more sparkle when planning your next yoga class:
1. Understand your audience
Before you start planning, know the age group you’ll be working with. Kids’ attention spans vary greatly – toddlers will need shorter sessions filled with fun and repetition, while older children can handle longer practices that include more complex poses. No matter what age group you are teaching, a song always goes down well! There are so many great ones out there. Whenever I plan a lesson it is one of the first things I search for as it can be a huge source of inspiration.
2. Incorporate fun and imagination
This is vital! I believe you’ve got to become a kid in order to teach kids! You will never fail to keep children engaged if you use storytelling, games, music and drama!
You can weave a narrative into your session, such as going to the moon, or a journey through a magical forest, with each pose representing different characters or elements of the story. Adding lots of visual prompts helps children to follow along and enjoy the story.
3. Mindfulness, breathing and relaxation
This is my favourite part of planning children’s yoga lessons. There are loads of great ways to teach children about these really important life skills and you can get very creative in the process. Writing meditation scripts has allowed me to become the children’s author that I always wanted to be! My ‘Chinese New Year’ lesson plan features a brave and fearless dragon, and my ‘Snow Day’ lesson plan focused on being as unique as a snowflake. When it comes to the final relaxation ask the kids to make a wish under the ‘wishing blanket’. As they lay down, drape a soft blanket over them and listen carefully to hear what they wish for ….it is the most heart warming thing you’ll hear. It makes teaching children’s yoga the best job in the world!
All yoga flows available for download at: laurasyogaclub.co.uk
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
