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Yoga Games for Kids

Children are surrounded by busy parents, competitive sports and school pressure. Since children often live in a busy lifestyle, yoga can help relieve some of these everyday pressures. Yoga can encourage self-esteem and body awareness at a young age, according to "Yoga Journal." By doing yoga, children can exercise, play games and connect with their inner self.

  1. Opposite

    • To encourage children to follow their intuition when doing yoga, let them be open-minded about certain poses. Choose a yoga pose, and teach it to the children. Once they have the pose down, tell them to do the opposite of that pose. Do not tell them how to do it; just let them do what they think is the opposite of the pose. This allows them to have an open mind about yoga positions, and it is fun to see what each child will come up with. This game helps children use their own imagination and creativity.

    Name the Pose

    • Have each child come to a certain yoga pose without saying the real name of the pose. Then have them close their eyes, and let each child say what he thinks the name of the pose should be, based on how he is feeling and what thoughts and images come into his head. Tell him to use the first name that comes into his head. After the child gives the answer, he can go to the uttansana position, which is a yoga pose where you are standing straight up and then you bend over at the waist and let your head dangle by your knees.

    Musical Mats

    • Allow children to place their mats in a large circle as if they were setting up chairs and were going to play musical chairs. With one less mat than there are children, start some music, and have the children to walk in a circle on the mats. When the music goes off, each child must find a mat and do a yoga position on it. The child who has no mat and yoga position is out for that game.

    Pose the Name

    • Have the children close their eyes and think of a yoga pose name that they have never heard of. Tell them to use their imagination to do the pose like they think it would look. For example, the happy pose might be arms straight out and feet on the mat with a huge smile on their face. Tell them to be creative and do the first name and pose that come to mind.

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