Friends I hope you enjoy today’s guest post! We love doing yoga with our little ones!

Best beginning yoga poses for kids

Yoga has been around since the pre-vedic era in Indian history, which makes it over 5000 years old. The word ’yoga’ means unity, where it combines spiritual, mental, and physical awareness within the self. This is the core meaning of the word, and shows that yoga is so much more than just a regular workout regimen.

Yoga involves training more than just our bodies, it involves sharpening our minds. Practicing yoga can discipline us, allowing us to react differently to challenging situations in our lives.

Introducing yoga to children can be a wonderful gift to them at a young age as it can radically transform how they see the world as they grow into mature adults.

Yoga works by transcending the ego and helps us reconnect with the best of what we have to offer. In today’s digital world, what could be better than yoga for kids to get the best of both the physical and spiritual planes?

Though it might be a bit tricky to get children to start out of their own free will, but you could pique their interest by planning a short vacation on a yoga retreat. The stress of the daily routine can be a big hindrance in the simple pleasures of life like being with family. Imagine a place where you can unwind and unplug from everyday pressures along with your children.

These yoga retreat centers offer special yoga classes for kids and beginners, and it can be a fun way for your children to get introduced to yoga. Here are some family and especially kids-friendly yoga retreat centers to help you plan out your next family vacation, Ibiza, Lotus yoga retreat, and world family yoga.

Now let’s see some interesting yoga poses for children, though it would be best to get a little help in the beginning.

Tadasana

Tadasana or the mountain pose is a basic standing asana. Start by guiding children to stand straight and keep both their feet close together, their palms on the sides of their thighs. Keep the heels firmly in the ground.

Gently guide them to tighten every muscle in their body, the legs, the knees, the thighs and the buttock. They should tuck in their stomachs and tighten their elbows. Do not let them tense their necks, instead as them to broaden their chests and breath normally. Stay like this for 20 to 30 seconds.

Tadasana corrects bad posture and strengthens the back. Now ask them to slowly relax their bodies. Doing this every day would be best but you need to do it at least three times a week to get the most out of the Asana. We chose this as the first pose for children as this is very easy, and they will be able to follow instructions without confusion.

Urghdva Hastasana

Starting from the Tadasana position, ask children to stretch their arms over their heads with palms facing each other. Ask them to breathe normally as many tend to hold their breaths without realizing it. Stays put for half a minute and then ask them to slowly bring down their hands and relax. This pose teaches a kid to stand correctly and makes the mind alert.

Vrikshasana

Vrikshasana or the tree pose is the standing asana that improves the balance of standing in tadasana. You can ask children to begin by bending their right knee and holding their ankle with their hand placed on their inner left thigh.

They should then rest their hands on their hips and after a few seconds stretch their arms up. Now let them join palms and stay so for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Vrikshasana can be challenging initially but you can ask children to stand firm and focus at one point on the floor to maintain balance. Ask them to slowly bring their hands down and return to the pose of Tadasana. They should keep their right leg straight and bend their left leg to do the pose on the other side.

Virkhsana strengthens the shoulders and legs, it also improves concentration. So now your kid knows what to do while studying.

Sukhasana

To perform Sukhasana or the pleasant posture, you ask children to sit on the ground with both your legs stretched out in front of them. Ask them to bend their left knee and then their right to pull the legs in.

Let them sit with their legs crossed at the ankles and ask them to clasp their hands together with the fingers of their right-hand dominant over the left.

Ask them to sit straight and perform deep and controlled breathing. Sukhasana is also known as the comfortable posture which is an excellent pose for relaxation and better breathing. It can be easily performed by any child and can be very beneficial for various health benefits.

Here are some important things to keep in mind before your kid starts out their yoga routine

• Make sure your kid is dressed comfortably.

• Ensure your child is well hydrated.

• Instruct your child to be patient while performing difficult postures.

• Encourage your kid to stretch before the practice.

• Do not give them a big meal before the practice.

• Encourage them to ask questions.

Make sure to be supportive of your children, advice them to do their best but then leave the rest to them. Try to demonstrate each pose for your kid and consider joining them for the practice every so often. If your child suffers from any serious medical condition it is best to discuss with the doctor before starting out on any exercise plan.

Once your kid is on board with the yoga practice, you will notice many positive changes in your child’s personality and health.

Andrea Bell is a blogger by choice.  She loves to discover and lives the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences and express herself through her blogs.

Find her on Twitter:@IM_AndreaBell