Yoga Poses for Kids

Published: March 20, 2023

One of the conveniences of yoga is that everyone can practice it, no matter their age or physical condition. Yoga includes numerous positions, both complicated and easy to execute. Therefore, anyone can find exercises that are suitable for them, even children. In fact, if you ask a personal trainer for kids in Dubai, they will tell you that yoga can be pretty beneficial for your child’s physical development. So, in this article, we are going to see what are some of the yoga poses for kids and what health benefits they can bring.

What are the best yoga poses for kids?

When you think about yoga, you usually think of an hour-long class where you keep still and relax or meditate alongside some gentle movement. The truth is, kids can’t sit still for very long. That’s why yoga for kids would be different than the one for adults. However, yoga can be practiced in many ways with children. They can learn about yoga through dancing and even watching videos about it on a screen.

Nevertheless, there are some excellent yoga poses your children can easily do and that can be fun and beneficial! If you want your kids to start practicing yoga, a private yoga instructor in Dubai recommends that you can start with these simple poses:

• Easy sitting pose – is one of the best yoga poses for children that promotes relaxation.
• Cobra pose – strengthens the muscles in the upper body.
• Butterfly pose – promotes creativity and decreases anxiety.
• Child’s pose – reduces stress and increases flexibility, among other benefits.
• Tree pose – is excellent for improving balance.

The easy sitting pose

This is one of the easiest poses in yoga, hence the name. Many children are already familiar with this pose as “crisscross applesauce.” In order to do it correctly, your child will need to sit on the ground with the back nice and tall and cross the legs, bringing knees toward the ground. The hands should be on the knees, facing up, or they can be together at the heart center. There are many benefits of this yoga pose that include relaxing, increasing focus, decreasing stress, correcting posture, and increasing the flexibility of the hips.

Cobra pose

The cobra pose is a fun and beneficial pose that involves laying on the stomach, bringing the hands next to the chest and beneath the shoulders, and then lifting yourself by pressing your arms on the ground. However, make sure your child pushes up only as far as they can in order to prevent overextension.  This pose is quite beneficial and is often used in pilates classes in Dubai these days.

The many benefits include reducing fatigue, promoting proper circulation, and strengthening the muscles in the chest, abdomen, arms, and back. A fun way for kids to practice this exercise is to press up into the cobra pose while hissing like a snake. Kids usually love doing this, and it most often ends with many giggles and laughs.

Butterfly pose

The butterfly pose is another fun exercise that children enjoy doing. Similar to the easy sitting poses, your child should sit on the ground with feet together and knees out to the side. The point is to flap the legs, imitating the butterfly’s wings while breathing deeply. This pose is excellent for promoting creativity, calming oneself, grounding, and relieving headaches. Together with healthy meal plans in Dubai, it can also be good for improving digestion.

Child’s pose

This is another very simple pose to do. It involves sitting back on your heels and folding forward. Then, bring the arms in front of the body and rest your head on the ground. This pose imitates what it feels like to be in a womb, so children feel comforted and grounded in this pose. Many female fitness trainers recommend doing this pose often to promote stress relief. It can also be quite beneficial for calming children that are upset and overwhelmed since it is generally a very calming pose.

Tree pose

The tree pose is among the favorite poses with children. It is challenging but has many variations that make it easy for anyone to do. Kids love turning this into a competition and seeing who can hold this pose the longest. This pose improves balance, corrects posture, and is excellent for creativity and strengthening the muscles in the lower body. To do this pose, you will have to shift your weight to one foot while standing and bring your arms up to form the branches of a tree.

Enjoy choosing from a pool of yoga poses for children

As you have seen, yoga can be quite beneficial for improving your child’s physical and mental well-being. There are many poses to choose from, so anyone can perform them, regardless of their abilities and age. Even the smallest children can perform simple poses like the easy sitting pose. Also, going to yoga classes can be one of the fun things to do with your kids in Dubai throughout the year.

If you are a practitioner yourself, taking your child to a yoga class can be an excellent opportunity for bonding with your little one. And if not, doing some home exercises will be enough. Every activity in this article can be done in the comfort of your own home. For practicing yoga poses for kids, they just need a yoga mat or a comfy blanket, or a towel to place on the floor.