25 Easy Yoga Poses For Kids
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Yoga has benefits for people of all ages, including kids. In this fast-paced world, they are often on screens or on the go. Teaching kids easy yoga poses is a great way to help them practice mindfulness, build mobility and unwind. And honestly, we could use the yoga break just as much as they do.
These are the best yoga poses for kids. They can be done alone, or you can try them with the whole family. They're ranked by difficulty from 1-10.
How many can you do?
Boat Pose
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Difficulty: 4
What it’s for: Balance and core strength
How to do it: This is one of the most useful yoga poses for kids because it's so deceptively easy.
Just balance on your bottom with your legs up and your arms reaching forward. Try to keep your back straight. Stay still or rock like a boat. Just don't sink.
The person who keeps their hands and feet off the mat the longest wins.
Bridge Pose
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Difficulty: 5
What it’s for: Flexibility and strength
How to do it: The pose pictured is actually the tougher version. For the easy version, just lie on your back, bend your knees, and press upward until you look like a little table, evenly balanced on both hands and feet.
For a challenge, place your hands palms down behind your shoulders. In one motion, lift your hips upward, arch your back and press up into a full bridge.
Butterfly Pose
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Difficulty: 1
What it’s for: Hip flexibility
How to do it: Sit on your bottom. Bend your legs and, keeping your heels together, let your knees fall outward toward the floor.
Try to lean forward to touch your forehead to your stinky toes. It's a classic kids yoga pose.
Cat Cow Pose
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Difficulty: 1
What it’s for: Back flexibility and strength
How to do it: Get on your hands and knees like a table. Start by arching your back, pressing your tummy toward the floor and leaning your head back. Then, reverse the motion, curling your head down and rounding your back.
This is one of the best easy yoga poses for releasing tension and getting in tune with your body.
Child's Pose
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Difficulty: 1
What it’s for: Relaxation
How to do it: Oh, look, it's the "I said I didn't need a nap and then fell asleep in a corner" pose.
Sit on your knees and slowly lean your upper body forward until your forehead is resting on the floor.
Lay your arms at your sides, or stretch them out in front for the extended edition.
Cobra Pose
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Difficulty: 3
What it’s for: Back flexibility
How to do it: Some kids just chill in this position, so it's definitely fair game for an easy yoga pose.
Lie on your belly, put your hands on the ground next to your shoulders and press your chest off the ground. Push your shoulders back and press your hips into the floor.
Hiss, just for good measure.
Crescent Moon Pose
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Difficulty: 4
What it’s for: Balance and strength
How to do it: Get into a lunge position, then lower your back knee to the ground.
Engage your glutes and quads to balance and raise your hands off the ground, stretching your arms skyward.
Don't forget to look up.
Dancer's Pose
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Difficulty: 8
What it’s for: Balance and strength
How to do it: Stand on one leg, and reach the other leg out behind you with your knee bent. Reach your arm back to grab the outside of your foot with your hand.
Lean your upper body forward and stretch your free arm forward. Arch your back and stretch your leg up as high as you can.
It's tough, but it's one of the more fun and challenging yoga poses for kids.
Downward-Facing Dog Pose
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Difficulty: 4
What it’s for: Hamstring flexibility
How to do it: This easy yoga pose is a classic. Stand up tall, then reach forward and place your hands flat on the ground. Walk your feet back until you look like a wide, upside-down letter V.
Try to straighten your legs without rounding your back and press your heels towards the ground.
Extended Cat Pose
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Difficulty: 4
What it’s for: Balance and strength
How to do it: Balance on your hands and knees like in a regular cat pose. Then, extend one arm forward and the opposite leg back.
See how long you can hold it.
Half Shoulder Stand
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Difficulty: 5
What it’s for: Balance and core strength
How to do it: It's easier for kids than adults, but this one still requires a bit of balance. Lie on your back with your knees bent, your arms at your sides and your feet flat on the floor.
Press your palms down and swing your legs up into an L position. Lift your hips and support your lower back with your hands to strike the half shoulder stand pose.
It's one of the most fun yoga poses for kids.
Happy Baby Pose
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Difficulty: 1
What it’s for: Relaxation and hip flexibility
How to do it: Yoga for kids is great because it comes naturally. Just imitate a happy baby.
Lay down flat on your back, bring your knees to your chest and hold your feet. To complete the pose, rock back and forth like a cheerful cherub.
Warning: Kids will likely take this as an opportunity to roll all over the place. They might roll up with the yoga mat and pretend to be a burrito. Just go with it.
Legs Up the Wall Pose
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Difficulty: 1
What it’s for: Relaxation and passive hamstring stretch
How to do it: Lie on your back, raising your legs to make an L shape. You can hold the pose away from the wall to build strength or rest them on the wall for a nice wind-down.
This super easy yoga pose is incredibly relaxing.
Locust Pose
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Difficulty: 6
What it’s for: Core strength
How to do it: Lie flat on your belly. Clasp your hands behind your back, look up and lift your chest off the ground. Try to keep your shoulders and chest up, and feel free to release your hands and pretend to swim.
It's definitely not an easy yoga pose, but it's great for building strength.
Lotus Pose
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Difficulty: 3
What it’s for: Relaxation
How to do it: To do the full pose, sit up tall and cross your legs, with both feet resting on your thighs. For a less intense stretch, just sit in criss-cross-applesauce.
Rest your hands on your knees and let go of any tension.
Breathe.
Lunge Pose
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Difficulty: 3
What it’s for: Flexibility and balance
How to do it: Remember this from grade school? Pretend you're about to run a race, then look forward and press your hips downward. Keep your back flat and open up your shoulders.
For a deeper stretch, bring your outside arm to the inside of your leg. Then, melt down onto your forearms.
Yoga for kids is great for maintaining and improving flexibility.
Pigeon Pose
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Difficulty: 8
What it’s for: Hip and back flexibility
How to do it: This is one of the tougher yoga poses for kids. Start in downward-facing dog pose. Then, drop one knee to the floor and slide it forward as far as you can. Flex your foot to protect your knee and try to keep your front leg bent at a roughly 90 degree angle.
If your hip is too tight to allow that, bringing it closer to your body is fine. Try to keep your hips square, pressing them into the floor.
For a variation called the king pigeon pose, lift your back leg toward your head and grab your foot. You will definitely feel like royalty after doing this.
Plank Pose
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Difficulty: 4
What it’s for: Core strength
How to do it: Ah, remember the plank challenge? Where people planked on everything, everywhere? Yeah, don't do that.
Kids will still love this easy yoga pose, though. Just balance on your hands like at the top of a pushup, or on your forearms if that's easier. Don't left your hips too high or drop them too low.
Imagine yourself becoming an actual plank of wood.
Puppy Pose
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Difficulty: 2
What it’s for: Back flexibility and relaxation
How to do it: Balance on your hands and knees like a table. Then, walk your hands away from you and press your chest gently toward the floor. Let your head rest on the floor and breathe deeply. Ahhh.
Yoga for kids can be a great part of their bedtime routine because it's so calming.
Standing Forward Bend
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Difficulty: 2
What it’s for: Hamstring flexibility and relaxation
How to do it: Pretend to be a rag doll. Fold slowly forward, reaching for your toes. You can place your feet close together or farther apart to stretch different parts of your legs.
This easy yoga pose is great to stay loose when days of desk sitting are in session.
Tree Pose
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Difficulty: 4
What it’s for: Balance
How to do it: This one looks like an easy yoga pose, but it's deceptively tough. Stand on one leg, bend your other knee and press the bottom of your foot into your inner thigh. If that's too tricky, you can place your foot lower down.
Hold the pose for at least 10 seconds, or as long as you can. Swaying like a tree is highly encouraged.
Triangle Pose
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Difficulty: 7
What it’s for: Balance and core flexibility
How to do it: From standing, step one foot back, bring your arms out to the sides and bend from the waist. When your front hand reaches your leg, reach your other arm to the sky. It's fine if your back foot is angled outward.
If you're not quite flexible enough to do the full yoga pose, modify it by reaching only to your thigh instead of all the way to your shin.
Warrior 1 Pose
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Difficulty: 5
What it’s for: Strength and stability
How to do it: This is a great yoga pose for kids because it requires you to focus on finding stability, balance and stillness. From standing, step one foot back, bend your front leg, reach toward the sky and look at the ceiling. Can you spot any clouds?
At first, young kids will probably find themselves falling to one side or the other. You might, too. Don't sweat it. Just focus on engaging your core and actively use your lower body for balance.
You'll get it.
Warrior 2 Pose
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Difficulty: 4
What it’s for: Strength
How to do it: Pretend to be Spiderman shooting webs, or Elsa shooting ice.
From a standing position, walk one foot back, turning it slightly out by opening your hip. Bring your arms out, one in front of you and one in back, holding them parallel to the ground. Bend your front leg and hold the pose.
It's harder than it looks.
Warrior 3 Pose
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Difficulty: 7
What it’s for: Strength and balance
How to do it: This one's a toughie. Are you up for the challenge?
Stand on one leg, extending the other behind you. Lean your upper body forward and bring your arms forward or out to the side. Feel free to play with the arm position. Are you a bird? A skater? It's up to you.
Yoga for kids is supposed to be fun, so get creative.