Feeling the Rhythym in Kid’s Yoga

The latest first grade yoga class began with sound and rhythm: egg shakers shaking, tapping, rolling, and stopping together. We practiced getting united as a group, harmonizing our movement/noise and stillness/quiet. Then, sitting with legs wide apart and a foot in contact with each neighbor, we passed an egg around. The reach was a good stretch, and before we handed off the egg we said our name, giving a shake for each syllable.
Next we played a game using a poster showing six basic poses or movements. Each child rolled a large six-sided die and, depending on which number they rolled, we would perform the asana that many times.
We practiced a HA breath, inhaling and stretching out on our backs and, with a fiery exhalation, hugging the knees in, exclaimed HA!
This was an extremely entertaining and satisfying practice for this group. It evolved into the blooming lotus, with all of us seated, feet pointing in towards the center of the circle and bodies folded forward in paschimottonasana. Together we blossomed, raising our arms up, using core muscles to lower onto our backs and finally raising our legs up and over in halasana, plow pose. We took turns, one at a time, to watch the lotus unfold and each child seemed to relish saying, “It looks like butts in the air!” Maybe the magic is more in what we feel than in what we see.
-Julie Epstein