Yoga for Grades 3-5 with Julie Epstein

Yoga with the 3rd-5th graders looks a lot like traditional yoga.

We move through warm-ups, sun salutations, hip-openers, twists, standing balancing poses and savasana. Left and right comes into play a lot, and kids also get to work on crossing the midline in ways that don’t always come easily but, once they master it, it is a revelation for them! For example, we practiced a standing balance and twist by lifting one foot onto a bench. The opposite hand reaches across to the knee and the other arm reaches back into space. It is often challenging for them to “cross the midline” in this way, but we really got into stepping away from the bench and practicing by lifting one knee and then the other, gently slapping with the opposite hand, finally slowing down to hold the balance for a breath or two.

One of the students intuited that this evolves into a version with the leg extended, instead of bent, and showed me her pavritta utthita hasta padangusthasana (extended hand-toe posture with a twist). Hearing some the kids’ feedback made by day and confirmed why I teach yoga to kids: “This is fun!” “Awesome!”
“This is so relaxing.”
“This is better than push-ups.”

“Yes,” I said, “Yoga includes movements like push-ups but also so much more.”

-Julie Epstein

Julie Epstein is an Evolution Yoga teacher for adults and children. She teaches at the studio and in the Burlington schools.