How to Explain Yoga to Children: A Step-by-Step Practice for Parents and Teachers

Helping children understand yoga can be a wonderful way to share its rich history, philosophy, and practice in an accessible and engaging way. In this post I will share with you a fun way to start exploring what Yoga is with children in a Family Yoga Practice or as a kids yoga class with your students.

I often share quick Yoga breaks you can do together in just 5 or 10 minutes but honestly this one is going to take longer. This is a session that you could explore together over the space of 30 to 60 minutes.

Please note – While this is a session aimed at teaching kids what yoga is and where it comes from, it’s not necessarily a starting point. This is a plan for those who have already had some practice of yoga. If you are just starting out I would recommend starting with these blog posts instead:

Why 15 Minutes of Yoga Could Transform Your Family’s Day—And How to Get Started

How to Easily Fit Yoga with Your Kid’s Into Your Busy Week (Even If You’ve Never Practiced Before)

Here is the Session Plan

Here is what I will cover in this post. My recommendation would be to read through the post in detail and then if you need guidance during your session, write down these 7 steps before hand so you’ll have a quick reminder of what you’re going to practice together. Remember Yoga with kids is never about following a plan perfectly, it may look different to what I have laid out but the point is to keep the main elements in there. This session will work whether it’s a parent and child (or with multiple family members), or in a kids yoga class guided by their teacher.

Today’s Theme: What is Yoga?

1. Introduction: What does Yoga mean?
2. Discussion: How old is Yoga?
3. The Yoga Sutras in practice
4. Where are the yoga poses?
5. Check in
6. Stillness or Movement
7. Closing

---

What Does Yoga Mean?

Yoga is often translated as “union,” or to “Yoke” which means bringing things together—like our mind, body, and breath working in harmony. I like this definition and it is a great one to share with children but we can also open up a conversation with children as to what they think yoga is. You see children do not want big lectures or you to talk at them for ages, but by inviting them into a conversation about Yoga – this is going to much more engaging.

I am going to share another definition of yoga with you in a moment but for that one I’d like to invite you to explore this definition as a practice with playful activities you can share with your child or students.

How Old is Yoga?

Start by asking children how old they think Yoga is. Let them have their guesses and then let them know that Yoga is an ancient practice that goes back thousands of years. Most historians believe yoga originated in India over 5,000 years ago. That is a long time ago! Can you imagine how different life was back then?

The Yoga Sutras

The Yoga Sutras are like a guidebook for how to live a happy and peaceful life. This is around 2000 years old. They were written by a very wise person named Patanjali thousands of years ago in India.

I want to share with you two of the Yoga Sutras and then how you can teach this to children.

The definition of Yoga by Patanjali is: Yogaś-citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ (Sutra 1.2)

It translates to Yoga is resolution of the mind’s activity, yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.

If we look at this Sutra with the following….

Tadā Draṣhṭuḥ Svarūpe Avasthānam(Sutra 1.3)

And then, you can abide as your own true form.

We can see that yoga can be described as a way to discover or reveal what we already are or who we already are by bringing some calm to our mind.

Instead of just sharing this with children through words, let’s put it into practice.

Mind Calming Practice (Sutra 1.2):
Lead kids in a “mind calming” activity, You can use a glitter jar, a snow globe or even a fizzy drink in a bottle. The idea here is to show children how everything is all mixed together, busy – even cloudy looking. With the fizzy drink it looks like it all wants to explode out (and if we removed the lid, it would, so let’s not do that!).

But if we put it down. We take time to breathe and we just watch the ‘snow’, the ‘glitter’ or the bubbles, we start to see it settle. This much like our thoughts. Our minds can get so busy, like it’s all been shaken up, but we have the power to calm our minds, to let it all settle back into stillness.

This is a great way to show this concept visually. Encourage children to get even more engaged with this practice by asking questions like:

• If your mind were like a snow globe (or glitter jar/fizzy drink), what would help it settle?
• Have you ever felt like your thoughts were moving too fast? What helped you feel calm again?

True Self Activity (Sutra 1.3):
Ask them to think about what makes them – them: “What’s something that makes you you? Maybe it’s a favourite thing you love to do or something you’re really good at. Maybe it’s just who you are and what you believe in. What are some things about you?” You can make a poster, do a journaling activity or just have sharing circle /share with each other. Join in yourself too.

Another practice you could do with the older ones is “Who are you?”. This is an activity to do in pairs. One person starts by asking the other person “Who are You?”. Usually the first response is pretty basic – a name possibly. Then the person asks again “Who are you?” This invites a deeper response but probably still quite surface level. We keep this going 5 times and by the 5th we really get at the heart of who we are. Be sure to swap round.

This activity is a great one for doing after our mind calming practice as it joins the Sutras together. The calming of the mind so we can be our truest self. Without the negative mind chatter, or the judgement but a moment to really connect with who we are.

Here are some questions you can reflect on with your child/students?

• What do you think being your “true self” means?
• If you could write a sutra for someone, what advice would you give them about feeling happy, calm or living more mindfully?

Where Are The Yoga Poses?

Today we practiced yoga together but we didn’t do any poses. Reflect with the children about why that is. If yoga isn’t just about poses, what else is it about? – This is a chance to reflect on the definition of yoga and the practices we did inspired by the Yoga Sutras teachings.

Body Check-In: “What Does Your Body Need?”

Invite children to close their eyes (or soften their gaze) and ask:

• “Let’s take a moment to check in with our bodies. Do you feel like your body needs rest and stillness, or do you feel like you need to move and shake out some energy?”
• “There’s no right or wrong answer—it’s about listening to what your body is asking for.”

Encourage them to decide what they need without pressure.

---

Calm or Movement?

Based on the child’s/ children’s responses, decide together how to end the session. Offer two choices:

Option 1: Stillness

• Guide them into Savasana (Resting Pose), use a blanket and get cosey. You can read more about ways to practice savasana here.
• End with gratitude: “Take a moment to thank yourself for practicing yoga today. And thank all the yoga teachers before us who shared these beautiful practices with the world.”

Option 2: Energetic Movement – Dance Party

• Play fun music and have a dance party or a quick movement game to release energy.
• Example: “Let’s celebrate everything we learned today with a dance! Move in any way that feels joyful and free. Let’s shake out anything we don’t need and make space for calm and happiness!”

---

Final Closing Ritual

No matter how you end—calm or energetic—bring everyone back together for a short closing. Take a breath together, join your hands together at your heart space and end in the way you choose. Here is what I would say:

“Thank you for practicing yoga with me today. Yoga isn’t just something we do; it’s something we live and feel.”

And then I would end the way I always end with the children repeating it back to me…

“Om Shanti Shanti Shanti, Om Peace Peace Peace.”

If you enjoyed this post you may like to check out:

For Teachers:

The Ultimate Lesson Plan Bundle For Kid’s Yoga Teachers – 20 Done for you lesson plans

Anxiety and The Breath – An in depth masterclass about supporting children in managing anxiety through effective breathwork practices and running your own powerful classes and workshops with the techniques shared.

For Parents:

The Family Yoga Superhero Bundle! – Fun superhero themed session plans for your home practice plus a printable journal to encourage mindfulness.

Family Yoga: 15-Minute Calm & Connect Yoga Sessions – 7 day guided video series – the ultimate reset for helping to bring some calm and connection back to you and your child.