I love sharing yoga with my kids, whether they’re sitting close by playing on a tablet or they unroll their own mats and practice alongside me. And while I also fully admit there are times I want to head to my yoga mat to get a break from parenting, most of the time I’m delighted when my kids are involved.

If you’re used to a solo practice, the key to enjoying yoga with kids is to realize it will not be the same as the yoga practice you’re used to. 

But it’s great in its own way.

In today’s post, I’m sharing a few of my favorite poses to do with my daughter. We started practicing together a few times a week right before bed at the beginning of the school year to help soothe her jitters and to give us both some much-needed one-on-one time. 

It’s become a really sweet part of our bedtime routine.

Before you start

Consider buying props 

You don’t need anything special to practice yoga with kids, but if you want to encourage them it might be fun to have a few props, yoga mat, books, or even toys to get them excited about practicing yoga and mindfulness. Check out my last blog post with my list of favorite yoga gifts for kids.

(As long as you’re shopping, you might as well grab yourself a new yoga mat or women’s hoodie, too.) 

Change your mindset

Yoga with kids is different than yoga with other adults. Your little one might run in circles around your mat, climb on your back, and giggle the whole time. That’s OK! It’s very likely what they need to get into the present moment. Your job is to support and let the have fun.

Model the behavior you want to see

I don’t care much about whether or not my daughter is making the pose shapes with good alignment. But what I do care about is if she’s paying attention to how her body feels and taking full, deep breaths from time to time.

Don’t force it

There are evenings when my daughter wants to lead the practice. There are other times she looks to me to come up with poses to do. Last night, we decided to do a video together! (Thanks, Cosmic Kids Yoga!) Each practice looks different. But when she’s done after a couple poses, we wrap it up quickly and move on to something else. The last thing I want is to make our special yoga sessions a chore.

5 Favorite Kids Yoga Poses (for Kids and Parents)

Partner Twist

Come to sit in a comfortable, cross-legged position facing each other with your knees touching. Reach your right hand toward your left knee to come into a twist and have your child do the same. Bring your left hand behind you and around your right hip. Try to catch your child’s hands. Inhale take a big, deep breath in, Exhale twist just a tiny bit deeper.

Repeat to the other side.

Toe-to-Toe Stretch

Try some seated forward bends facing your child. You could try sitting with your legs outstretched out, soles of your feet touching. As you forward fold try to tickle your child’s feet. (They will love to tickle yours too!). 

Another great option is sit in a straddle position, toe to toe with your child. There are lots of options here. Side bend. Forward fold. Twist. 

Cat-Cow

Come to your hands and knees. Let your belly drop, Moo. Lift your spine and look toward your belly button, Meow. Then try adding in the breath.

Lizard on a Rock

This is my daughter’s favorite. Have the adult come into Child’s Pose. Your child will scoot in behind you until you are sacrum to sacrum. Then, have your child lie down, reaching their arms overhead. You can gently pull their hands to give them a bigger stretch. 

You can try letting your child pretend to be the rock next if your child is big enough not to be crushed under your weight. 🙂 My daughter is 8, and she’s fine.

Partner Savasana

No yoga practice is complete without at least a minute or two of Savasana. Now my daughter LOVES Savasana, especially before bed. But this wasn’t always the case. We usually lie side by side and hold hands for a few minutes before we wrap up our practice. But if you have a younger child, who you know won’t lie still, try having them sit in your lap while you both take a few slow, deep breaths together to finish out the practice.

Do you practice yoga with your little one? Tell me your favorite pose in the comments section below.