How can yoga help children move, breathe, concentrate and feel more connected to their bodies?
In this children’s yoga podcast, The Muddy Puddle Teacher® speaks with Nic from Australia about introducing yoga to children through movement, imagination and playful outdoor experiences.
The conversation explores how simple yoga-inspired activities can support physical development, emotional regulation, confidence and wellbeing. It also considers how practitioners can introduce yoga without expecting young children to remain completely still, silent or perfectly positioned.
Children’s yoga can be creative, active and accessible. It might involve pretending to be animals, moving like the weather, balancing like trees or taking a few slow breaths before beginning an activity.
This episode is ideal for Early Years practitioners, primary teachers, teaching assistants, SEND staff, childminders, parents and anyone interested in supporting children’s physical and emotional wellbeing.
Listen to Nic Talking about Yoga in Australia.
View the entire Muddy Puddle Teacher Podcast Episodes.
What Will You Learn in This Podcast?
In this episode, Nic shares ideas and reflections about using yoga with children.
The conversation explores how movement, breathing and body awareness can be introduced in ways that feel enjoyable rather than formal.
You will hear how yoga can support children to notice how their bodies feel and recognise when they may need movement, rest or a calmer moment.
The episode also considers the importance of adapting yoga for different ages, abilities, communication styles and sensory needs.
Children do not need to copy every movement perfectly. Yoga should not become another activity in which they feel corrected, compared or unsuccessful.
Instead, it can provide a safe opportunity to experiment with movement and discover what feels comfortable.
Explore more ways to support children through our Outdoor Learning and Wellbeing Hub.
What Is Children’s Yoga?
Children’s yoga uses movement, breathing, stories and imagination to introduce simple elements of yoga in an age-appropriate way.
It may include stretching, balancing, changing position, noticing the breath and moving between periods of activity and rest.
For younger children, yoga is often most successful when it is connected to familiar animals, stories, nature or imaginative situations.
A child might stretch like a cat, stand firmly like a tree, curl into a small seed or move slowly like a turtle.
The purpose is not to achieve a perfect pose.
It is to help children explore their bodies, build confidence and experience different ways of moving and resting.
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Why Introduce Yoga to Children?
Children experience busy days filled with noise, instructions, transitions, social interaction and expectations.
Yoga can offer a different type of experience.
It gives children opportunities to move deliberately, notice their bodies and pause between activities.
Regular yoga-inspired movement may support balance, coordination, flexibility, strength and body awareness.
Breathing activities can also help children notice the connection between their breath, body and emotions.
Yoga is not a cure for anxiety, dysregulation or additional needs, and it should never replace professional support. However, it can become one useful part of a wider approach to children’s wellbeing.
Discover further practical ideas through our Children’s Outdoor Wellbeing Resources.
Taking Children’s Yoga Outdoors
Outdoor spaces are well suited to yoga because they provide room to move and natural inspiration.
Children can listen to birds, notice the wind, look at the sky and feel the ground beneath them.
Nature can also inspire movements without the need for complicated instructions.
Children might sway like long grass, stretch towards the sun, balance like a bird or make themselves small like a seed beneath the soil.
Taking yoga outdoors can make the experience feel less formal and reduce pressure for children who dislike performing movements in front of others.
There is often more room for children to choose their own space and adapt movements comfortably.
Visit our Early Years Outdoor Learning Ideas page for more ways to use everyday outdoor spaces.
Yoga, Breathing and Emotional Regulation
Emotional regulation develops gradually and usually requires support from trusted adults.
Young children cannot always calm themselves simply because an adult tells them to take a breath.
Breathing exercises are most useful when they are practised during calm, enjoyable moments rather than introduced only during distress.
Over time, children may begin to recognise a familiar breathing pattern or movement as something that helps them pause.
Adults can model the activity without demanding participation.
Some children may enjoy focusing on breathing, while others may find it uncomfortable or difficult. These children can be offered movement, pushing, stretching or another appropriate regulation activity instead.
Yoga should add to the range of strategies available to a child rather than becoming a compulsory response.
Learn more through our Outdoor Learning for Children with SEND pillar page.
Supporting Physical Development Through Yoga
Children’s yoga can support both large and controlled movements.
Balancing positions encourage children to adjust their bodies and develop stability.
Stretching can help them explore their range of movement, while moving between the floor and standing develops coordination and strength.
Yoga can also support spatial awareness as children learn to move within their own area without bumping into others.
These skills connect naturally with the Early Years Foundation Stage and primary physical education.
However, children’s bodies develop at different rates.
Adults should avoid forcing positions, pushing children deeper into stretches or expecting every child to move in the same way.
Comfort, choice and safe participation matter more than appearance.
Explore our Outdoor Physical Development Activities for additional movement ideas.
Using Yoga to Support Communication and Imagination
Yoga can become a rich communication and storytelling experience.
Adults can introduce a simple journey and invite children to create movements for the characters, animals or environments they encounter.
A walk through an imaginary jungle might involve tall trees, small insects, flowing rivers and resting animals.
Children can suggest what happens next and decide how different parts of the story should move.
This creates opportunities for vocabulary, listening, sequencing and collaborative thinking.
Children who communicate non-verbally can participate through gesture, facial expression, movement, symbols or choices.
There should be no requirement to speak or explain every movement.
Making Children’s Yoga Inclusive
Yoga sessions should be adapted so that children can participate in ways that work for their bodies and needs.
Movements can be completed while standing, sitting or lying down.
Children with limited mobility can take part through smaller movements, supported positions, breathing, visual focus or sensory experiences.
Some children may prefer to watch before joining. Others may want to repeat one movement rather than follow a full sequence.
Children with sensory sensitivities may find music, bare feet, close physical proximity or instructions about breathing uncomfortable.
Adults should offer choices and avoid touching or repositioning a child without consent.
Visual prompts and predictable sequences can help children understand what will happen.
The aim is not for every child to produce an identical pose.
The aim is for every child to have a safe and meaningful opportunity to participate.
Find further inclusive support in our SEND Outdoors Resource Hub.
Children’s Yoga Does Not Need to Be Silent
Practitioners sometimes worry that yoga is not working when children laugh, talk or move away from the planned sequence.
Children’s yoga will not always look calm from the outside.
Young children may need to explore a movement several times, make sounds, contribute ideas or move energetically before resting.
A successful session may include both activity and stillness.
The adult can provide clear boundaries while allowing the experience to remain playful.
Children should not be criticised for losing balance, changing a pose or finding stillness difficult.
When yoga becomes another test of compliance, many of its potential benefits are lost.
Two Simple Yoga Ideas to Try
Nature Shape Yoga
Take the children outside and invite them to choose something they can see in nature.
They might notice a tree, bird, flower, cloud or insect.
Ask them to create a movement or shape inspired by it.
There is no single correct answer. Allow children to explain or demonstrate their ideas and invite the group to try some of the suggested movements.
This activity supports observation, physical development, communication and creativity.
Growing from a Seed
Invite children to make themselves small like a seed resting in the soil.
Describe gentle rain falling and warm sunlight reaching the ground.
Children can slowly begin to grow, lifting their heads, extending their arms and eventually standing tall like a plant.
They can then move gently as though the wind is blowing.
Keep the activity short and allow children to adapt the movements.
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Introducing Yoga Without Increasing Workload
Children’s yoga does not need a specialist room, elaborate equipment or a long lesson plan.
A short movement sequence can be used at the beginning of the day, after a transition or as part of an outdoor learning session.
Practitioners can start with two or three familiar movements and repeat them regularly.
Repeated routines are often more valuable than constantly introducing something new.
Children gain confidence when they know what to expect and have time to practise.
Yoga can also be connected to current learning.
A topic about plants might inspire growing and tree movements. A minibeast theme could involve curling, stretching and moving in different ways.
The experience should support existing provision rather than create another demanding task for staff.
Explore our Yoga Display Cards for manageable ways to build practitioner confidence.
Yoga in Early Years Settings
In Early Years, yoga works best when it remains playful, flexible and brief.
Young children learn through imitation, repetition, stories and movement.
They may only engage with one or two parts of a session before moving on.
This does not mean the experience has failed.
Practitioners can introduce yoga through songs, stories, familiar animals or seasonal changes.
Simple movement language such as stretch, curl, reach, balance, bend and rest helps children develop physical vocabulary.
Yoga can also complement continuous provision.
Children might independently revisit familiar movements in a quiet outdoor area or use picture prompts to create their own sequence.
Visit our Yoga Poses Hub to develop your wider approach.
Yoga in Primary Schools
For primary-aged children, yoga can become part of physical education, wellbeing work, classroom transitions or outdoor learning.
Older children may be able to reflect on how different movements affect their bodies.
They can create short sequences, lead small groups or connect poses to a story, topic or natural environment.
Adults should continue to avoid presenting yoga as a competition.
Flexibility and balance vary considerably, and children should not be praised only for performing advanced movements.
Success can mean participating, making a thoughtful choice, noticing a physical sensation or respecting personal limits.
About Nic from Australia
Nic joins The Muddy Puddle Teacher® from Australia to talk about yoga, movement and supporting children’s wellbeing.
In this podcast, she shares her enthusiasm for making yoga accessible, enjoyable and appropriate for children.
The conversation provides inspiration for teachers, practitioners and families who would like to introduce more purposeful movement, breathing and body awareness into children’s everyday experiences.
Follow
Facebook group – www.facebook.com/groups/thechildrensyogaacademy
Facebook page – www.facebook.com/southeastyogaandwellbeing
Instagram – @south_east_yoga
Linkedin – www.linkedin.com/in/nic-russell-8a5219113/
About The Muddy Puddle Teacher®
The Muddy Puddle Teacher® helps teachers and practitioners take meaningful learning outdoors through practical, sustainable and low-cost ideas.
Founded by teacher, Bloomsbury author and outdoor learning consultant Sarah Seaman, The Muddy Puddle Teacher® supports schools, nurseries, childminders and families through resources, courses, podcasts, videos and outdoor learning inspiration.
Our approach is not Forest School. We help educators take everyday curriculum learning, movement and wellbeing experiences into playgrounds, gardens and school grounds.
Discover our Outdoor Learning Training Courses for Teachers.
Listen to Our Children’s Yoga Podcast
This episode is an encouraging introduction to children’s yoga, movement and body awareness.
Listen to Nic from Australia discuss how yoga can be adapted for young children and used to support physical development, imagination and emotional wellbeing.
Then begin with one small, manageable experience.
Invite children to create shapes inspired by nature or use a short growing movement to help them transition into outdoor learning.
Listen to Let’s Talk About Yoga with Nic from Australia
Download the Free Outdoor Learning Magazine
Frequently Asked Questions
What age is children’s yoga suitable for?
Yoga-inspired movement can be adapted for children from the Early Years onwards. Activities should be short, playful and appropriate for children’s physical development.
Do teachers need a yoga qualification to use simple yoga-inspired movements?
Teachers can use basic stretching, movement, breathing and imaginative activities within their normal practice. More advanced yoga teaching or specialist programmes may require appropriate training and insurance.
Can children’s yoga be completed outdoors?
Yes. Outdoor areas provide space, fresh air and natural inspiration for movement. Children can create shapes based on plants, animals, weather and the surrounding environment.
Can yoga support children with SEND?
Yoga-inspired activities may support movement, body awareness and regulation for some children. Sessions should be adapted to individual sensory, communication and physical needs, and participation should never be forced.
Do children need yoga mats?
No. Many simple standing and seated movements can be completed without specialist equipment. Practitioners should check that the surface is safe, comfortable and suitable for the chosen activities.
Author Box
Written by Sarah Seaman PGCE MA
Founder of The Muddy Puddle Teacher®
Teacher for over 19 years
Bloomsbury author
Trainer of thousands of teachers across the UK
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