Try our easy garden yoga practise that is fun for all the family this summer. While yoga is seriously beneficial, yoga doesn’t have to be so serious all of the time. By making yoga a little more playful, children can have a lot of fun without being aware of the mental and physical benefits that yoga brings them. The following five poses are all “real” yoga asanas with some different bug and insect-inspired names. These postures may be practiced by people of all ages, not just children. No matter your age, try not to take yourself too seriously in these poses and practice having some fun with your garden yoga.
1. The Flower:
A flower uses energy from the sun and nutrients from the ground to grow tall and bloom. So pretend that you’re a flower. Stand up nice and straight, reach your arms overhead and pull your hands down in front of your heart, imagining that you are pulling all of that energy from the sun into your heart. Then use your arms to scoop up energy from the earth right into your heart. Try taking deep breaths when you’re reaching and scooping and exhaling when your hands are resting in front of your heart.
2. The Dragonfly (or Mountain Pose):
Stand up as straight as you can, reaching your arms out to the side of you, just like a dragonfly. Push your feet into the ground and see how long you can hold your body like the mighty dragonfly. Dragonflies have been around for 325 million years; that’s pretty impressive. Imagine that you are a dragonfly taking a rest on your favorite plant before flying away for a great adventure.
3. The Spider (or Star Pose):
Now spread your legs open and reach your arms up and out to the side, so that your legs and arms look just like a spider’s. Stand firm, reach out through your fingertips, and look at both of your hands and up toward the sky, just like a spider would look out at their web. Spiders can make a new beautifully designed web each day. Imagine that you are just as crafty as the spider is.
4. The Grasshopper (or Tree Pose) with a Hop:
Give your legs and arms a good shake. When you’re ready, plant your feet firmly into the ground, bend your knees a little, and then try bringing one foot above or below your other knee, making your legs look just like the grasshopper’s. If you can, reach your arms straight up toward the sky and then see how long you can stay balanced. A grasshopper can hop 20 times its body length! Are you ready to hop? Try hopping as high as you can with just one foot. Shake it out and try it on the other foot.
5. The Butterfly (or Butterfly Pose):
Now sit down for a rest. Make your back nice and straight, like the body of a butterfly, and bring the bottoms of your feet together. Your legs will look like a butterfly’s wings, and you may even flap your knees a little, just like a butterfly would when they fly away. Butterflies like to sun themselves, warming up their muscles for their next flight. Try closing your eyes and imagining that the warmth from the sun is energising you for the rest of your day.
While play is crucial to a child’s development, play is good for everyone and has been found to relieve stress, boost creativity, be energising, and even promote feelings of connection with others. These garden yoga poses inspired by bugs and insects are an opportunity for adults to connect with their little loved ones and introduce them to something they love doing.
Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play IS serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.
– Fred Rogers
