Kids Yoga

Lesson Planning for Kids Yoga Class

Do you use a lesson plan for your kids’ yoga sessions?

We do! There are a number of ways you can structure your lesson plan to help children succeed in yoga class. We cover lesson planning more thoroughly in the Themes and Dreams 16-hour Kids Yoga Teacher Training.

This Free Mini-Training gives you some very valuable tips around lesson planning, especially the most useful things you can do when planning for a series of Kids’ Yoga Classes.

Highlights:

00:00 – Intro
01:20 – The Dish with one spoon
03:20 – Timeline of this Free Mini-Training
04:08 – Why Learn from Aruna?
05:22 – Most useful things you can do when planning for a series of Kids’ yoga classes?
07:40 – Establishing a Routine
10:56 – 3 Routines in each Kids Yoga Class in a series
11:25 – Opening Routines
15:40 – Why Games at the End?
19:15 – Closing Routine
29:45 – Memorize lesson plan or use written notes?
34:20 – Do you use a lesson plan for your kids’ yoga sessions?
37:04 – Waiver for students
39:19 – Your Options for earning your Kids Yoga Teacher Certificate
42:25 – Themes and Dreams
43:19 – Free Mini-Training in April

Get the PDF of the Presentation

You can download the PDF of the presentation in our Free resources here:

Get the PDF HERE

Get more Free Mini Training for Teaching Kids Yoga at the Monthly live-zoom events.

Continuing Education with Yoga Alliance

This training qualifies for Continuing Education (CE) for Yoga Alliance registered Yoga Teachers. A CE Certificate is available here. You can also earn Continuing Education credits by watching the replays of the other Kids Yoga Mini-Trainings.

Earn your Full Certification Here

Get your Kids Yoga Teacher Certificate to teach yoga and mindfulness to children by enrolling in the Themes and Dreams training or taking the full 96 Hour Training for the highest level of Certification.

The Worst Kind of Kids Yoga Class

Last week I got an email from a new program coordinator looking for a kids yoga teacher for their March Break camps.

She wanted a teacher to come in for half an hour every day of March Break, thinking a half hour class would be cheaper than booking a full afternoon.

We couldn’t find a teacher who wanted to take the gig.

What Makes a Gig….Stink

A half hour class is one of the worst case scenario. I explained to her, and gave her a few reasons why. Here are the main ones:

March Break is a premium week for bookings because everyone is looking for special activities to do. Booking a 30 minute gig every day of March break limits your ability to take other better paying job. A teacher usually only goes to 2 locations a day, so each location has to be worth it.

Teachers factor travel time into their hourly rate, but that doesn’t translate well for a 30 minute invoice. A lot of time traveling and a little time teaching doesn’t balance out when it comes to the payment.

Then there are the teachers who have children at home during March Break and need to get childcare while they are out teaching. They have that expense to cover through what they invoice as well.

Sometimes as a kids yoga teacher, you have to educate your customer about your pricing. Some customers don’t realize that the length of time of the class is not the issue, it is showing up that costs the most.

If you are going to a location, you want it to be worth your while.

When I was teaching kids yoga full time in schools, daycare centres, and community centers I built my ideal schedule over a few years. As I found better gigs, the first classes that I dropped were the single classes at a location.

The first class I quit was a one hour class in an after school program. The class was filled with 20+ children and paid the union wage for teachers working for the school board (about $25 back in 1999). That was my number one Bu-BYE!

What I really liked were the two to three hour bookings at one location so that I could invoice a larger amount and cut down on my travel time.

Think about it! Would you rather bill for 5 days at 30 minutes a day, or for 5 x 30 minute classes in one afternoon? It’s obvious when you look at it that way. Sometimes you need to educate your customers so they understand what they are asking.

What to Charge for a Kids Movement Class

Here is an article I wrote about what to charge for a kids yoga class that you may find helpful.

Now that classes are starting to open up again, remember that the more you teach and the more classes you have, the more picky you can be about the classes you accept.

Just because someone offers you a class doesn’t mean you have to accept it.

In fact, it’s a sign that your business is healthy when you can start turning down classes that don’t work for your schedule and your income goals.

A 30 minute class at one location might be appealing for a new teacher starting their teaching journey, but over the years you will probably find, as I did, it just isn’t sustainable to run a business.

10 Incredible Ideas for Kids Yoga During Spring Break

We’re aiming to knock your socks off so you can do yoga with all these ideas!

In this blog post, we will give you 10 ideas for yoga classes that are perfect for youth during Spring Break.

Spring break, or March break as it’s called in my area, is a great time to get creative with your kids yoga classes. Not only are there a lot more of opportunities to teach, but you can also mix things up by trying out different themes, activities, and even a longer class duration.

Let’s get started!

Idea #1: Alphabet Yoga

We love the Yoga Alphabet best because it is great for kids of all ages. Those learning the alphabet can learn to identify letter and the sounds they make as they do yoga poses.

Readers can play word games like Yoga Wordle (see how here).

You can get a FREE poster of our Yoga Alphabet here.

Idea #2: Animal Yoga Theme

Kids love animals, and they will enjoy doing yoga poses inspired by their favorite creatures. In a week long camp, you can focus on one animal a day or mix it up by region or type, like Animals of the Arctic, Animals of Africa, or Zoo animals.

children use a breathing ball, opening and closing it wiht their breath to demonstrate the pace of their breathing. — Children set the pace with the Breathing Ball in a Yoga Class

Idea #3: Yoga Breathing Theme with the Breathing Ball

The breathing ball is a great tool to help kids learn how to control their breath. Breathing exercises are an important part of yoga, and they can be very calming for kids (and adults!). Get some really useful Breathing Ball tips in this article.

Balance a stuffie, like this puppy dog, to help keep children engaged.

Idea #4: Yoga Poses with Props

Using props in yoga poses is not only fun, but it can also help kids stay engaged in the poses for longer times. Some great props to use with kids are yoga balls that can be rolled or passes.

Yoga blocks or stuffies are also great for balancing, whether the children are balancing on them (walking across the yoga blocks like a balance beam) or the blocks and stuffies are balancing on the children in various poses. We explore this technique in the Mindfulness for Children Certificate.

A kids yoga teacher and kids around the paper sekleton they are creating, the teacher is engaged with the kids and ready to adjust her plan when needed. — Kids make a child size skeleton of the human body during craft time.

Idea #5: Kids Yoga Crafts

A longer kids yoga class is the perfect opportunity to do some fun crafts afterwards.

You can make your own life size skeletons, glitter jars, balancing eagles, eye pillows or a craft that goes along with your theme. For example, if you did an animal yoga class, you could make animal masks or puppets afterwards.

Idea #6: Story Book Yoga

There are so many great yoga books that have poses on each pose. This makes for an easy lesson plan. Or you can take a story you like and add yoga poses to each part, getting inspiration from the theme or illustrations. Here’s an example with the Zen Story: The Empty Cup.

Idea #7: Kids Yoga Games

Games are always a fun way to keep kids engaged in class. There are lots of great kids yoga games that you can use, like the Scavenger Hunt, or these great activities to enhance your camps.

Get Ready for some Noise! With this Yoga for Boys Sun Salutation!

Idea #8: Yoga Sun Salutations

Sun salutations (Surya Namaskar) are a great way to start any yoga class. Sun Salutations for Kids are easier with music or with visual props like you get in the Inclusive Yoga Module with the Yoga Man vs. The Stressor coloring pages.

Idea #9: Partner Yoga Poses

Partner yoga is a great way to get kids working together and having fun. It’s also a good opportunity for kids to learn how to support each other. In my experience from 20 years of teaching children, partner yoga is great with children who are over 5 years old. Children under 5 are best partnered with an adult as you would in a family yoga class.

We cover more Partner Yoga ideas in our Yoga Literacy Training.

Yoga bedtime routine for children — Don’t Forget Your Feet for a Good Night’s Sleep!

Idea #10: Relaxation Techniques for Children

Relaxation is an essential part of any yoga class, and kids need it just as much as adults.

While your relaxation time may involve some trouble shooting, there are lots of great techniques that you can use with kids. Some favorites include visualization, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation.

Tips for Giving a Quote for your Kids Yoga Classes

To round it all off, we know you may be giving a quote for your kids yoga class.

Remember that March/Spring Break is a premium time and most teachers usually charge more for a one time class, and give a lower rate for a series of classes. Get some tips on what to charge here.

We hope these ideas have inspired you to create some amazing yoga classes for kids during March break!

The Certificate to Support Your Teaching

If you are looking for a Certificate to support your teaching, you are invited to check out the Young Yoga Masters training with our Yoga Alliance Registered School.

You’ll get tons of ideas and also earn your 96 Hour Certificate with our Yoga Alliance Registered Children’s Yoga School.

Lessons Learned from Marketing Without Social Media

There was a time I tried marketing my business on social media and I can say creating content consumed a LOT all of my time.

The thing is, marketing on Facebook or Instagram is not as effective as it used to be. The rules and algorithms of these platforms are always changing and it’s challenging to figure out how to keep up with the trend.

If you’re trying to reach a broader audience to share yoga with children and families, this struggle is probably real for you too.

How to Build a Business as a Solo-preneur

As a solo-preneur, doing all the things, you know how hard it is to keep up with everything. I learned the hard way, trying and getting very miserable and stressed out.

Then I looked back on my efforts and saw:

very little change in sales,
minuscule growth on my social media,
backwards momentum on my website SEO and newsletter readers.

My SEO ranking and email newsletter were hurting. Instead of building my email list, I was building my “followers” on social media, but the problem was, I couldn’t actually communicate with them unless I ran a paid ad.

Evaluate the Benefits of Social Media

I evaluated what I was doing, the time, effort, and payoff and saw I was working harder but it was not paying off in what really matters for a business, being sustainable.

As I often do, I put everything on the table to decide what was the best way forward.

At the same time, one of the business people I like, Leonie Dawson, was launching a Marketing Without Social Media course.

I paid for it right away because I loved the idea of getting off the social media hamster wheel. Then I dug into that course with passion. Truth be told, I didn’t actually finish the course the first time. Half way through, I had so many ideas for alternative marketing, I felt back on track.

Marketing Without Social Media Ideas

What did I actually learn in the course the first time?

The biggest takeaway for me was to invest in media that I own. This means building my own website where people can find out what my business is about.
Second was to start my newsletter again so people can stay connected with kids yoga and being a teacher.
Third was to be social outside of social media. This is building a real community and connecting with people in meaningful ways. This included doing the Monthly Check-In (now running for over a year!). You could also interview people or get interviewed by others, do joint workshops, sub for others, anything to cross promote yourself with other communities.

Insights into Marketing

I put these ideas into action, and I saw how Leonie also did this in her business, including offering to be interviewed. My colleague Claire from Ambassador Yoga and I jumped on this offer and interviewed Leonie. We really picked her brain about business!

Leonie is a self-taught marketing specialist and self-made multi-millionaire.

An pictureof the teacher, Leonie Dawson, standing outdoors and smiling with the text: marketing without social media. — The next live round starts March 1, 2022 – I’ll be taking it again.

This self-paced course, Marketing Without Social Media begins March 1. There are a couple of live interactive zoom calls with this inspiring human, Leonie Dawson.

I will be taking the course again and would love to see you there. I want us all to become more confident with marketing so we can bring more yoga to children and families.

Marketing without social media course

There are so many options that are more effective than posting on Instagram. Let’s invest our time in those!

Marketing Without Social Media: The Leonie Dawson Interview

Ready to learn how to market your kids’ yoga classes more effectively?

We got to interview our business mentor, Leonie Dawson, about marketing and running a business.

Leonie is a self-taught marketing specialist and self-made multi-millionaire.

In the following videos, you’ll get insights about marketing, how to use social media strategically, and lots and lots of business tips.

Warning: There are some everyday curse words (for some people) in this video, so you’ve got to watch the videos on the Yoga Trainer Fast Track YouTube channel.

Finding Your Voice in Business

Leonie Dawson (she/they) answers our questions about what practices she used to find her voice to resonate with others and why mindset matters in business.

Lessons Learned in Business

In this video, we ask Leonie to give us some tips for those starting out. We also talk about the biggest surprises over many years of success, and how to regularly check if your business is going in the right direction, to make sure you don’t end up in a business you hate.

The productivity hack Leonie uses to consistently achieve big goals

Learn how Leonie sets goals and manages her ideas to translate into sales.

They also speak about the importance of financial literacy for women and non-binary people, motivating us to move forward in business in healthy, sustainable ways.

Social Media is not a sustainable marketing method for your business, here’s why

Learn the benefits you and your business can get from using social media less. Watch to the end of this video to hear a success story that came from Leonie’s simple strategies.

Leonie’s online course Marketing Without Social Media begins March 1. The course is mainly self-paced but includes live interactive calls with this inspiring human.

I am going to take the course again and would love to see you there. I want us all to learn how to gain more confident with a marketing plan that does not involve posting on Instagram, scrolling, and hoping for the best. There are so many other options that are more effective for your business.

Marketing without Social Media – More Info Here:

Marketing without social media

While I have not cut off social media altogether, I have cut back to an amount that I feel better about. If you feel like you could be doing a lot better with your marketing if you cut back on social media, then check it out.

If you want to find out more about how this course helped me the first time I took it, take a look at this article.

Marketing Without Social Media – Part 1

Are you offering kids yoga classes in person again?

Does it feel like a million years since you’ve thought about how you can start marketing your services and classes?

It sure feels like a million years for me and it feels overwhelming figuring out where to even start after a long break.

Posting on social media seems easy, but what begins as a few minutes on Instagram and Facebook, turns into hours and I wonder whether it was time well invested.

Deciding what to write about, finding and editing the perfect picture, writing the caption, and hitting publish. An afternoon used up and if all goes well maybe a few people see it.

What’s more, it’s a trade off with social media, because when I focus on social media I neglect my newsletter. If I’m going to get only one of these marketing tasks done, the newsletter is a better choice to connect with others. But social media is more tempting and more distracting!

Effective Marketing Tools that are NOT Social Media

I adapted a strategy from the Marketing Without Social Media course with Leonie Dawson, who maintains a 7-figure business despite quitting social media a year ago.

My marketing strategy is now about connecting with others to build a real community and it has helped.

You’ve already seen a lot of Leonie’s ideas in this newsletters, like the free articles, the free Monthly Check-In etc. Things that contribute value to other teachers and create real connections.

Other Kinds of Network Marketing

This is all part of building a network with people you really care about.

I am thrilled that my Ambassador Yoga business partner (Claire) and I recorded an interview with Leonie Dawson this week!!!

In the video below, Claire and I discuss the importance of marketing for yoga teachers. No business can sustain itself without marketing and that’s true of a yoga business too.

Staying Focused with my Marketing Budget

My marketing budget is not huge, and I prefer to give my dollars to real people who will help me build community, rather than giving it to a corporation like Facebook or Instagram for ads.

Recently I’ve paid for:

A Goal Setting Workshop with Mado from the Yoga Teacher Resource Podcast,
A Group Coaching Program with Shannon Crow from The Connected Yoga Teacher,
and I’ll be taking the “Marketing Without Social Media” course AGAIN in the next live round that starts March 1.

This is another strategy I’m employing, rather than feeling like I need to send people to Facebook and Instagram, I’m going to point you towards real people I know and trust.

I think this kind of networking can expand in so many ways is so much more fulfilling than social media.

If you find that social media takes a lot of time and effort and doesn’t translate into sales, then we invite you to take a look at how you can start to build your network from the ground up.

I’ll be back with some good tips from Leonie next week.

Marketing Decisions for Yoga Teachers

Some thoughts for you to consider:

Do you have a marketing budget?
Who do you support with it?
Are you getting value for your money?
Is it time to find a better way?

Stay tuned for our Interview with Leonie Dawson and some more marketing tips coming soon!