11 Yoga Poses for Toddlers & Preschoolers

Easy Yoga for Kids

Physical activity is important for everyone, including kids. Simple yoga poses can be great to help kids get to know their bodies and work on balance and stretching. I hope you and your kids will enjoy this easy yoga poses for toddlers and preschoolers.

I’ve included illustrations but the best way for your kids to learn these poses is to do it with them. If your kids are anything like mine they love to do anything you do! So spend a few minutes bonding by doing some yoga together.

I’m going to try to list these starting with easier moves and moving to slightly more difficult poses. Feel free to adapt them as necessary. Keep it fun and simply encourage your kids to try, we’re looking to get them moving, not perfection.

There are endless variations of these poses if you look online. Everyone does them a little differently. If you’re having trouble figuring out what exactly you’re supposed to do for a pose or it’s uncomfortable to do then create your own variation. Just imagine how that animal might stand or move or let your kids invent the pose for that animal themselves.

Start your yoga session by sitting on the floor crosslegged and resting your hands on your knees. Practice breathing deeply in and out. Breathe deeply from your diaphragm, belly out on the inhale and belly in on the exhale. Once your focused move into another pose.

1 – Butterfly Pose

Staying seated, shift your feet from being crossed so that the bottoms of your feet are touching with knees bent. Flutter your legs up and down like a butterfly’s wings.

2 – Cat/Cow Poses

Shift up onto all fours. Arch your back up while pointing the top of your head towards the floor in cat pose. Then put your head up and push your belly down into cow pose. Slowly go back and forth between cat and cow pose several times.

3 – Lion Pose

Lion pose is a great one for kids as they get to be kind of silly. Shift back so that you are sitting on your heels. Place your hands on either knee and sit up tall and proud like a lion. Stick your tongue and open your mouth wide…maybe even growl a little.

4 – Snake Pose

Snake or Cobra pose is a fun one. lay down on your belly. Then place your hands flat on the floor under your shoulders. One hand on either side of your chest. Press down lifting your torso up and look towards the sky. Hold for a few moments then lower down and repeat.

If you’re ready for more of a challenge, once you’ve pushed your body up into snake post, life your toes up towards your head like in the first image up above.

5 – Turtle Pose

Return to a seated position, similar to what you did for butterfly pose. Sit with the bottoms of your feet touching. Place your hands under your feet or press them out under your knees and lean forward tucking in like a turtle in it’s shell.

6 – Baby Pose

Sit back on your bottom and then roll so you’re laying on your back. Pull your knees up and grab one foot with each hand. Rock your body lightly back and forth just like happy babies do.

7 – Monkey Pose

Sit with legs crossed or stand and swing your hands back and forth like a monkey. There are endless variations of this pose online but the bottom line here is to move your body like a monkey would.

8 – Dog Pose

In adult yoga this is the super common post called downward dog or downward facing dog. Press your hands down flat on the floor in front of your bending the knees slightly. Jump or walk your feet backward (you will be on your tiptoes). Your body will form a sort of a triangle.

9 – Frog Pose

Frog pose is a fun one but those of us that aren’t kids probably can’t hold it very long. Squat down with knees apart and place your hands on the floor between your legs. Stick your tongue out to catch some bugs or take a little hop.

10 – Giraffe Pose

Standing tall step one foot forward, like you’re going to do a lunge. Reach your hands up tall overhead to create a giraffe neck. Then bend forward, with your arms still outstretched over head. As you come down lower your hands to the floor to nibble some grass. Then stand back up and do it on the other side.

11 – Flamingo Pose

Flamingo pose is great for practicing balancing on one foot. You can do it similar to tree pose. Raise your arms over your head and lift one leg gently balancing the foot on your standing leg. Another option is to raise only one arm overhead, then bend one leg and grab your foot with your hand.

For kids that are just starting just practice standing on one leg and then try to raise one or both hands overhead without falling over.

I hope you and your kids enjoy these 11 fun yoga moves. Do just your favorites or do all of them if you find your child really enjoys doing it. If you want to see moves in action or want some somewhat silly videos for them to watch and follow along with I recommend you check out Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube.

Thanks for sharing!