Building children’s self-confidence and regulation through yoga

A children’s yoga teacher on how animal poses, a cooperative game, a cooling breath and a colour meditation help children name their feelings and settle.

By Siri Mukta Kaur

Imagine a world where children were totally confident in their abilities and could use their skills to make the world a better place to live in.

Children’s actions often mirror their inner world. If they feel lost, concerned or angry, this may show up as outbursts or rumination. A happy, calm child adapts easily to situations and uses inner skills to solve problems. Helping children understand themselves changes how they respond to the world around them.

Yoga through play

Yoga helps children understand themselves positively and meaningfully. They can role-play animals and objects from nature, just as the ancient yogis watched nature to develop yoga poses.

In the poses, children take on the personas of animals and behave differently in a safe place. A usually noisy child can be quiet in the tortoise pose, while a quiet child can be noisy and boisterous like a lion.

Through yoga, children learn without competing. They come to understand their feelings, express themselves in new ways, and be creative and do what feels right during a class.

Yoga also gives physical benefits. Children stretch, learn movement, understand their limits, and discover flexibility or strengthen weaker muscles. Through yoga games they learn honesty, self-strength and supporting others. Cooperative games replace competition with teamwork, so children work toward common goals and understand themselves better.

A game to try: standing up together

1. Children sit in pairs, cross-legged and back to back.
2. They link arms at the elbows.
3. Without using their hands on the ground, they try to stand up together.
4. They must cooperate and lift at the right moment. Without helping each other, it’s hard to get up.

A breath for big feelings

Children can also learn simple breathing activities to manage situations. Breathing is vital, yet many of us don’t realise it can help manage feelings and responses. Children can become angry and frustrated quickly, especially before they have mastered language. A cooling breath can calm them in those moments.

Next time a child feels upset or angry, encourage them to try this:

1. Curl the tongue like a straw and hang it over the lower lip, or simply rest it along the lower lip.
2. Breathe in through the mouth, drawing cool air over the tongue, like sipping through a straw.
3. Breathe out through the nose.
4. Continue for 1 to 2 minutes, or 26 breaths.

Afterwards, whatever bothered them won’t seem so bad. The breath cools the body and the emotions. It also works on a hot day.

For the adult version, see Sitali Pranayam: the cooling breath.

Relaxation, then a colour meditation

After the physical activity and breathing, children are usually ready to relax. Even 30 seconds teaches focus and stillness. Very young children relax best with guided stories that encourage stillness and looking inward, such as a journey to the beach or a quiet forest. Older children can tighten and release their muscles. Relaxing music helps too.

Children also learn meditation through guided activities that build focus and self-awareness. This simple one helps them identify emotions:

1. Sit comfortably with a straight back.
2. Think of a colour.
3. Fill your body with that colour and surround yourself with it.
4. Notice how the colour makes you feel. (For younger children, suggest some feelings to help them find words.)
5. Think of another colour and repeat.
6. Notice whether your feelings change with the colour.
7. Open your eyes.
8. Share your experience with the group.

It takes 1 to 3 minutes, depending on age. You can also start the class with a “Colour Your Feeling” activity, then ask the children to notice whether their feelings change during the class.

Why it works

These tools help children understand themselves in fun, age-appropriate ways. As they recognise their underlying feelings (and the adults around them do too), they manage situations better. Children identify what they feel and use yoga to understand, express and move through it in positive, empowering ways.

Try these techniques in your own children’s yoga classes, or with children you know.

Illustrations are royalty free from Unsplash. Artists: همَّام (two images) and Silali Banerjee.