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It’s almost bedtime. The kids are squabbling over toys, refusing to get out of the bathtub, squirting toothpaste at each other, or otherwise acting giddy with stuffed animals and giggles flying around the bedroom. No matter what exactly this time of day looks like at your house, you’d probably love a moment of serenity. Impossible? Perhaps not—once you introduce some children’s yoga moves to your family’s nighttime routine.
The Benefits of Children’s Yoga Moves Before Sleep
Mariam Gates, author of Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story, says it’s often parents’ “first impulse” to calm the chaos. “Sure, there’s times where that is your role,” she explains. But there’s also an opportunity to harness your children’s energy and teach them “how to use the body as a tool” to settle down, she says.
“What we’re looking for is a reset button for families,” says Gates, who holds a master’s in education from Harvard University and founded Kid Power Yoga. “We have to teach our kids it’s okay to be disappointed. It’s okay to be sad, angry, happy, proud, excited. All of that is part of this human existence. But we need to be able, at the end of each day, with all those swirling experiences and emotions, to understand that we get to reset.”
In a world where children’s calendars are packed with painting, soccer, Girl Scouts, and jiu-jitsu, Gates believes it’s vital they learn to let it all go at the end of the day. In Good Night Yoga, Gates prompts kids to self-soothe by taking long breaths in and long breaths out. The book also shows four- to eight-year-olds that they can move their bodies intentionally to release pent-up stress. Below, you can share a bedtime yoga sequence for kids in early to middle childhood from Gates’s book.
12 Children’s Yoga Moves to Get Them Ready for Sleep
Before each pose in the sequence, say the instruction aloud so children can follow along. Then say the affirmation and ask them to repeat it.
1. Sun Breath
Lengthening the breath soothes and prepares us for restful sleep.
How-to for kids: Inhale and reach your arms over your head. Exhale and bring your arms back down.
Affirmation: I am calm.
2. Cloud Gathering
Slow deliberate movement, such as in Cloud Gathering, communicates a sense of safety to the mind and body.
How-to for kids: Inhale and bend your knees. Exhale and straighten your legs, lifting your arms above your head.
Affirmation: I am strong.
3. Five-Pointed Star Pose
Kids will have fun pretending to be stars in this pose, and adults will appreciate the chest stretch.
How-to for kids: Step your feet wide and press your feet into the mat. Reach your arms wide like a star.
Affirmation: I am light.
4. Sidebending Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
This stretch targets the side body and facilitates ease in breathing.
How-to for kids: Inhale and stand up tall. Exhale and bend to one side. Inhale to come up and exhale to the other side.
Affirmation: I am peaceful.
5. Bird Pose
Balancing poses require concentration which gives the mind a rest from the events of the day.
How-to for kids: Stare at one spot in front of you. Lift your foot behind you and balance. Then switch feet.
Affirmation: I am graceful.
6. Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
This is another balancing pose that helps slow your thoughts as you focus.
How-to for kids: Stand tall like a tree. Rest your foot on your opposite ankle or above your knee and try to balance. Then switch feet.
Affirmation: I am balanced.
7. Ladybug Pose
Between work and school, adults and kids tend to spend long periods sitting. This pose stretches the hip flexors, helping to counteract any stiffness.
How-to for kids: Bend your knees, sit your hips down, roll your shoulders back, and press your palms together.
Affirmation: I am happy.
8. Butterfly Pose
At this point in the sequence, notice whether the energy in the room has calmed even slightly. You might take the opportunity in Butterfly Pose to close your eyes for a moment as a sleepy bug would.
How-to for kids: Sit on the mat, press your feet together, and roll your shoulders back.
Affirmation: I am safe.
9. Bee Pose
An opportunity for some inward reflection, Bee Pose helps kids tune out the outside world and focus on their movements (if only for a second!).
How-to for kids: Kneel on the mat and carefully lower your forehead to the ground. Reach your arms back and imagine you’re a bumble bee.
Affirmation: I am relaxed.
10. Cat and Cow Pose (Marjaryasana and Bitilasana)
Release tension in the shoulders, neck, and spine in Cat Pose and Cow Pose.
How-to for kids: Come onto your hands and knees. Inhale and look up, letting your back lower (as in the photo above). Exhale and tuck your chin, lifting your back high.
Affirmation: I am at ease.
11. Child’s Pose (Balasana)
This restorative pose stretches the lower back, hips, and thighs. Child’s Pose is also thought to calm the central nervous system, which relieves mental and physical tension.
How-to for kids: From kneeling, press your hips back toward your heels and rest.
Affirmation: I am at rest.
12. Corpse Pose (Savasana)
Many adults appreciate Savasana as the final resting pose of a yoga practice. When you teach it to kids, you might ask “What does it look like when you’re sleeping?” They can even practice this in bed.
How-to for kids: Lie on your back and breathe in and out. Close your eyes.
Affirmation: I am home.
This article has been updated. Originally published March 30, 2015.