Kids yoga in Florianópolis
Playful classes for children.
Kids yoga is yoga made for children, usually from around three to twelve. Poses become animals, trees and volcanoes, breathing becomes a game, and a story often ties it all together. Classes are grouped by age, because a four-year-old and a ten-year-old need very different things.
No classes scheduled in the next two weeks.
What Kids does for you
Your child gets to move, be silly and then be still, in that order. Animal poses and games invite balance, coordination and body awareness without anyone keeping score. Many kids enjoy the quiet part at the end more than parents expect, and some bring the breathing games home. For you, it is a calm, non-competitive activity that is not another sport.
It suits you if
- your child has energy to burn and also needs a way to wind down
- your child prefers games to competition
- you want a weekly activity that is calm without being boring
- your child is curious about what you do on your mat
Read the full guide to KidsWhat a class is like, your first time, history and the words you will hear
What a class is like
Classes for small children run 30 to 45 minutes; older kids often do 45 to 60. A typical class opens with a greeting circle, moves through a story or theme with animal and nature poses, adds partner games and balance challenges, and ends with a short rest under a blanket with a calm story or music. It is noisy at the start and quieter by the end. Parents usually wait outside for older groups or join in with the youngest. Facilitators keep it playful and rarely correct alignment, and Sanskrit names are often swapped for German or English ones.
Your first time
- Dress your child in comfortable clothes they can stretch in; practice is barefoot, so socks come off at the door.
- Skip a big meal right before class and bring a water bottle.
- Arrive a few minutes early so your child can see the space and meet the facilitator before the group starts.
- Tell the facilitator anything that helps, such as shyness, attention needs, allergies or which language your child is most at home in.
Good to know
- If your child has a medical condition, an injury or a developmental need, tell the facilitator, and check with your pediatrician if you are unsure.
- Some classes include a little chanting, an Om or a singing bowl at the end; ask beforehand if that matters to your family.
Where it comes from
Young people have long been part of modern yoga. In the 1930s, T. Krishnamacharya taught vigorous sequences to boys at the yoga school in the Mysore palace in southern India, sequences that later fed into Ashtanga yoga.
Children's yoga as its own discipline took shape in the West from the 1970s. Shakta Khalsa, a Montessori educator who taught Kundalini Yoga, began teaching children in that decade and argued that kids' yoga is a different thing from adult yoga made simpler; her book Fly Like a Butterfly appeared in 1998. Marsha Wenig founded YogaKids, which brought in animal sounds and play, and published her method in 2003.
By the 2000s, children's yoga trainings were widespread and yoga moved into schools. Some parents objected that yoga is tied to religion, and many programs responded by using English pose names and leaving out chanting.
In Germany, Kinderyoga is common in Kitas, schools and studios. In Berlin you find classes in German, English and bilingual mixes, mostly on weekday afternoons and weekend mornings.
Words you will hear
- Vrksasana
- Tree pose: standing on one leg like a tree, a classic balance game.
- Adho Mukha Svanasana
- Downward dog: hands and feet on the floor, hips high, like a stretching dog.
- Bhujangasana
- Cobra pose: lying on the belly and lifting the chest, often with a hiss.
- Savasana
- The rest at the end, lying still on your back; the name means corpse pose.
- Balloon breath
- A breathing game: fill your belly like a balloon, then let the air out slowly.