An interview with a preschool yogini

What is kids yoga and mindfulness? Is it exercise? Is it just another way to play? Or is there more to it than that?

Kid’s yoga and mindfulness is about children connecting with themselves to create a balance between their body, heart and mind.  They learn skills that boost their wellbeing and build awareness of their emotions and reactions.  The skills learnt in class can be taken off the mat and into the everyday.  A regular practice increases focus and aids concentration in the classroom.  Kid’s yoga and mindfulness creates strong, resilient and happy kids.

I caught up with Lucy, a 4 year old yogini who attends our weekly classes at Mascot Child Care Centre to find out what she thinks about kids yoga and mindfulness classes.

K: Hi Lucy, how are you today?

L: Good

K: What do we do in our yoga classes together?

L: We sing the Namaste song at the start.  We do poses and breathing and relaxation.  I like the poses the best.

K: What is your favorite yoga pose?

L: Butterfly. It makes me feel calm when we flap our wings.

K: What is your favorite breathing skill?

L: Finger Breathing because I can do it anywhere and it tickles and it makes me feel relaxed.

K: What is your favorite yoga game?

L: I like the game where we blow the balls to each other. Its fun and I like that I get to play with my friends.

K: What happens during relaxation?

L: We close our eyes, we lay down, we put our hands on our belly and we breathe. It’s nice, I feel calm after.

K: Finish this sentence for me “After yoga I feel….

L: Calm

K: If you were the yoga teacher, what would you do in your class?

L: We would go on a Bunny adventure.  We would do lots of poses and have a long relaxation.  It would be lots of fun!

K: Do you practice yoga outside of our class?

L: Yes at home with Mummy and Daddy.  I like doing yoga with Mummy and Daddy.  We do finger breathing and poses together.  Sometimes they show me what to do and sometimes I show them what to do.

K: Can you think of a time when your yoga helped you do something that was tricky?

L: Yes, I tried to do cartwheels.  It was really tricky, I tried 100,000 times and kept falling over but I kept trying. I didn’t give up.

K: Who can practice yoga?

L: Everybody!

K: What do you think the world would be like if everyone practiced yoga?

L: Everybody would be calm. It would be nice to live in a world where everyone did yoga.

K: Would you like to continue to practice yoga when you go to Big School?

L: Yes!

Lucy gives us some valuable insights to the benefits of a regular yoga and mindfulness practice from an early age.  The common themes she indicates to us are that yoga and mindfulness helps kids to feel calm, relaxed and connected to others – three important building blocks for creating a happy and successful life.

If you have a little yogi or yogini at home ask them these questions and find out what yoga and mindfulness means to them.

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson