Adults aren’t the only ones who feel the stress of the modern world we live in. In fact, current mental statistics confirm the fact that the kids and youth of today feel much more stressed in comparison to the previous generations. Therefore, it’s important to teach them how to unwind and show them different ways to see the world beyond the digital gadgets that surround them everywhere. By engaging in mindful activities like yoga they can become mentally smarter and show significant improvements in their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
Introducing Children to the World of Yoga with the Help of Cards
When it comes to choosing the right yoga equipment and materials for engaging young kids in interactive and fun yoga activities, yoga cards offer the perfect solution. These cards are exclusively designed for kids with special needs who can benefit immensely from the many yoga-style exercises. They are the perfect study tool that teaches kids how to recognise and honour their emotions and learn to trust their instincts, helping them improve their body posture, flexibility, and strength while maintaining good balance, better coordination, and motor skills.
According to many experts, kids engaging in yoga card activities and games have a better understanding of themselves, learning to be more self-acceptant and embrace others as they are. This inevitably helps kids from a young age to learn to deal with negative emotions in a constructive manner, decrease their anxiety levels, and learn to take time out just to be.
Since kids learn better through play, we’ve decided to give you a list of some simple and interactive yoga games you can start practicing with kids and teach them mindfulness and better learning strategies in a fun and creative manner.
Simple Ways to Play with Yoga Cards
Play a Memory Game
A fun memory game with yoga cards can be enjoyed either alone or with friends and adults in a classroom environment or at home. Through the joy of play, yoga cards can inspire kids to learn while enhancing their concentration and cognitive brain function all the while encouraging physical movement and teaching them to stay present.
The hand-illustrated memory cards feature 12 pairs of fun and easy-to-follow yoga poses, that when matched can be replicated by little ones. For instance, you can place all the yoga cars upside down in rows. Then each player is supposed to flip two cards at a time. If the player gets a yoga card that features a yoga pose that matches with its keyword then that player keeps the pair. The game proceeds until all pairs of cards have been matched. This memory game is a very good form of mental exercise for the brain, as it boosts both focus and attention, besides helping kids to stay focused for longer periods while having tons of fun.
Guess the Yoga Pose
For this type of game, you need to gather a deck of yoga cards and place each of the cards facedown. Then each player takes a turn at selecting a card that shows a specific yoga pose. The player is supposed to guess the yoga poses and try to make the pose on their own. If the player can’t guess the right name for the posture then he or she can ask friends for help. The process is repeated until each kid had their turn of flipping a card and guessing the pose.
This is a fun and interactive game that keeps the child both entertained and physically active. It also helps kids develop a love for exercise from a young age and learn the importance of social interaction. These cards represent visual representations of poses that kids might be more interested in copying and trying to make by themselves. This has proven to be a much better way of making a child try a certain pose rather than doing what an adult or yoga educator says in yoga class.
Rainbow Chakra Yoga Game
What’s a better way to teach a child the importance of the seven chakras in the human body than through a deck of a colourful deck of yoga cards. These unique chakra cards are intended to introduce kids of a younger age to the importance of balance, wellness, and peace in their lives. They can learn more about the rainbow in their body through different breathing exercises, affirmations, mantras, and the importance of the balancing and alignment of the seven chakras in their bodies.
These cards are specially designed to inspire playfulness, movement, and a healthy dose of activity on and off the mat, and are a must-have resource for kids, families, and children’s yoga classes that give enough importance to the kids’ mental and physical well being.
Mirror Yoga Game
For this game, the player needs to pick three to six yoga pose cards then present each one of them to the class. The person who starts the games acts as the leader. Then each of the players starts to copy the same yoga pose as if they are looking into a mirror. This card game is fun and enjoyable encouraging kids to play together while staying mentally and physically active.
