Arctic Yoga for Kids
For the past six months, I’ve had the joy of leading a yoga story time for little ones and their families at our local library, and while I’ve loved each one, this month has been my favorite so far! Did the class go perfectly? Nope. In fact, I was still feeling pretty low-energy from a recent cold, and I kept getting tongue tied and forgetting the words to my songs 😂 And yet…
While playing Bear, Walrus, Owl (don’t worry, I’ll explain below), a parent spontaneously yelled “killer whale!” and scooped up her child from the mat. Obviously, plenty of giggles and play ensued, and to me, that is exactly what family classes are about - connection and joy!
I also struggled to find the perfect books this month, and even once I chose, I wasn’t 100% happy… but guess what? We read a book about underwear, and so of course the kids were SO engaged and had SO much fun, haha! Plus, not only was it easy to choose yoga poses for each page of the story, but kids were inspired to share their own poses afterwards too - which is such a wonderful way to use their imaginations and connect to their bodies.
And finally, I mentioned that I kept getting tongue tied and forgetting lyrics, right? Well, at one point, I was singing a rhyming song when my brain went completely empty. I even have notes, guys - the song was on the paper in front of me, but the fact that I could just look down? Yep, that left my mind as well! I froze for a sec, filled in a sentence (that didn’t even come close to rhyming), and then made eye contact with a mom in the crowd and both of us burst into laughter. That feeling of accepting your mistakes, and having someone else accept them too? My goodness. Feels so good 🥰
This also happened to be the first yoga class that I taught of 2025! What are perfect way to start another year of GROW!
Movement
We had a lot of fun pretending to be arctic animals this month! Here are some ideas:
Polar bear: Goddess Pose with clawed hands and a ROAR! makes for a great polar bear pose, or build strength by bear walking (come to all fours and then float the knees) around the room
Walrus: Seal Pose! Can you use your arms to drag your body around in this pose?!
Arctic hare: Hare Pose, and hop around
Snowy owl: Toe squat with a nice big arm stretch, Warrior 3 Pose, and/or flap your arms and fly around the room, hooting, obviously!
Puffin: pretend to slide on the ice in Locust Pose, or waddle life a puffin (maybe even with something balanced on the head!)
Killer whale: Sphinx Pose, with the knees bent and feet parallel to the ceiling. Take some nice, deep, whale sized breaths!
Arctic fox: Curl a blanket around your body in the fetal position, like a fox’s big bushy tail, and rest.
Looking for a movement game? Try out Bear, Walrus, Owl!
Imagine that the yoga mats (or blocks, pillows, towels, etc.) are icebergs. The floor is the ocean!
When the leader shouts “bear!”, students should stand on their iceberg.
When the leader shouts “walrus!”, students jump into the ocean.
And when the leader says “owl!”, students fly to a new iceberg!
Using these simple movements works really well for little little ones. For older kids, you could do Polar Bear Pose on the icebergs and Walrus Pose in the ocean, adding a little more challenge and engagement!
My favorite thing about this game is that it is infinitely adaptable - I’ve also played it as Sea, Shore, Shark and Space, Moon, Rocket!
The yoga cards that I shared last month would also work really well with this theme, as they were all about the cold and snow. Find that free printable by clicking the button below!
Mindfulness
I have two calming / breathing practices to share with you this month! Our breath is a huge part of mindfulness - aside from the obvious fact that we need it to survive, the breath also anchors us in the present, making it easier to let go of worries about the past or future, and it signals our parasympathetic nervous system, taking us out of fight or flight mode and into rest and digest mode.
First, we have a cooling breath. If you’ve just been busy playing and moving around, kids may feel a little warm and amped up! This practice invites them to slow down and chill out so that you can move into a new activity.
We’ll start by folding our tongue like a taco and then poking it out through pursed lips. Now, as we breathe in through the tongue like a straw, it will probably feel a little chilly! Relax the tongue and jaw, and breathe out through the nose. Try this a few times!
Now, imagine we are going to turn ourselves into a snowperson. Imagine there’s cold, soft snow all around you. Start to scoop it in close, and then begin to pat it onto your body! Patting the top of the head, the shoulders and arms, the chest, sides, and belly, and the legs and feet.
And then, if you like, you could imagine melting into a little snow puddle and taking a rest on your mat.
Patting is a very simple way to induce relaxation and reduce stress. The rhythm of it can be soothing, the gentle touch and pressure can trigger the brain to release endorphins, and again, it brings us back into the present moment!
Second, we have a nice, cozy, warming breath. I love teaching this one as we head into savasana and meditation!
Get the body nice and comfy. One way to teach this could be to curl up like a hibernating animal!
Now, we’re going to breathe in through the nose, and breathe warm air out from the mouth, onto the hands. Then, we’ll rub our hands together, make them even warmer! And place your warm palms on your eyes.
Repeat this practice, breathing warm air onto the hands, then rubbing them together and placing them on the cheeks, the heart, and the belly. Then spend a few moments simply resting or snuggling, all warm and cozy ❤️
Music
This playlist does include some arctic animal songs, but mainly focuses on snow, cold, and winter. It does not include any Christmas music!
Books
It was more difficult than I thought it would be to find some good books for this topic, especially for tots and pre-school aged kiddos! If you know of some that I missed, please share in a comment!
Pup and Bear by Kate Banks
Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett
Blown Away by Ralph Biddulph
One Very Big Bear by Alice Briere-Haquet
Polar Opposites by Eric Brooks
Poe and Lars by Kashelle Gourley
Baby Penguins Everywhere by Melissa Guion
Penguin Problems by Jory John
Where is Fuzzy Penguin by Yayo Kawamura **silly story… this is a very simple seek and find board book - on each page is one penguin that has a fuzzy, velvety texture. When I was working a librarian, my upper elementary students were weirdly obsessed with it! So much so that it became a part of our calm down corner kit!
Walrus Song by Janet Lawler
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr.
Grumpy Pants by Claire Messer **I plan to read this one for a “feelings” themed story time next month!
If You Were a Penguin by Wendell & Florence Minor
She’ll Be Coming Up the Mountain by Kim Norman
One Snowy Day by Tammi Salzano
Penguins 1 2 3 by Kevin Schafer
Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson
Polar Bear’s Underwear by Tupera Tupera **this is what I read this month!
Way Up in the Arctic by Jennifer Ward
Little Whale by Jo Weaver
Where is Home, Little Pip? by Karma Wilson
Stay warm and enjoy!!
