8 Benefits of Practicing Yoga with Toddlers

Yoga is a fantastic way for toddlers to move, play, and learn all at once. It goes beyond just exercise—it taps into their natural curiosity, creativity, and energy.

Through playful poses, toddlers can explore their bodies, work on focus, and build up their strength and flexibility, all while feeling safe and confident. Yoga is a fun way to support their development, helping with motor skills, emotional regulation, and social interaction. It’s the perfect fit for young kids who love to move and imagine!

Realistic Expectations

When it comes to toddlers doing yoga, it’s all about keeping things realistic and fun. Toddlers have short attention spans, so yoga sessions should be brief and flexible to match their energy. Don’t expect perfect poses—toddlers will often put their own playful spin on them, and that’s perfectly okay! The focus should be on the experience, not getting the poses “right.” While yoga includes moments of stillness, toddlers are more likely to keep moving. So, encourage that playful exploration, and gradually introduce some quiet moments along the way.

Expect lots of giggles and interaction! Toddler yoga is about having fun together, often with songs, stories, and playful movements. It’s also a great chance for emotional growth. As toddlers start to understand things like breathing and balance, you’ll see small wins in their ability to calm down or focus, even if just for a moment. Parent participation can make it even better, providing extra bonding time while helping guide them through the movements. The goal is to keep it light, fun, and introduce simple ideas like balance, breath, and mindfulness in a way that matches their developmental stage.

8 Benefits of Teaching a Toddler Yoga and Mindfulness

Motor Skills

Yoga helps with balance, coordination, and muscle development. While moving their bodies, our toddlers are learning how much power they need to use to stretch or balance their bodies. They learn how to coordinate their muscles to put their knees to the ground while arching their backs. Practice helps them to refine their movements. Giving them time and space to try a pose awkwardly is imperative. Where we can strike cat/ cow easily, they have to coordinate a lot of muscles to make those poses. You can make suggestions (one at a time) for improvement to their pose. However, know it will take them longer to process information like “put your knee to the ground” or “arch your back”.

Body Awareness

Toddlers learn how their bodies move in space by moving their bodies! As adults we all know where our bodies are in space and how we need to alter them for specific situations. For example, we know to turn sideways to slide through that tight spot between Uncle Joe in the dining room chair and the wall. We know if we will fit through or not, but our toddlers are learning that every day. Then when they have it figured out, their bodies change, and they must relearn it. This is because they are still developing their sense of proprioception. This is the sense we all have which allows us to understand where our bodies are in space. By practicing yoga, our toddlers are moving their bodies and cataloging all the information about where their bodies are in space. They are creating reference points to refer back to later. This information may help them from getting an arm stuck in the railing or bumping their heads when coming out from under the table.

Flexibility & Strength

Regular practice builds flexibility and strength. We all have heard the old adage “babies bounce”. We know this is not true. However, if you have ever witnessed your baby have a terrible fall and then miraculously getting up like nothing happened, you will swear this is true. It appears this way because babies are born with more bones than adults as many of their bones have not yet fused together. These bones consist of more cartilage which is more flexible than bone. This allows them more overall flexibility than adults which in turn allows them to experience a full range of what the body can do.

Strength comes at the muscular level and those muscles need stimulation to develop. Yoga may offer your toddler a chance to build strength in muscles that are not often stimulated. This will add to their overall ability to gain control over their bodies.

Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is something all toddlers struggle with. Emotional overload constrains one’s cognitive response. Therefore, our emotions must be addressed before a cognitive response can be rendered. Breathing exercises and mindfulness can help toddlers manage their emotions. This in turn will allow their executive functioning skills to engage and support their ability to see reason. So, when your toddler is melting down because you won’t turn off the sun, you must first deal with their overwhelming emotions. Breathing techniques can help regulate those emotions. Only then will they be able to hear and accept the fact that you cannot turn off the sun.

Focus & Concentration

Yoga and mindfulness create a quiet calm in our surroundings and ourselves. With a lack of distractions, focus and concentration become easier. Challenging your toddler with a pose which requires the coordination of many muscles and strength requires concentration. But beware. Toddlers have limited attention spans. Two and three year old’s attention spans typically range from 4-8 minutes. Add to that the fact that toddlers can follow one step directions but are still building the capacity to follow two step directions and you can see the need to take it slow. That is why it is so important to pause between each correction to a yoga pose for example. However, repeated practice can increase your toddler’s ability to focus and concentrate.

Creativity & Imagination

Yoga and mindfulness taps into their playful side. Use the animal poses as a natural jumping off point for imaginative play with your toddler. Can they strike the cobra pose? How about make a hissing sound like a snake? Can they then slither around the room?

Looking for a mindfulness story? Make one up using their favorite characters, places, people or activities. Not sure where to start? Start with their senses. Have them lay down and imagine they are at their favorite park. Describe what they see, hear, smell, taste and touch. This activates their imagination while regulating their breathing.

Emotional Growth

Practicing a regular yoga routine instills a sense of security and confidence in children. Try practicing the sun salutation every morning or a mindfulness routine as part of your bedtime ritual. At first it might be challenging but discussing their successes as they learn builds confidence. Knowing what to expect in a routine creates a sense of security we all need to feel safe and to grow.

Social Interaction

Explore mindfulness and yoga with your little one. Doing yoga with others fosters empathy and cooperation skills. Yoga creates connections with yourself and others. The shared experience of doing yoga together increases a sense of belonging. Shared goals and accomplishments support cooperation skills and builds your child’s self-esteem. Mindfulness supports your child’s empathy and compassion as it teaches non-judgment and kindness.

The best part about yoga with toddlers is all about having fun! Whether it’s giggling through poses, bonding with a parent, or just moving their little bodies, yoga provides a wonderful foundation for both physical and emotional growth.

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