Halloween Children’s Yoga Class Ideas – Celebrate The Holiday with Some Fun!

Halloween children’s yoga class ideas are plentiful! It is a time for silly fun, spookiness, and sweet delights! Here are some fun ideas for Halloween Children’s Yoga Classes.

Halloween yoga poses:

Once the children are warmed up, you can start teaching them some Halloween-themed yoga poses. Here are a few ideas:

• Witch On A Broom:

  Creep up to dark house, climb up the stairs quietly… Find your broom and fly around the room. Practice your witch’s cackles and cauldron stirring. Start in L sitting position – reach up and fold forward into wide legged forward bend, as you add and mix ingredients into your cauldron. As you stir the pot, bring rotation into your pelvis… ooh what spell do you want to make?  “Bubble bubble, toil and trouble”

• Bat:

  Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you and your arms at your sides. Bend your knees and bring your feet up to the floor, so that your knees are bent and your feet are flat on the ground. Place your hands on the floor behind you, fingers spread wide. Lean back slightly and lift your hips off the ground, forming a triangle shape with your body.  Gently breath in and out, then slowly lower yourself back to the floor.

• Witches Cat:

  Start on your hands and knees, with your back flat and your core engaged. Tuck your chin to your chest and round your back, as if you are a cat hissing. Gently breath in and out, then slowly arch your back and look up. Repeat 3 times.  Practice your hisses and meows.

• Monster Roars: 

  Scary-up your wide-legged squats with a few lion’s —ahem, we mean “monster”— roars. Start in a five-pointed-star pose (legs wide, feet turned out, arms extended out to a “V” with fingers spread wide). Inhale here, gazing up toward the sky. Then, as you exhale through your mouth, stick out your tongue and make as frightening a face as you can muster, while bending your knees into the squat and drawing your elbows in toward your sides. Inhale, return to five-pointed star, and repeat several times.

• Ghost:

  Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides. Slowly raise your arms above your head and bring your palms together. Bend your knees slightly and lean forward, keeping your back straight. Reach your arms out in front of you, palms down. Gently breath in and out, then slowly return to the starting position.  Who can make the scariest ghostly noises?

Halloween yoga story:

You can also tell the children a Halloween-themed yoga story during their yoga class. This is a great way to keep them engaged and entertained, whilst also teaching them some new yoga poses. For example, you could tell them the story of a witch who is flying through the forest on her broomstick. The children can then pretend to be witches and fly through the forest, using the yoga poses you taught them.  A song also gets everyone involved:

Rolling pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The first one said, “Oh, my it’s getting late!”
The second one said, “There are witches in the air!”
The third one said, “Well, I don’t care!”
The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run!”
The fifth one said, “I’m ready for some fun!”
OOH went the wind, and out went the lights,
and the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight! 

Halloween yoga games:

There are many fun Halloween yoga games that you can play with the children. For example, you could play ‘Boo Breath’

1. Everyone gets ¼ piece of tissue (little ghost)
2. Place on their finger and blow it off with a boo!

Also a game of “Simon Says” with Halloween-themed yoga poses. Or, you could play a game of “Freeze Dance” with Halloween music. Depending on the size of your class, blindfolded “Trick or Treat” is always a hit!

Cool-down:

End the class with a cool-down to help the children relax and wind down. You could do some deep breathing exercises, or lead the children in a guided meditation. Savasana or Corpse pose is perfect – “Thunder and lightning, north winds blow, sleepy heads to bed you go!”

• Keep it fun and engaging: Children have short attention spans, so it’s important to keep your yoga classes fun and engaging. Use lots of music, games, and stories to keep them interested.
• Make it appropriate for all ages and abilities: Be sure to modify the yoga poses as needed, so that all of the children in your class can participate. You may also want to offer different options for each pose, so that the children can choose the one that is most challenging for them.
• Be creative: There are endless possibilities when it comes to Halloween children’s yoga. Use your imagination and come up with your own fun and unique yoga poses, games, and stories.

With a little planning, you can easily create a fun and educational Halloween children’s yoga class that the children will love!

SOUTH AFRICAN YOGABEEZ SUCCESS STORY – A JOURNEY FROM TRAINING TO TEACHING

Meet Melissa Bland!

This is a true South African YogaBeez success story which we are very excited to share. Melissa Bland is a proud South African and was born and bred in Cape Town.  She has a finance background, but has always had a deep longing to work with children. One of the things which drew her to this calling is the simplicity and raw honesty which children possess and she connected with this authenticity.

What led you down the path towards becoming a Children’s Yoga Teacher?

Melissa now has a beautiful 6-year-old boy of her own called Liam. In 2018 her family moved to Malaysia due to her husband’s business. For the first time, she was faced with being a stay-at-home mom and not active in the workforce.  When the pandemic hit, she began taking some yoga classes online for fitness, but also because she has always been interested in the mind, body and soul connection.

After 3 years in Malaysia, and after going through the pandemic, Melissa’s family decided to return home and they settled in Noordhoek.  Here she joined an amazing studio and she started to truly immerse herself in the yoga practice. Out of this, she discovered that she possessed a great ‘toolbox’ filled with amazing and powerful techniques, which she wanted to share with others.  The epiphany struck that teaching yoga to children would be a truly powerful way to combine her two loves. From here she started to think how to integrate children’s yoga into their everyday life – on and off the mat…

How did you discover the YogaBeez Children’s Yoga Teacher Training platform?

And so the journey to find a suitable children’s yoga teacher training began!  Through a word of mouth recommendation, she was directed to the YogaBeez platform, and she was pleasantly surprised by the educational Montessori tone which underlies the YogaBeez philosophy.  Feeling that this was possibly the road she wanted to take, she called Bryony personally and after a lengthy conversation, she felt that this was most definitely the perfect course for her to take.  In her own words, “Bryony just got it. Her values and motivation for starting YogaBeez in the first place was so aligned with mine, that it just resonated with me. I just knew this was the right course for me.”

What appealled to you about the YogaBeez Online Platform?

The most appealling aspect about the YogaBeez online platform is that it was self-paced and part time. Even though she lives in Cape Town, the online option made the dream possible.  She was able to tailor-make the study sessions and course times to fit her lifestyle and commitments.  The freedom of this was liberating and lifted any barrier which she could have foreseen.

What makes YogaBeez Children’s Yoga different from other available courses?

Melissa is passionate about transferring what she has learnt to young minds.  As she says, “Having been empowered with all these amazing tools, I would like to share it with children.  It is easier to learn new, healthy habits from a young age than to unlearn unhealthy habits down the line.  YogaBeez was amazing compared to some of the other available courses, in that it was so well rounded, because of the Montessori philosophy that they have. It was also just really relatable. The course itself was amazing, and both Sophie and Bryony have continued to be so responsive and supportive. After finishing the course, I felt truly empowered to go out and teach.”

What was the biggest benefit of doing the YogaBeez Online Course?

It is wonderful that there was always someone to reach out to when there were questions or fears about real-life teaching. That interaction proved to be invaluable during the learning curve of feeling confident enough to go out and teach professionally.

Describe your journey from Training to Teaching?

After graduating from YogaBeez, Melissa has started her own business called Floga Kids Yoga. She is working on laying the foundations for her budding business, and she is looking forward to her vision blooming into the reality she is already building upon.  Now that she has opened her own children’s yoga business, she says that one of the benefits is that it is forcing her to practice what she preaches.  One cannot teach children all these amazing life skills if you are unable to practice them yourself. So important lessons like sitting with discomfort, perseverance and working hard without having a guaranteed outcome are becoming a lived lifestyle.

How is business now?

She is focusing on getting into schools in her area in order to integrate children’s yoga into the South African School system.  Children have become so overscheduled, stressed and overwhelmed, so this provides a balm for their minds and souls.  Logistically it is also difficult for working parents to take time off to transport their children to extra-mural activities.  Having the schools offer the programme in-house solves a lot of these issues.

Tell us more about your community service work?

As somebody who believes in the power of giving back to the community, Melissa has partnered with a charitable organization, called Bongulethu.  This primary school for underprivileged children, which is located next to an informal settlement, is now happily receiving the benefits of children’s yoga. They would definitely not have been exposed to was it not for Melissa’s generosity of spirit. She teaches yoga to these kids, which is extremely fulfilling, and also enables her to gain greater experience and confidence.  She also offers yoga playdates and parties – anything which can bring the philosophy and benefits of yoga to children.

What is your ultimate goal in achieving success?

Her goal to change one child’s perception of where they are in any given moment. This is a wonderful way of making a tangible contribution to the world – one child at a time…  This is just the beginning of a true South African YogaBeez Success Story.