The Rise of Kids Yoga in Schools and Youth Programs

Freshly showered and holding a three-prong folder, I smiled at the receptionist at a local elementary school as she dialed the principal. “No,” the receptionist said into the receiver, potentially in answer to the question, “Does she have an appointment?”

 

I reassured the receptionist in a whisper that it would only take five minutes. Five minutes was all I needed to convince a school administrator of the value of a kids’ yoga program (sometimes).

 

This is how I spent most mornings in 2016. Calling schools, writing PTAs, and meeting with parents who I’d hope would speak positively about my program and connect me with the right person in charge. After two years of pounding the pavement, I was teaching up to 17 classes a week. Unknown to me then, but confirmed by a National Library of Medicine study, that year “thirty-six programs were identified that offer yoga in more than 940 schools across the United States”. Kids yoga was on the rise!

 

What makes kids yoga fundamentally different from adult yoga?

In those first years, school administrators were skeptical about yoga in schools. They’d describe a scenario where a teacher would come in and have the children sit and hum for an hour, and the children would respond by wreaking havoc. I’d start by dispelling this myth about yoga for children. Even though I stick to the principles of yoga, a children’s class does not resemble an adult class in the slightest. At least, not the way I teach. 

 

In a kids yoga class, there’s more engagement and fun, as I bring to life big concepts in a way that children can see, feel, hear, and understand. Often, I share the metaphor of making a smoothie for a child. An adult puts in all the nutritious ingredients like spinach and makes it more enticing by adding fruits like pineapple. The child doesn’t know they’re drinking spinach, but they receive all the benefits just the same. 

 

What to Look for in a High‑Quality Kids Yoga Teacher Training

I was still working a corporate job when I first started to think about attending a kids yoga teacher training. Throughout the day, I would convince my co-workers to play what I now recognize as yoga games. Laugh Yoga was one, and it was a riot. There’s nothing like taking a five-minute break from a highly stressful job (television programming) to laugh your butt off. 

 

Those mini moments of connection and joy must have led me to search online for “kids yoga”. Why kids and not just yoga? I guess it was because I always had the most fun around children, and I wanted to do something that contributed to my community. Though it would be another two years before life led me toward kids yoga again. 

 

By then, I had completed my first 200-hour yoga teacher training and was teaching a small group of children yoga at a community center. I had taken what I’d learned about teaching adults and recent studies in early childhood education, and designed a yoga program for children, but I felt there was more for me to learn. 

 

In those early years, there weren’t many programs to choose from, online or otherwise, so the choice was fairly simple. There are currently between five and ten accredited kids yoga teacher training programs, according to Yoga Alliance Professionals. This does not include the potentially hundreds of trainings not accredited by the U.S.-based nonprofit membership trade and professional organization. At the time of this writing, there exists no governing body for yoga professionals in the United States. 

 

So, how do you choose? If I were looking for a kids yoga teacher training today, these are the elements I would look for: 

 

• Child development foundations: understanding how to teach children of different ages and stages
• Classroom management for movement: how to keep kids safe, engaged, and regulated
• Creativity and play‑based learning: the heart of engaged learning and joyful teaching
• Practical teaching tools: scripts, sequences, games, and behavior supports

Online vs. In‑Person Kids Yoga Trainings

Online and in‑person kids yoga trainings each offer something valuable, and the right choice depends on how you learn best. In‑person programs provide embodied, real‑time practice. Participants feel the group energy, receive immediate feedback, and experience classroom dynamics as they unfold. They’re ideal for learners who thrive on community and hands-on guidance. The trade‑off is logistics. Fixed schedules, travel costs, and limited cohort availability can make it difficult for some potential students to participate. 

 

Online trainings, by contrast, shine in flexibility, accessibility, and affordability. You can learn from anywhere, revisit lessons as often as you need, and move at a pace that fits your life. For many educators, especially those balancing work, parenting, or multiple roles, online learning removes barriers that would otherwise keep them from training. 

 

My training, Teaching Kids Yoga, blends the best of both worlds. It offers a clear, structured curriculum with step‑by‑step modules, guided demonstrations, and practical teaching tools, while still giving learners the freedom to move through the material in a self‑paced, supportive environment. Instead of forcing students to choose between structure and flexibility, it delivers both: a grounded methodology paired with spacious learning rhythms. 

 

Introducing “Teaching Kids Yoga”: A Training Built for Real‑World Classrooms

Teaching Kids Yoga was built for the real‑world spaces where children actually learn, like classrooms, counseling offices, yoga studios, community centers, and living rooms filled with tiny mats and big imaginations. I created this training for the adults who feel called to guide children through movement, breath, and emotional regulation. It’s for teachers, yoga instructors, counselors, and parents who want practical, child‑centered tools they can use right away. Whether you’re supporting a whole classroom, running a studio program, weaving mindfulness into therapeutic work, or simply hoping to bring more calm and creativity into your home, this training gives you a clear framework and adaptable practices that meet kids where they are. No matter your role or starting point, the program is designed to feel accessible, grounded, and immediately useful.

 

What makes Teaching Kids Yoga unique? 

The methodology places the child right at the center. Every lesson, sequence, and cue is built around how children actually think, move, regulate, and relate. Instead of forcing adult‑style yoga onto young learners, the training gives you a clear teaching framework that breaks skills down into simple, repeatable steps you can use in any setting. Because the method is grounded in my real classroom experience, you’re not getting theory in a vacuum. You’re getting the exact tools I’ve used with hundreds of children across schools, studios, and community programs. The curriculum is intentionally SEL‑integrated, weaving emotional literacy, co‑regulation, and resilience‑building into every practice so yoga becomes more than movement; it becomes a whole‑child support system. By the end of the training, you’ll have a toolkit of child‑friendly practices, a structure for planning classes, and the confidence to lead movement and mindfulness in any environment. 

 

What Graduates Should Be Able to Do After Any Good Training

A strong kids yoga teacher training should leave graduates feeling capable, grounded, and ready to teach with confidence. At the most essential level, you should be able to lead safe, engaging classes by offering clear cues, age‑appropriate movement, and predictable routines that help children feel secure. You should also know how to adapt lessons for different ages, shifting language, pacing, and activities so a sequence feels just as successful for a wiggly five‑year‑old as it does for a thoughtful ten‑year‑old. Good training gives you the confidence to read the room, adjust on the fly, and meet kids exactly where they are developmentally.

 

Graduates should also be able to support emotional regulation through breathwork, grounding techniques, co‑regulation strategies, and simple SEL‑aligned practices woven into each class. And finally, any high‑quality program should prepare you to integrate mindfulness into daily routines. Children experience these tools not only during yoga time but also in transitions, classroom rituals, counseling sessions, and home life. When a training equips you with these core skills, you walk away ready to teach from day one with a toolkit that supports children’s bodies, minds, and emotions in every environment. 

 

Stepping Into Your Teaching Journey with Confidence

As you reach the end of this guide, I hope you feel clearer and more confident about choosing a kids yoga teacher training that truly supports your goals. Teaching children is meaningful work, and you deserve a program that treats it with care. If you’re looking for a path that’s practical, child‑centered, and built for real‑world settings, Teaching Kids Yoga offers a welcoming place to begin. It gives you structure where you need it and spaciousness where you want it, so learning feels steady rather than overwhelming.

 

I created this training to help you step into teaching with ease, supported by a method that’s been shaped through years of experience with children in schools and studios. If you’re ready to explore what’s next, you can learn more through Teaching Kids Yoga and see how it can help you grow into a confident, compassionate kids yoga teacher.

 

 

Featured photo by Pavel Danilyuk via Pexels.

 

 

Sources: 

 

National Library of Medicine | School-based Yoga Programs in the United States: A Survey – PMC 

 

Yoga Alliance Professionals