What is cat yoga for kids?

Cat yoga for kids is a playful mindfulness-based movement class where children explore yoga poses inspired by animals, especially cats, while building body awareness, balance, strength, and focus through imaginative play and storytelling.

How does animal yoga help children learn mindfulness?

Animal yoga helps children practice mindfulness by linking movement with imagination. When children embody animals like cats, dogs, lions, and butterflies, they stay present, notice sensations in their bodies, and develop focus and emotional regulation through play.

Why is hands and feet alignment important in kids yoga?

Hands and feet alignment builds the foundation for safe and effective movement in kids yoga. Spreading fingers, pressing through palms, and grounding through all four corners of the feet improves balance, coordination, posture, and body control.

What does 'clawing the mat' mean in kids yoga?

Clawing the mat means gently spreading the fingers wide and pressing evenly through the palms and fingertips to activate the hands. This builds stability and strength in poses like Downward Dog, Plank, and Cat Pose.

What is proprioception in kids yoga?

Proprioception is the body's ability to sense where it is in space. In kids yoga, grounding, balancing, and weight-bearing poses help children develop this awareness, improving coordination and confidence in movement.

Research & Anecdotes

Snow White Yoga

{Tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam}
Patanjali’s Sutra Chapter 1, verse 3
Then the SEER abides in it own NATURE
Surely, it’s meant to BE~

To ABIDE in our own SPLENDOR~
The mind must get real quiet;
it needs to uncover the truth
and go on a Cloud free Diet.

No need to grasp for light
For it is already here and there.
Let’s thin out the distorted clouds
Of ignorance and despair.

Let’s work with the muddled mind,
Accept that clouds are blocking,
Train to be more observant
Of thoughts that keep on talking.

Just like the sun up above
Our LIGHT never dims to slur.
It does get covered up.
And distortion may occur.

Dwarfs mine for diamonds
In the classic tale SNOW WHITE.
We mine for JOY
It’s our undivided RIGHT.

SNOW WHITE sings joyfully,
As she tidies up the cottage.
Birds and animals dance along
And MiIRROR her BLISSFUL wattage.

SNOW WHITE glistens KINDNESS,
and undisturbed PURENESS,
That exists at the core of her being
Her true SELF, that’s for sureness.

In yoga, we use our practice
To support the removal of clouds~
To ground into our inner brilliance
And shine out free from the shrouds.

“Just whistle while you work
And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place
So hum a merry tune
It won’t take long when there’s a song to help you set the pace “

Keep your ankles in line with your knees
And your knees in line with your hips.
Clasp your elbows behind your back
And rise up high on your toe-tips.

Bend steady your knees.
Stay high up on tiptoes.
Whistle or hum a tune
While you work to hold this pose!

“And as you sweep the room
Imagine that the broom is someone that you love
And soon you’ll find you’re dancing to the tune

When hearts are high the time will fly
So whistle while you work”

Clean the sand trap of cluttered thoughts
With camel pose in a chair.
Sit on the edge of your seat
Place your hands behind you with care.

Lift the sides of your heart up
And the back of your heart high.
Pull your head of the arm bones back.
Soften both sides of your throat and sigh.

Sigh your throat back,
And LIFT YOUR HEART HIGH.
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK
And allow time to fly.

Place hands on your lap
Lift your head back over your heart
Ground your thighs and feet,
And Feel the clouds depart.

May we whistle while we work.
May we notice our inner states.
May our inner states be bright.
And lighten our outer updates.

May the sound that whistles tunes
from within our deep heart’s abyss
Ring loud and ring clear~
OUR OWN TRUE NATURE IS BLISS!

Research & Anecdotes
Hi Barbie…It’s Me Ken!
I have been working with Ken, this is true. I have found him to be a natural adept; I leave him seated, sometimes in the morning, I come back, he has not moved an inch – he is completely absorbed in the mantra. I asked him what his experience was like, and he just stared at me, said nothing: obviously it is beyond the ability to verbalize at the shtula level. Pure transcendence. I even at one point stuck a pin in his foot and held a BIC lighter to his head – he did not flinch. Incredible. He is an amazing meditator.
Read More Hi Barbie…It’s Me Ken!
Research & Anecdotes
You Have the Right to Purr. You Have the Right to Hiss.
Ever feel like a scaredy cat trying to hang out with the big dogs? Do you tend to talk too much or feel a hairball is stuck in your throat when you are around certain people or situations? Then take the lead from what cats really do when the presence of fear urges them to…
Read More You Have the Right to Purr. You Have the Right to Hiss.
Research & Anecdotes
Research Studies on Yoga & Mindfulness for Kids & Teens
What Research Says About Kids Yoga and Mindfulness Yoga and mindfulness practices for children are backed by a growing body of evidence showing benefits in emotional regulation, attention, behavior, and mental health. If you’ve felt the impact of these practices in your own classroom or home, you’re not alone. If you would like to begin…
Read More Research Studies on Yoga & Mindfulness for Kids & Teens
Research & Anecdotes
How to Bliss Bomb the World
So you finish your practice~
You feel loving and calm.
There is nothing you dismiss~
You are full of BLISS bombs.
You rejoin your family~’
And what do you hear?
Shouts of anxieties~
Blames, Shames, doubts and fears!
Does loving-kindness deflate
As you join the contention?
Or will your blissed state
Transmit without tension?
Each time you experience
The delight of {I AM}
Your bliss will flow forth~
Like a hydraulic ram.
Embody the KNOWING~
Of your inner LOVE state.
So you can keep it safe~
And INTERRELATE.
YOGA says your relationship
between you and your SELF~
can not be diminished,
or put upon a shelf.
You take your SELF
everywhere you GO!
Then everything is spiritual
from Grumps to Sloppy Joes!
Lokanandah Samadhi-Sukham
Shiva Sutra One.Eighteen~
Your inner bliss continues
Like you won the slot machines.
So how do we GROW
In our capacity for such LOVE?
Without mermaids and unicorns~
Blue moons and white doves?
We create an INNER space
Direct love toward KNOWERSHIP~
Call forth our virtues,
Our patience, our grit.
We bridge the gap of difference
SERVE in a profound way~
Not cold duty or bargain~
LOVE is the order of each day.
Become capable with powers
Of WILL, KNOWING, and ACTING
By practicing {I AM}
Without useless distracting.
Place your hand over your HEART~
Feel right beneath your palm~
Towards your back body~
Where this is endless peace and calm.
Allow your attention
To be with your BREATH~
To flow in and flow out
Softly in your chest.
Welcome the BREATH~
Right into your HEART.
Feel a soft golden sun
That is bright, warm and smart.
With each breath IN~
make that SUN glow.
With Each breath OUT~
Expand the warmth to and fro.
As you welcome the breath in
To the vast INNER world~
Invite the HEART to reveal
It’s largeness, depth, and swirl.
Flow in with the thought {I AM}
The mantra of the inner self~
(Not I am Sam~
Or I am a silly elf)
The heart receives the breath
With the recognition {I AM}
The exhalation feels space,
The experience of BLISS BAM.
Practice with eyes open
Practice with eyes closed
Practice often
And LOVE will be exposed.
As you greet those outside~
Amongst the chaotic and mundane~
Stay tuned into your heart
And send LOVE to their pain.
You’ll get glimpses of KNOWING
Your yoga is working~
When outer frustrations
Are shirking, not lurking.
Read More How to Bliss Bomb the World
Research & Anecdotes
Shames, Shames, Go Away! And Don’t Come Back Another Day!
Inspired by Yoga Sutra 2.16 Heyam dukham anagatam

Avoidable is the suffering
that has not yet to come~
That feeling of shame
That sticks like chewed gum.
How do we get through places
That are stuck deep inside?
Where the holdings, the collections
The patterns reside?
The patterns of feeding
Our suction cupped shames~
With secrets and silence
And judgements and blames.
Attract the energy of movement~
And comfort with movement~
Comfort with change~
Comfort with improvement.
Create space between impulse
And action that binds~
The stuck feelings that resists
Our meetings of minds.
Space is the experience
Of minds open and bright
The Wisdom of Grace
Is filled up with light.
Grace is the knowing
Our mistakes serve an aim~
Instead of allowing
Our mistakes to serve shame.
So to prevent future suffering~
And the feeding of shames~
Create a steady practice
Of breath work and aims.
Here’s a mantra for you
To embody and embed~
Press thumb into each finger
And say in your head~
{I inhale to prepare~
I exhale to share~
I inhale to release blame~
I exhale to transform shame~*}
{Repeat 11 times}~
Keep your sitting bones rooted.
Slowly rotate your core ~
Counterclockwise 3 rounds
Your breath? Don’t ignore!
Inhale going backwards,
Exhale going forward .
Your movements ride on your
breath~
It’s pretty straight forward.
Pause and move clockwise.
Repeat 11 times.
Close eyes and listen.
To your heart beat like chimes.
Find someone you know,
You love and you trust
Show them your shames
And watch your blames turn to dust.
May we have what it takes
To transform all our shames~
To allow our mistakes
To serve our Great Aim~
Read More Shames, Shames, Go Away! And Don’t Come Back Another Day!
Research & Anecdotes
Lasagna Savasana
Sedef Dion who teaches a Pre-Grounded class at Springs Yoga shared with me the story of a four year old girl who in the cutest way mistakenly called Savasana….Lasagna. This inspired me to write a Savasana visualization with a Lasagna theme that Amy and I recently used to connect with our Fernbank Elementary Yoga Club students. After we did our practice complete with the Lasagna Savasana, one of our students..the Principal’s seven year old daughter said…”that was so relaxing…this could help me fall asleep at night”. Since it was her birthday that day, we wanted to put together a recording that her parents could play for her as she lays her head down for a good night rest after a long day.
Read More Lasagna Savasana

{Tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam} Patanjali’s Sutra Chapter 1, verse 3 Then the SEER abides in it own NATURE Surely, it’s meant to BE~

To ABIDE in our own SPLENDOR~ The mind must get real quiet; it needs to uncover the truth and go on a Cloud free Diet.

No need to grasp for light For it is already here and there. Let’s thin out the distorted clouds Of ignorance and despair.

Let’s work with the muddled mind, Accept that clouds are blocking, Train to be more observant Of thoughts that keep on talking.

Just like the sun up above Our LIGHT never dims to slur. It does get covered up. And distortion may occur.

Dwarfs mine for diamonds In the classic tale SNOW WHITE. We mine for JOY It’s our undivided RIGHT.

SNOW WHITE sings joyfully, As she tidies up the cottage. Birds and animals dance along And MiIRROR her BLISSFUL wattage.

SNOW WHITE glistens KINDNESS, and undisturbed PURENESS, That exists at the core of her being Her true SELF, that’s for sureness.

In yoga, we use our practice To support the removal of clouds~ To ground into our inner brilliance And shine out free from the shrouds.

“Just whistle while you work And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place So hum a merry tune It won’t take long when there’s a song to help you set the pace “

Sigh your throat back, And LIFT YOUR HEART HIGH. WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK And allow time to fly.

Place hands on your lap Lift your head back over your heart Ground your thighs and feet, And Feel the clouds depart.

May we whistle while we work. May we notice our inner states. May our inner states be bright. And lighten our outer updates.

May the sound that whistles tunes from within our deep heart’s abyss Ring loud and ring clear~ OUR OWN TRUE NATURE IS BLISS!

More to Explore