When your energy is low and you have to teach kids yoga…

The Yoga Obstacle Course is your best friend!
We all know that to teach yoga to kids, we need to have a lot of energy and emotional capacity!
But what happens on the days when you feel like s**t and don’t have the mojo to teach?
It happens to us all. Maybe you’ve lost your voice, are menstruating or are dealing with something in your personal life that means that you simply don’t have capacity?  It’s not realistic to say that you won’t teach every single time you aren’t feeling it, as most kids yoga teachers won’t get paid if they don’t teach.
This approach also works really well if you are teaching a one- off session to a range of different ages as the children can interact with the activities at their own level of ability/ development. The novelty of different task and the short amount of time for each activity appeals to younger learners (or those with limited attention span) whilst the freedom and independence appeals to those children who are more emotionally mature (perhaps the older children, but not always).
Introducing Yoga Obstacle Course!
This is not new and I haven’t invented it. It is also not complicated or difficult! But it is fun.
So what is it?
A yoga obstacle course is basically a carousel of activities that children visit. At each ‘station’, there is a different activity to do. It does rely on having props though, so some organisation prior to the session is needed. It works best with small groups like after school clubs.
How does it work?
A number of ‘stations’ are set up around the room, each with a different ‘prop’ (resource that children use). The children interact with the props at that station for a set amount of time and then they switch to a different station.
The yoga teacher observes to make sure that everyone is being safe and supports and extends the learning where it is most needed.
Simples!
What sort of props are useful to use?
Basically, anything that you have!
It could be books, soft toys, scarves, balls, pictures etc. Just make sure that the props are suitable and safe for the age and development of the children using them (no small parts for young children.)
If you are interested in my favourite props, check out ‘Top of the Props’ where I list my favourite props and ideas for how to use them.
Top tips for organisation

• Allow children to be in a group with children that they are comfortable with, this will usually mean that their interest will be held for longer.
• Ensure that all children get to experience all stations.
• Have a set amount of time for each station (work this out in advance to ensure that everyone visits every station).
• Have a clear signal for when it is time to switch stations. Using a play list with songs of similar length and swapping after each song can be fun, or using a musical instrument to gain everyone’s attention and use as a signal to stop saves your voice!
• Make sure that children stay in the same group and move around as a group, it gets complicated to organise if they move around!
• Have a clear ‘routeway’ or direction of movement around the stations. It works well to put the stations in a loose circle and move around either clockwise or anti-clockwise.
• If you are using any props that make sounds (for example bells) keep this to just one station, otherwise it gets really loud, really quickly!
• Use cards to give ideas of how to use the props at each station. You might like to use mine – or see what they are like to create your own. Download my yoga obstacle cards here for free.

I find a yoga obstacle course a fun way of ending a term of lessons, or just at a random time when I am less than my best!
I’d love to know your thoughts, do you use an obstacle course?
What are your favourite props to use?
X
Julia
Get your free obstacle course here
Here are my top ten props that I use and some ideas for how to use each of them
Learn how to be a ‘Pro with Props’ with my training here