“What is everyone’s favorite yoga pose?” a visitor asks at Beth Houghton’s Friday morning yoga class for preschoolers at Monkey Yoga Shala in West Oakland. One little girl shouts “cinnamon twist!” and arranges her legs into a simple cross-legged pose.

“Fuzzy caterpillar!” says another and lies down quickly on her back in what those in the grown-up yoga world call savasana, or deep relaxation. 

 The 10 girls and boys range in age from 1 to 5 and are accompanied by their mothers. The younger ones share a mat with Mom, the older ones make a point of having a mat to themselves. They are arranged in a circle in the middle of the brightly lit room. It is clear that everyone – the kids, the moms and the teacher –are all very happy to be here. 

Yoga, a practice that began as an Eastern religious practice, has clearly gone mainstream. It is now a booming industry in Western countries, generating millions of dollars in revenue each year and producing thousands of teachers. The number of Americans doing yoga has risen from four million in 2001 to what some estimate to be as many as 20 million in 2011. These yoga practitioners are both men and women and can be found in yoga studios all across the United States. One demographic, however, has been much slower to catch on to this yoga craze – little kids.

Beth Houghton, the founder of Bendy Berry Yoga, described as a playful and mindful introduction to yoga for kids, hypothesizes why this might be the case: “Yoga is thought to be this combination of silence, mindfulness and careful exercise, three things not often associated with kids. For this reason, people don’t think that there is a place for kids in yoga.”

Houghton disagrees wholeheartedly. “What people don’t understand is that everything can be modified in a way that plays off the natural flow of kid energy.  If you do it right, you get this incredible feedback loop of energy that you don’t get in an adult class.”

Houghton, wearing her trademark tie-dye pants (“If I don’t wear them, that’s the only thing the kids will talk about. I’ve had to get a bunch of pairs”) explains that she has put together a yoga practice that not only focuses on the poses, or the asanas, but incorporates all the other important aspects of a full practice. This includes breathing, history, language, postures and meditation. But she does it in a way that is fun and informative for kids.

For example, a portion of the class is called “Toe-ga,” which focuses on toe dexterity. She scatters colorful, fuzzy balls around the room and the kids pick them up with their toes and place them in a bowl. To teach kids to pay attention to their breathing, a central part of yoga, Houghton uses colorful scarves that the kids send flying across the room with their breath.

“One of the most important lessons that kids can learn from yoga,” Houghton says, “is the ability to go from busyness to stillness. This is something we ask our kids to do all the time – to come in from playing outside and then to sit still at the dinner table.”

In a recent class, Houghton taught this important skill by putting on “Shake Your Groove Thing” and having students do a freeze dance with yoga poses. And of course, what is a kids’ class without songs and stories? Houghton has written, sung and recorded a number of songs about yoga, and she re-wrote fairy tales to incorporate yoga concepts.

Houghton’s class is packed even by the standards of an adult class. This is because, according to Houghton, there is a lack of kid’s yoga classes in the Bay Area. “One of my regular families commutes all the way from Concord to come to my classes in Oakland,” she says.

Yoga Everywhere

She is correct that many yoga studios do not offer classes specifically for kids. But there are a few studios and dance schools, even academic schools,  that do. For example, the Indian Community Center preschool in Milpitas begins each day with a short yoga session. This past summer, the Sanatan Dharma Kendra center in Sunnyvale hosted a yoga summer camp for kids. Mount Madonna School in Watsonville integrates a yoga practice into its curriculum.

“A consistent yoga practice for kids, in the end, provides the same positive things that adults get,” says Mayana Lisboa, a yoga teacher at Mount Madonna School.

One studio that is entirely devoted to teaching yoga to kids is It’s Yoga Kids (IYK) in San Francisco.           

Michelle Wing, the founder of IYK, says that she was inspired nine years ago by her then 18-month-old daughter. “I noticed her doing yoga along side of me in her own beautiful way. I began to think about how I could be with my daughter and contribute something meaningful to other children and families.”

Yoga at IDK, like yoga in general, helps kids develop in three areas: the body, mind and soul. It encourages development of a strong and flexible body; it increases concentration, focus and attention span; and it builds confidence and self-esteem. Boys and girls of all ages and energy levels come to classes, such as Baby Yoga & Massage, Toddlers, Preschoolers, Elementary and Middle School Kids and Teens.  IDK also offers Family Yoga where kids and parents practice together. “It’s healthy fun for all ages and abilities,” Wing says.

Classes at IDK are specifically designed for developmental levels and they all incorporate Harvard University educator Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. This theory identifies seven different ways that students learn. By tapping into these different intelligences, young yogis unconsciously discipline themselves in strength, stretching, balance and concentration. Most importantly, they have fun doing it.

Many parents say that they definitely notice a difference. “My son has learned new words, gained comfort in new surroundings, learned to trust a teacher, developed his balance and motor skills, and just simply loved his experience with yoga!” says a mother of a two-year-old IYK practitioner. Brooke Welch, the mother of Delaney, 5, and Riley, 2, says that she now uses the yoga breathing techniques to help calm her kids down when they are upset or throwing a tantrum. “It helps to say ‘Do your pranayama’ to get them to focus,” Welch says.

Classes for the little yogis tend to be more chaotic than adult classes and are filled with more interactions and games. But in the end, the goals are the same – to become more conscious of body, mind and breath. The similarities between adult and child classes became clear when it came time to do the fuzzy caterpillar at the end of Houghton’s Friday class. A deep calm filled the room. The same kids that seconds before were bounding around the class now lay quietly on their backs.

Gwen Hubner is a freelance writer in Oakland.

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Yoga Resources

Pre-natal yoga DVD: Blooma Prenatal Yoga, www.blooma.com/dvd.

Zenergy Starter Kit. Zenergy is a yoga program with a multi-class DVD (and a teacher’s resource CD) that features superheroes teaching the poses and empowering kids to stay strong in adverse situations. Ages 3-5. Infusion Wellness, $75; www.infusionwellness.com.

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SF

Classes for Little Yogis

The Integral Yoga Institute of San Francisco

770 Dolores St. San Francisco.

415-821-1117

www.integralyogasf.org

First Sunday of the month, 9:30-10:15 a.m.

$20/family

It’s Yoga, Kids

569 Ruger St. The Presidio, San Francisco. 

415-750- 9990 

info@yogakids.com

www.itsyogakids.com

Drop in $20, five classes for $90, 10 classes for $160 (includes one child and parent). Preregistration required. See website for details. 

Nandi Yoga

309 Eighth Ave., San Mateo

650-343-9642

www.nandiyoga.com

See website for schedule.

Drop-in $18 or $20 for three classes (first class is free). For Family Yoga, $18 for one adult and one child, $4 for additional family member (Free for children under 2).

EB

Classes for Little Yogis

Danville Yoga & Wellness Center

125A Town & Country Drive, Danville.

925-838-7878

www.danvilleyogawellnesscenter.com

See website for times.

Classes on Saturday afternoons.

Drop-in $17, five classes $75, 10 classes $140. New students receive three classes for $30

Monkey Yoga Shala

3215 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland.

510-908-1694

www.monkeyyoga.com

See website for times.

Drop-in $14, four-class series $48, 12-class series $120

Yogalayam, Prana Yoga Center

1723 Alcatraz Ave., Berkeley.

510-655-3664

www.yogalayam.org

See website for schedule.

Kids’ classes $9, $32 for four classes. Pre/postnatal classes $16, $75 for five classes.

SV

Classes for Little Yogis

Downtown Yoga Shala

450 S. First St., San Jose.

408-885-1000

www.downtownyogashala.com

Sundays 9-10 a.m.

$10/class

For ages 4-12.

Indian Community Center

525 Los Coches St., Milpitas

408-934-1130

www.indiacc.org

At the Indian Community Center, yoga is a part of every preschooler’s day. Classes are available during the school year and in summer. Call for details. 

Yoga is Youthfulness

590 Castro St., Mountain View.

650-964-5277

yogaisyouth.com

One weekly class for kids Tuesdays 4-5 p.m.

Drop-in $15 or $90 for a series of 10 classes (Must be used within three months)

Yoga Spring Studio

61 Serra Way #206, Milpitas

408-719-8089

www.yogaspringstudio.com

See website or call for cost, dates and times.