There are so many different February yoga class themes – love, kindness, heart openers. It has to be one of my favorite months to teach yoga. My students seem to LOVE the poses we practice this month. Generally speaking, I also have found that at this point in the year, I can practice some poses that were previously challenging earlier in the school year. My students are stronger, more flexible and willing to try it and not give up.
I love to talk about LOVE this month and the belief that heart openers allow us to be more compassionate, kind and loving – to ourselves and others. Below are the themes, props and poses I am focusing on during the month of February.
February Yoga Class Themes
Below are some of the themes I’ve used over the years that have been successful.
- Love Yourself
- Love Others
- Kindness
- Heart Openers
Loving Yourself and Others
These two are always my favorite themes for hilarious discussions about how we love ourselves and how we love others. We talk about what makes us feel loved and what we can do to show our love. My favorite activity is “Squeezing and Breathing” where every child puts on these silly heart shaped glasses and hugs a heart shaped pillow close to their chest. They then share something that they love about themselves and gives the heart shaped pillow another squeeze. After the share, they lead the class in a deep breath in (squeezing the pillow) and on the exhale they release their muscles.
Kindness
What does it look like? What does it feel like? How are you kind? These questions have led to some pretty awesome answers from my preschoolers. There’s some great books about Kindness (my current fave is “Kindness is My Superpower” by Alicia Ortego). I also love all of the “Little Spot…” books – there’s one specific to Kindness. I found this Kindness set – a little too late, I wish my younger daughter gave this out as her Valentine!
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation celebrates an entire week. This year it was February 11-17, 2024. The foundation has a number of resources and printables available – either for the yoga class or classroom.
Poses
The poses I practice all month with my classes are:
- Cobra/King Cobra – legs straight for Cobra, legs bent for King Cobra
- Upward Facing Dog
- Modified Camel / Challenging Camel
- Bridge w/a bind- traditional bridge, with a bind underneath chest when hips are lifted
I have found that given the various levels of flexibility and strength in my classes that if I am introducing poses that are new and challenging, the children need the repetition week to week to get stronger. For my students that are able to easily get into a pose the first time, I will challenge them with holding it for x number of breaths and/or modified the pose to “scale up.”
Props
Pictured above are heart shaped glasses and a heart pillow. Mine are from Target, but these links have similar products. The heart shaped glasses are also a fun favor to give the students!
Foam Hearts – These were a fun addition to my classes this year. We would hold the heart in one hand. We traced up the heart on one side with our pointer finger while breathing in. Then, we traced down the heart on the other side while exhaling. I love having the children use their fingers while practicing deep breaths. The proprioceptors in our fingers help with muscle memory! If your budget allows, you can always give each student a heart. They can write down ways they love themselves. They can also write about loving others or draw pictures expressing love.
Heart stickers – my preschooler and Kindergartners are very motivated by stickers (and earn bonus stickers for good listening.). This year, I used these, and loved them, especially at this price point because I teach about 250 students a month so the roll lasts.
What are your favorite themes and poses during the month of February? Sending you love! xo.
This Body Scan Meditation is the perfect addition to a February yoga class.
These Mindfulness Gifts are also a big hit in our house right now – perfect for Vday gifts!
Planning ahead? More inspo for the next few months:
Flower Yoga and Mindfulness for Kids
Some other popular posts that you may be interested in:
Best Props for Teaching Yoga to Kids
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