We Breathe. We Smile. We Fly.

Butterfly Kids Yoga -- Breathe. Smile. Fly.

Breathe.... Smile. Fly. And not just any kind of breathing, "yoga breathing!" as I say in my classes. One of my goals with Butterfly Kids Yoga is to give kids great tips and techniques that they can actually USE...even outside of yoga class. Yoga breathing is how we start off class, how we end class, and we use it throughout! From my little preschool yogis to my older tween yogis, we all practice our yoga breathing...and here's a peek at how we do it!

We use yoga breathing in Butterfly Kids Yoga....

To open class (with a breathing ball)
You may know it as a Hoberman Sphere. Your child may use them at school. You may use them to play with at home. But in Butterfly Kids Yoga classes, we always, always, always start class with our "yoga breathing" techniques using my yoga breathing ball. It's amazing how captivated the kids are once we open class learning how to "yoga breathe". All talking stops. All kids become focused. Eyes are GLUED on the ball. 

To calm your heart
Whether we've just slithered like cobra snakes through a crazy-long Downward Dog Tunnel, played Freeze Dance Yoga Pose or flowed through Sun Salutations (to Katy Perry, anyone?), our hearts get beating FAST. There is no shortage of moving and being super active in any given Butterfly Kids Yoga class! But to calm that beating heart? 3 deep breathes of yoga breathing. Calmer hearts. Calmer breathing. Happy kiddos!

To journey to our Secret Garden
And when it's time to find our calm, to re-center and to use our imagination, we all lay flat on our mats, eyes closed, and we relax. Lights are dimmed and we all take one biiiiig yoga breath in and out. We breathe it all out. We allow ourselves to just BE. Our breath takes us there. 

Some may call it breath awareness. Some may call it mindful breathing. In Butterfly Kids Yoga, we call it our "yoga breathing". But no matter what you call it, it's an amazing tool for our kids to use both in AND out of yoga class. And best of all, it really works!

We Breathe. We Smile. We Fly.

Until next time, friends!
~ Ali

PS. Looking for all Butterfly Kids Yoga classes and upcoming events (including Mother's Day weekend events at CoreLife Eatery and Lululemon)? Check out the full schedule on our Classes Page!