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Yoga and relaxation

This lesson for primary learners introduces children to some basic yoga poses and guided relaxation.

Author
Jo Blackmore

Introduction

This lesson plan helps raise awareness of yoga and relaxation, which can benefit the physical and mental well-being of children as well as adults.

In the first part of the lesson, learners do a basic yoga pose and a warm-up. They then learn and practise language for giving instructions for yoga poses. Next, they create their own instructions for a yoga pose, which they give to a partner to follow. After the yoga poses, learners experience a guided relaxation. They then draw a picture to illustrate the 'story' they heard during the relaxation, or they can draw a picture of a different scene that they find relaxing. Finally, they describe their picture to a classmate.

Learning outcomes:

  • Recognise some basic yoga asanas (positions)
  • Review vocabulary for body parts and actions
  • Practise using imperatives
  • Develop listening and speaking skills
  • Use creative thinking

Age and level:

Aged 9–12 years at CEFR level A2+

Time:

105–120 minutes face-to-face - over two lessons

80-85 minutes online - this could be done over two lessons

Materials:

Learners will also need:

  • coloured pens/pencils and paper

Face-to face lesson one (50 minutes)

Before the lesson
  • Check with your learners’ parents/carers and/or your school to make sure that it’s OK to do a lesson that includes some physical activity and whether there are any learners who are unable to do the poses/warm-up for any reason. 
  • If anyone is unable to do the poses/warm-up due to mobility issues, you could include some adapted yoga poses/stretches to do instead. Websites such as https://www.wheelpower.org.uk/resources/adaptiveyoga can provide you with some ideas.
  • Arrange the classroom so there is space for the children to do the yoga moves. You will need a comfortable place where learners can sit on the floor
Introducing the topic (10 minutes)
  • Tell the learners that you’re going to show them an activity. Can they tell you what it is? Sit in Easy pose (this is also called Sukhasana or cross-legged pose – see instructions sheet). 
  • Elicit or tell learners it’s ‘yoga’
  •  Have a brief discussion. You can display slide 2.
    1.    Which country does yoga come from originally? [India]
    2.    What do we do when we do yoga? [relax our body and mind, stretch, do poses, etc.]
    3.    Have you ever tried yoga? [If they have, did they like it?]
  • Do the learners know the names of any poses, or can they guess? You could explain that many poses are named after animals or things from nature. 
  • Display slide 3 and ask learners to guess the names of the asanas from looking at the picture clues.
    1.    Cobra pose 
    2.    Happy baby or child’s pose
    3.    Crocodile
    4.    Bridge
    5.    Fish pose
    6.    Mountain pose
    7.    Flamingo pose


Note: For reference, Wikipedia has a list of poses (or asanas): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_asanas

Listening skills (10 minutes)
  • Tell the learners they’re now going to do the Easy pose that you showed them at the start. Before you begin, tell them that the pose is not always easy! But with practice it can become comfortable. You can display slide 4.
  • Do the Easy pose with your learners. They listen and copy you as you give them step-by-step instructions, referring to the instructions sheet if necessary. 
Language for body parts and actions (15 minutes)
  • Tell the learners that they’re going to warm up before learning some more poses.
  • Use the warm-up instructions on the instructions sheet, as they contain the language that the learners will need in the next stage for doing the Tree and Warrior poses. Learners listen to your instructions and copy you as you do the actions. You can display slide 5.
  • Do the warm-up a second time, but this time the learners should repeat the instructions after you, in order to practise pronunciation of the language.
  • Then give the learners the worksheet. Show them how to use the table. Going from left to right, they can create a sentence using words from each column. Read an example, pointing to the words. Then ask them to do the action. For example:
  1. Bend your knees.
  2. Straighten your left arm above your head.
  3. Put your right foot behind you.
  4.  Stretch your arms up.
  • Ask one of the learners to make a sentence. The other learners do the action. Repeat a few more times with different learners, until you are sure that the learners understand how to create the sentences and that they understand all the vocabulary.
Writing practise (15 minutes)
  • Ask learners to get their notebooks and pens ready.
  • Display slide 6 and elicit one or two sentences from the whole class. Learners copy the sentences into their notebooks.
  • Put learners into pairs and ask them to write 5 more sentences. Monitor and support as needed. Look for any common errors.
  • Nominate a few learners to give you sentences and highlight any common errors you noticed when monitoring and drill any pronunciation as needed.


Note: This stage gives learners more practise of the language before they move onto the next stage. This could be the end of lesson one if you use this plan over two lessons.

Face-to face lesson two (55 - 70 minutes)

Review (5 -10 minutes) - Optional
 
  • Elicit a few yoga commands from learners that they learnt in the previous lesson. Tell them they can refer to their notebooks if needed. Or briefly display slide 6 again and nominate a few learners to make sentences.
Speaking and listening skills (30 minutes)
  • Tell the learners that they are now going to learn another yoga pose and they are then going to teach it to a partner.
  • Divide the class into two groups – Trees and Warriors. Check they understand the meanings of the two words.
  • Within both groups, put the learners into pairs. Give each learner the Worksheet.
  • Give each pair/three the picture of their pose, Tree or Warrior. Should you wish, you could also use videos such as those below. Alternatively, you could watch the videos before the class for your own reference, in order to help the learners learn the poses. (You can see the four steps of the pose at 0:15 of each video.)
  1. Tree pose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfLrMwcxw1g
  2.  Warrior pose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOYTNOzK2mI
  • Instruct each learner to copy the name of their pose onto their worksheet.
  •  In their pairs/threes, using the picture of the pose and the table on the worksheet, the learners decide what instructions you need to get into and then out of that pose. They can make notes on the worksheet. When they have decided, they should practise the instructions on each other to see if they work. Monitor and help the learners as needed.
  • Once they have had enough time to feel comfortable with the pose, put the learners into new pairs, with at a Tree and a Warrior in each.
  • Tell learners they are going to take turns at being a yoga teacher. Demonstrate with one strong learner giving you instructions while show you are listening carefully and following their instructions.
  • One learner in each pair gives instructions and can demonstrates each movement if needed. The other follows the instructions and copies the pose.


Note: allowing the learner taking the yoga teacher role the option to describe and display the movement can be a way to include learners who need additional support).

  • Get some class feedback. Which pose was easier or harder? Which was more fun?
Listening skills (10 minutes)
  • Explain to your learners that at the end of a yoga session, people often practise relaxation. Tell them that you are going to tell them a little story that will help them relax and feel good. 
  • Before you start, draw a quick picture of a rainbow and clouds on the board and elicit the words sky, cloud and rainbow.
  • Tell them to close their eyes. They should imagine the story with their eyes closed.
  • While listening, learners can either lie on the floor, sit in Easy pose or sit on a chair. Read the text for the relaxation from the instructions sheet, using a slow and gentle voice.
Creative skills (10–15 minutes)
  • Ask the learners to draw a picture that illustrates the story they have just heard, or to illustrate another relaxing scene that they can imagine.
  • Once they have finished, they can ask a partner to close their eyes and imagine the picture while they describe it. Remind them to use a slow, gentle voice.
  • To extend the activity, ask the learners to write a description of their picture.
Setting homework (5 minutes)
  • For homework, learners could find another yoga pose to learn. They could look online or, if they know someone (e.g. in their family) who does yoga, they can ask them. They show and describe their pose in the next class. 
  • Learners could watch the yoga story and show you an asana they learnt in the following lesson.
  • Learners could describe their story if there wasn’t time for this during the lesson.
Further ideas and resources

Online lesson (80 - 85 minutes)

Before the lesson
  • Check with your learners’ parents/carers and/or your school to make sure that it’s OK to do a lesson that includes some physical activity and whether there are any learners who are unable to do the poses/warm-up for any reason. Ask the parents/carers to ensure that there will be an adult at home with the child during the lesson.
  •  If anyone is unable to do the poses/warm-up due to mobility issues, you could include some adapted yoga poses/stretches to do instead. Websites such as https://www.wheelpower.org.uk/resources/adaptiveyoga can provide you with some ideas.
  • Both you and the learners should try to make sure that where you attend the lesson, you are able to make a little bit of space and adjust your screen/camera for when you are sitting on the floor, sitting on your chair and standing up.
  • Prior to the lesson, or during the previous lesson, send half the class the picture of the Tree pose and the other half the picture of the Warrior pose. They should either print it out or make sure they know how to open it. 
  • Before you start the lesson:
  1. Test your microphone and camera to make sure they work.
  2. Make sure that you have the accompanying PowerPoint open and shared.
At the start of the lesson
  • Welcome the learners as they arrive:
  1. Check that you can all hear and see each other.
  2. Check that they can see the first slide.
  3. If they can’t, ask them (or ideally an adult they have present) to check their settings or troubleshoot in the way you have shown them previously. You may need to write this in the chat facility if they cannot hear you.


Tips:

  • Consider having a short task for the learners to do until they have all arrived. For example, you could have a poll set up (if your platform has this function) or a simple activity where they write in the chat, such as to say what they’ve done that week. 
  • Consider muting learners’ microphones after greeting them to avoid having too much background noise when you get started. Tell them if you do this and explain why. You could also suggest that, if possible, they use a headset with a mic rather than their device’s in-built speakers and mic
Introducing the topic (10 minutes)
  • Display slide 2 and have a brief discussion with the learners about yoga. 
  1. Which country does yoga come from originally? [India]
  2. What do we do when we do yoga? [relax our body and mind, stretch, do poses, etc.]
  3. Have you ever tried yoga? [If they have, did they like it?]
  • Show slide 3. Ask them to guess and write in the chat the names of some yoga poses, using the pictures as clues. 


Answers: 

  1. Cobra pose
  2. Fish pose
  3. Happy baby or Child’s pose
  4. Crocodile pose
  5. Mountain pose
  6. Bridge pose
  7. Flamingo pose
Listening skills (10 minutes)

•    Show slide 4. Tell the learners to sit on the floor and, if necessary, adjust their screen so that they can see it. Before you begin, tell them that the pose is not always easy! But with practice it can become comfortable.
•    Do the Easy pose with your learners. They listen and copy you as you give them step-by-step instructions, using the instructions sheet. 

Building language for body parts and actions (10 minutes)
  • Show slide 5. Tell the learners that they’re going to warm up before learning some more poses. They should stand up and make sure they can see their screen.
  • Use the warm-up instructions on the instructions sheet, as they contain the language that the learners will need in the next stage for doing the Tree and Warrior poses. Learners listen to your instructions and copy you as you do the actions.
  • Do the warm-up a second time, but this time the learners should repeat the instructions after you, in order to practise pronunciation of the language.
  • Then show slide 6 and explain how to use the table. Going from left to right, they can create a sentence using words from each column. Read an example, pointing to the words. Then ask them to do the action. For example:
  1. Bend your knees.
  2. Straighten your left arm above your head.
  3. Put your right foot behind you.
  4. Stretch your arms up.
  • Ask one of the learners to make a sentence. The other learners do the action. Repeat a few more times until you are sure that the learners understand how to create the sentences and that they understand all the vocabulary.
  • Then ask the learners to all write some sentences in the chat, using the table. Read out some of the sentences, correcting as necessary.
Speaking and listening skills (25 minutes) 

This next activity works best in breakout rooms, but it can also be done as an individual activity. 

  • Ask the learners to find or open the picture you sent them before the lesson. Explain that some of them have the Tree pose and some of them have the Warrior pose, and check they understand the meaning of the two words. Tell the learners that they are going to write instructions for the pose in their picture and then teach it to someone else.

If working in breakout rooms:

  • Tell the learners that they will work with one or two partners with the same pose. They will have 5–10 minutes to speak with their partner(s) and decide what instructions you need to get into and then out of that pose.
  • They can use the picture they received and the table on slide 7 to help them. Additionally, if you wish, you could send them the link to the relevant video and tell them to pause it at 0:15, where they will see the four steps of the pose:
  1. Tree pose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfLrMwcxw1g 
  2. Warrior pose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOYTNOzK2mI 
  • When they have decided, they should practise the instructions on each other to see if they work. Then everybody should write the instructions in their notebooks. 
  • Check that they have understood what to do, then put the learners who received the picture of the Tree pose into breakout rooms in pairs/threes, and put the learners who received the picture of the Warrior pose into breakout rooms in pairs/threes. Monitor and help the learners as needed.
  • Bring the learners back from the breakout rooms. Explain that they are now going to work with one or two partners who have the other pose. They need to take turns to give instructions for and demonstrate their pose. Their partner follows the instructions and copies the pose.
  • Put them into breakout rooms again in new pairs/threes, with at least one Tree and one Warrior in each. Monitor and help the learners as needed.

If working individually:

  • Ask the learners to look at their picture, the table on slide 7 and, if you wish, the relevant video mentioned above to help them write instructions for getting into and then out of that pose.
  •  After writing, they should read and try following their instructions to see if they work.
  • When they are ready, nominate individual learners to give their instructions to the whole class.

Note: If you have a lot of learners, you may wish to find pictures of other simple yoga poses to give to learners for more variety.

  • As a whole class, get some feedback. Which pose was easier or harder? Which was more fun?
     
Listening skills (10 minutes)
  • Explain to your learners that at the end of a yoga session, people often practise relaxation. Tell them that you are going to tell them a little story that will help them relax and feel good. Before you start, ask them what they can see in the picture on slide 8 (the sky, a rainbow and clouds).
  • While listening, learners can either lie on the floor, sit in Easy pose or sit on a chair. They should imagine the story with their eyes closed. Read the text for the relaxation from the instructions sheet, using a slow and gentle voice.
Creative skills (10-15 minutes)
  • Display slide 9. Ask the learners to draw a picture that illustrates the story they have just heard, or to illustrate another relaxing scene that they imagined.


Note: Encouraging all children to draw something, even if it’s not accurate, is a way to differentiate the task for all learners.

  • Once they have finished, put the learners into breakout rooms in pairs or small groups, where they can ask their partner/group to close their eyes and imagine the picture while they describe it. Remind them to use a slow, gentle voice.
  • Alternatively, ask some learners to describe their picture to the whole class.
Setting homework (5 minutes)
  • For homework, learners could find another yoga pose to learn. They could look online or, if they know someone (e.g. in their family) who does yoga, they can ask them. They show and describe their pose in the next class. 
  • Alternatively, you could ask learners to find out the English names of as many yoga poses as they can and share them with the class next time.
  • You could also ask them to write a description of the picture they drew in the previous stage.
At the end of the lesson
  • Display slide 10. Praise the learners for their participation and work and tell them you’re looking forward to seeing them again in the next lesson.
  • Make sure they know how to exit the platform, and wait until they all leave before leaving yourself.
Further ideas and resources
Language Level
Primary level 2
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