International Yoga Day for Kids: Ideas for Home and School

International Yoga Day is on 21 June every year, and the next one is Monday 21 June 2027. The simplest way to mark International Yoga Day for kids aged 3 to 8 is a short, screen-free routine you do together, at home or in class. Below is a 10-minute one that needs no kit or experience, plus ideas by age and for schools.

What is International Yoga Day?

International Yoga Day, officially the International Day of Yoga, is a United Nations observance held on 21 June each year. The UN General Assembly proclaimed it on 11 December 2014 in resolution 69/131, after India proposed it, and a record 175 member states endorsed the draft.

The UN describes yoga as "an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India". The UN's theme for 2026 was "Yoga for Healthy Ageing", a fair excuse to get grandparents on the floor too.

When is International Yoga Day 2027?

International Yoga Day 2027 is on Monday 21 June. The date is fixed, and in 2027 it lands on a school day in the summer term in England, around the longest day of the year. If mornings are a scramble, a light evening or the weekend before works just as well. Nobody is checking.

International Yoga Day for kids: a 10-minute routine

This eight-step routine takes ten minutes, suits ages 3 to 8, and works for one child, a family or a class. It moves from floor poses to three standing balances and ends sitting still. All six named poses are engraved and numbered on our Sun Salutation mat, from mouse at 1 to dancer at 15.

Clear a mat-sized space for each person. Bare feet are best, on a floor that isn't slippery.

1. Stand tall and breathe (1 minute)

Feet apart, arms by your sides. Breathe in as the arms float up and out as they float down, five slow times. Quiet breaths, not loud ones.

2. Mouse (1 minute)

Kneel with knees wide and big toes touching, sit your hips back to your heels and stretch your arms forward along the floor. A tight ball is a fine mouse too.

3. Cat (1 minute)

On hands and knees, round your back up high like a cross cat, then let it flatten. Slowly, five times. Expect hissing.

4. Downward dog (1 minute 30 seconds)

From hands and knees, push the floor away and lift your hips to the sky, arms by your ears and heels pushing down. Hold for five breaths, rest in mouse, then repeat.

5. Tree (2 minutes)

Stand tall, place the sole of one foot on the other calf or inner thigh, and bring the palms together with elbows out. Five breaths, swap legs, then both sides again. A wobbly tree still counts.

6. Eagle (1 minute)

Bend the knees and sit back a little with your back straight, then bring one elbow into the crook of the other. Five breaths, then swap. If the arms won't wrap, a big hug of the shoulders does the job.

7. Dancer (1 minute 30 seconds)

Hold one foot behind you with a tight grip and lift that leg gently, then extend the other arm and tilt forward. Five breaths, then swap. There will be giggling.

8. Sit still (1 minute)

Sit cross-legged, one hand on the tummy, eyes closed. Count slow breaths, or the sounds you can hear.

That's exactly ten minutes. For a flowing sequence to repeat, try our step-by-step sun salutation for kids.

How do you adapt it for ages 3 to 8?

Keep the same eight steps and change the holds and the leader: shorter holds and more play for younger children, longer holds and a turn running the session for older ones. Nobody needs to touch their toes.

• Ages 3 to 4: three breaths a hold, plenty of animal noises, an adult alongside. Skip eagle and dancer if they frustrate.
• Ages 5 to 6: five breaths, a hand on a wall for the balances.
• Ages 7 to 8: eight breaths, and they call out the poses for everyone else.

What International Yoga Day activities can families do at home?

The best International Yoga Day activities at home are short and shared: the routine before school, yoga in the garden after tea, or your child as the teacher. Pick one or two. Each is screen-free and needs nothing you don't already have.

• Bring the grandparents: given the UN's 2026 theme, invite them to try tree. Everyone wobbles.
• A pose a day: one pose each evening in the week before, then the whole routine on 21 June.

For more, see our guide to family yoga for the whole family.

What can schools do for International Yoga Day?

A yoga day for schools works best as one short routine, at the start of the day or on the playground, with pupils leading. Yoga isn't in the national curriculum, but the PE programmes of study ask KS1 pupils to develop balance, agility and co-ordination, and KS2 pupils flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance.

• Morning routine: every class does the same ten minutes at 9am, beside the desks or on the carpet.
• Plain words: call poses by what they look like and leave out chanting, so it suits every family.

Our guide to yoga in the classroom has a KS1 and KS2 routine for the rest of the year.

What if it doesn't go to plan?

It probably won't, the first time, and that's fine. Children wriggle, giggle and wander off in the middle of downward dog. Keep your voice low, do every pose yourself, and stop early rather than pushing on. Five happy minutes beat ten cross ones.

• The refuser: make them timekeeper, and invite them again tomorrow.
• The collapse into giggles: go back to tree for five breaths, then try sitting still again.

Stop any pose that hurts. A stretch should feel like a stretch, not pain.

How do you keep it going after 21 June?

Keep the same routine at the same time for a week or two afterwards, so children know what's coming. Treat 21 June as a start, not a target: the NHS says 5 to 18 year-olds should average at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity a day across the week, and 3 and 4 year-olds at least 180 minutes a day of varied activity. A mat left rolled up somewhere visible is easier to reach for than one in a cupboard.

New to it? Our guide on how to start yoga with your child covers what suits each age. And if Christmas is on the horizon, our list of presents that keep them moving is sorted by age.

Frequently asked questions

When is International Yoga Day 2027?

Monday 21 June 2027. It falls on 21 June every year, the date set by the United Nations General Assembly in resolution 69/131 on 11 December 2014. In 2028 it is a Wednesday.

What's the best yoga for International Yoga Day with children?

Simple poses children can picture: mouse, cat, downward dog, tree, eagle and dancer. Start on the floor, finish with the standing balances and a minute of sitting still. Ten minutes is plenty for ages 3 to 8.

Can a three-year-old take part in International Yoga Day?

Yes. Keep holds to about three breaths, make the poses into animals and do them alongside your child. The NHS says 3 and 4 year-olds should be active for at least 180 minutes a day, so ten minutes fits easily.

Do schools have to celebrate International Yoga Day?

No. It's a United Nations observance, not part of the national curriculum, so marking it is each school's choice. Many skills it practises, such as balance and co-ordination, are already in the PE programmes of study.

A mat they can follow on their own

You don't need a mat for this routine, but one helps children lead themselves. Every Yogi-Me Sun Salutation mat has 15 numbered poses laser-engraved into the surface, all six above included, with short tips beside each. A five-year-old can start at 1 and work through to 15 without waiting for you to read out the next pose.

It's made for ages 3 to 8. Three- and four-year-olds copy the animal poses with a little help, and by seven or eight they can run the session for everyone else. At 183 x 61 cm it's the length of an adult mat, so they won't outgrow it and a grown-up fits on it too. The trade-off is that a three-year-old will find a shorter mat easier to carry on their own. It's 6 mm thick and 800 g, rolls up with a carry strap, and wipes clean with a damp cloth and a little mild soap. If your child would rather settle than balance, our Freedom Flow design has a floor sequence instead, at the same size and price.

Buying as a grandparent? It's full length, so you can have a go at tree too, in the spirit of the UN's 2026 theme. And if you're after a Christmas present that's still in use by 21 June, there's nothing to set up and no screen to follow, so a wet Saturday in January is as easy a start as Christmas afternoon.

Start practising for 21 June this weekend: pick a colour from our kids' yoga mats. Each is £34.99 with free UK delivery and 30-day returns, and two or more are 10 per cent off if you're buying for siblings or cousins.

Sources

• United Nations - International Day of Yoga, 21 June (resolution 69/131, 11 December 2014; 2026 theme)
• NHS - Physical activity guidelines for children under 5 years, reviewed 27 October 2025
• NHS - Physical activity guidelines for children and young people (5 to 18 years), reviewed 23 October 2024
• GOV.UK - National curriculum in England: physical education programmes of study, published 11 September 2013