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Seated Yoga Poses for Kids: 8 Floor Poses to Try
Eight seated yoga poses for kids aged 3 to 8, done on the floor rather than a chair, with the words to say out loud and a short session to try.
Seated yoga poses for kids are yoga shapes a child makes while sitting on the floor, such as butterfly, boat and a gentle twist. The eight below suit children aged 3 to 8, need only a mat or a rug, and run from the simplest seat to a kneeling curl. Each one comes with words you can say out loud.
They're for the small living room, the wet afternoon, or the child who finds standing balances more frustrating than fun.
What are seated yoga poses for kids?
Seated yoga poses for kids are done sitting on the floor, not on a chair. That's worth saying, because a lot of what comes up for this search is chair yoga for classrooms, which adapts poses for a child sitting at a desk. Floor poses use the whole body, from the legs out in front to the arms reaching up.
You need a mat or a rug on a dry, flat floor, bare feet and enough room for your child to stretch their legs out wide. A grown-up should stay in the room. Start with any pose, hold it for three slow breaths, and stop anything that hurts. If a pose keeps hurting, have a word with your GP or health visitor. Nobody's knees need to touch the floor.
Five of the eight are on our Freedom Flow mat, the floor design: flower, butterfly, star, boat and rabbit. The other three are poses we've added because they fit, and each is labelled. If your child would rather be on their feet, our easy yoga poses for kids mix standing and sitting.
What are the best sitting yoga poses for kids?
The best sitting yoga poses for kids are the ones a child can get into and out of on their own. These eight are ordered by how you sit: first the plain cross-legged seat, then poses with the legs together, wide or lifted, then a twist and a kneeling curl to finish.
1. Cross-legged seat
The starting seat for everything else. Not one of the fifteen on the mat. Say: "Sit on your bottom, cross your legs, rest your hands on your knees and sit up tall like a sunflower." It's the seat for breathing games, and the one to come back to between poses. Good from age 3.
2. Flower
A balance on the bottom, and pose 1 on the Freedom Flow mat. Say: "Sit with the soles of your feet together, slide your hands under your legs, then lift your feet off the floor." The wobble is half the fun. Feet on the floor is a perfectly good flower at 3, and lifting them comes from about 4.
3. Butterfly
Sitting with the soles of the feet together, and on the Freedom Flow mat. Say: "Press the bottoms of your feet together, pull your heels in towards you and let your knees float out like wings." Gentle flapping is welcome. Never press your child's knees down. Good from age 3.
4. Star
Sitting with the legs wide, and pose 3 on the Freedom Flow mat. Say: "Open your legs wide with your toes pointing up, sit tall, and put your hands on the floor in front of you." Walking the hands forward a little is plenty. Good from age 3, and nobody needs to fold flat.
5. Boat
A balance on the bottom with the legs lifted, and on the Freedom Flow mat. Say: "Lean back a little, lift your feet and your arms, and make a V shape with your body." Bent knees make it easier. Rocking gently about at sea is part of it. Easier from about 5.
6. Sandwich
A seated forward fold with the legs out long. Not one of the fifteen on the mat. Say: "Legs out straight in front, reach your arms up high, then fold forward over your legs like the filling in a sandwich." Bent knees are fine. Fold only as far as is comfy. Good from age 3.
7. Seated twist
A seated twist yoga pose for kids is a gentle turn of the upper body while sitting tall. Not one of the fifteen on the mat. Say: "Sit cross-legged, put one hand on the opposite knee and the other behind you, then look slowly over your shoulder." Do both sides. No yanking round. Good from about 4.
8. Rabbit
A kneeling curl, and pose 14 on the Freedom Flow mat. Say: "Kneel, hold your heels, round your back and roll forward until the top of your head touches the mat." Keep the weight in the knees, never pressing down on the head or neck. Easier from about 5; younger children can curl up small instead.
Which seated poses make a short sit-down?
Pick three to five poses that flow from one seat, hold each for about three breaths, and keep the whole thing to a few minutes. The three below take three to five minutes each, and every one ends sitting or lying still, so it's easy to stop there.
- The five-minute sit-down (5 minutes): cross-legged with three slow breaths (1 minute), butterfly (1), star (1), sandwich (1), then the seated twist on both sides (1).
- Three from the mat (3 minutes): flower, butterfly and star, about a minute each. All three are on the Freedom Flow mat, so a child who has done them with you once can find them again on their own.
- Before bed (4 minutes): butterfly (1 minute), sandwich (1), the twist on both sides (1), then lie down on your back and breathe slowly (1). Our bedtime yoga routine builds on the same idea.
The cross-legged seat is also the natural place for simple breathing exercises, if your child likes the quiet part best.
Want the poses under them, not on a phone? Our mats have 15 numbered poses laser-engraved into the surface, so a child can sit on the floor and find flower or star by the picture. The Freedom Flow design keeps them on the floor. Both are full length at 183 x 61 cm, so a grandparent can sit in butterfly alongside. See both designs in the Yogi-Me range, at £34.99 with free UK delivery.
Can you do seated yoga on a chair?
Yes, partly. Sitting tall with both feet flat on the floor replaces the cross-legged seat, and a reach up and a gentle twist both work well on a chair. Flower, butterfly, star, boat, sandwich and rabbit need the floor, so they don't translate.
A chair version suits a classroom or a long car journey. At home, the floor gives your child more room to move.
Does seated yoga work for a child who can't sit still?
Yes, as long as "seated" doesn't mean silent. Most children aged 3 to 8 wriggle, and that's fine. A flapping butterfly, a rocking boat and a star that walks its hands about are all still seated yoga.
Do a pose yourself and say nothing. Let your child pick the next one. One pose counts as a session. If they'd rather be up and moving, try standing yoga poses instead and come back to the floor at the end.
It's also worth being honest about what seated yoga is. The NHS asks children aged 5 to 18 to break up long periods of not moving with some activity, and says children under 5 should not be inactive for long periods except when they're asleep. These poses are gentle movement, a good way to break up a long sit after a film or homework, and a small part of an active day. The running about still matters.
For calmer moments, the Department for Education's Development Matters guidance suggests reception settings "allow for time to be still and quiet", for example sitting or lying in a den. A few seated poses on a mat are one way to give a child that.
Frequently asked questions
What are the names of seated yoga poses?
Children's names and the traditional ones often differ. Common seated yoga poses include easy pose, the cross-legged seat (Sukhasana); butterfly, also called bound angle (Baddha Konasana); boat (Navasana); the seated forward fold (Paschimottanasana); the wide-legged seated fold (Upavistha Konasana); and staff pose, sitting tall with legs straight (Dandasana). Most children remember the animal or object names far better.
What are some good seated exercises for kids?
Butterfly, star, boat, a forward fold and a gentle twist are good seated yoga poses for kids, because a child can get into and out of each one on their own. Hold each for three slow breaths. Seated poses are gentle movement, not a replacement for running about, so mix them with active play across the day.
Can toddlers do seated yoga poses?
A two-year-old can copy butterfly or star as a game, with you on the floor beside them. Let them make the shape their own way, and never move their legs into position for them. Skip boat and rabbit. Our mats are designed for ages 3 to 8, so under three we'd keep it to that copying game.
Do you need pictures to follow sitting yoga poses for kids?
No. Pictures usually means a printable or a video, but sitting poses are easy to learn by copying, because you're both on the floor at the same height. Sit facing your child, make the shape slowly and say the words on this page. Flower, butterfly, star and boat are engraved on our Freedom Flow mat, so they can find those again on their own.
