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Standing Yoga Poses for Kids: 9 Poses With Safety Tips
Nine standing yoga poses for kids aged 3 to 8, with both feet on the floor, each with its proper name, the words to say and one safety tip.
In standing yoga poses for kids, both feet stay on the floor the whole time: think mountain, chair and warrior. Here are nine for ages 3 to 8, ordered by where the feet go, each with its proper name, the words to say out loud and one safety tip. Most need only a patch of floor about the size of a mat, and none needs equipment.
They're for the child who has been sitting for an hour, over homework, a film or a long car journey, and needs to move without tearing round the house.
What are standing yoga poses for kids?
Standing yoga poses keep both feet on the floor the whole time. Poses that lift one foot, such as tree, eagle and dancer, are balance poses, and they have their own page, from easiest to hardest. Keeping the two apart gives a child a steady base first and the wobbly poses later.
Most children aged 3 to 8 can do every pose here in some form. The ages below are our suggestions, not milestones. A grown-up should stay in the room, especially the first few times.
How do you set up for standing poses?
You need bare feet, a dry, flat floor and an arm span of clear space on every side. Socks slide, and so do rugs on wooden floors. Start with any pose, hold it for three slow breaths, and come out of anything that hurts.
The nine are grouped by what the feet do:
- Feet together: mountain, rainbow, chair.
- Down low: rag doll, frog.
- Feet wide: star, warrior 2, triangle.
- One step forward: deer.
Six of the nine are on our Sun Salutation mat, the standing design: mountain, rainbow, chair, rag doll, frog and deer. The other three are labelled. For floor poses as well as standing ones, see our easy yoga poses for kids.
What are the best standing yoga poses for kids, with names?
These are the best standing yoga poses for kids, with names in two forms: the child's name, then the traditional one where there's a clear match. The easy standing yoga poses for a three-year-old are mountain, rainbow, rag doll and star; triangle and deer usually come later.
1. Mountain (Tadasana)
Standing tall and still, and on the Sun Salutation mat. Say: "Feet together, arms by your sides, grow tall like a mountain and stay still for five breaths." It looks easy, which is why counting the breaths makes it a challenge. Good from age 3. Safety tip: soft knees, not locked back.
2. Rainbow
A standing side stretch, and on the Sun Salutation mat. Say: "Reach both arms up, put your palms together, then lean slowly to one side, and back up, and to the other side." Each side makes half a rainbow. Good from age 3. Safety tip: lean to the side, not backwards, and keep both feet flat.
3. Chair (Utkatasana)
Sitting on an invisible chair, and on the Sun Salutation mat. Say: "Feet together, bend your knees, push your bottom back and reach your arms up by your ears." Pretending someone might take the chair away keeps it silly. Good from about 4. Safety tip: sit back far enough that you can still see your toes, so the knees stay behind them.
4. Rag doll
A floppy forward fold, close to the standing forward bend (Uttanasana), and on the Sun Salutation mat. Say: "Feet apart, bend your knees, fold forward and let your arms dangle like a rag doll." Swaying side to side is allowed. Good from age 3. Safety tip: keep the knees bent, and roll up slowly with the head coming up last.
5. Frog
A low squat, close to garland pose (Malasana), and on the Sun Salutation mat. It isn't the adult frog stretch on all fours. Say: "Heels in, toes out, squat down low and press your elbows against your knees." A hop between frogs is optional. Good from about 4. Safety tip: heels can lift, and stop if the knees hurt.
6. Star
Standing with the arms and legs out wide. Not one of the fifteen on the mat, and not the seated star on our Freedom Flow mat. Say: "Jump your feet wide, stretch your arms out and make yourself as big as a star." From star, warrior 2 and triangle are just a turn of the foot away. Good from age 3. Safety tip: check there's an arm span of space all round first.
7. Warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana II)
A wide-legged lunge to the side. Not one of the fifteen on the mat. Say: "From star, turn one foot to point at the wall, bend that knee, and look over your front hand." Strong faces are encouraged. Swap sides. Good from about 4. Safety tip: the front knee stays over the ankle, not past the toes.
8. Triangle (Trikonasana)
A long side reach with straight legs. Not one of the fifteen on the mat. Say: "From warrior, straighten your front knee, reach forward, then rest your hand on your shin and point the other arm up." Swap sides. Easier from about 5. Safety tip: the hand rests on the shin, not the floor, and the back knee is straight but not locked.
9. Deer
A high lunge with the arms up, and on the Sun Salutation mat. Say: "Step one foot forward and bend that knee, lift your back heel, and stretch your arms up like antlers." Swap legs after three breaths. Easier from about 5. Safety tip: the front knee stays over the ankle, and press down through the front foot.
How do you keep standing yoga poses safe for kids?
Keep the floor clear, the feet bare and the knees soft, and let your child move into each pose on their own. The NHS advises that children aged 5 to 18 do exercise "suitable for their age, ability and experience", start new exercise slowly and build it up, and get medical advice first if they have a health condition.
On the living room floor, that means nothing with a sharp edge within an arm span, the knees behind the toes in chair, the bent knee over the ankle in warrior and deer, and a slow roll up after rag doll or frog. Never push or pull a child further into a pose. If a pose keeps hurting, or you're worried about how your child moves, have a word with your GP or health visitor. The NHS guidelines for children and young people set out the exercising-safely points in full.
Which standing poses share a footprint?
Choose three to five poses that share a footprint, so your child isn't jumping between stances, and hold each for three breaths. Two to four minutes is plenty, and it's a good way to break up a long sit. Three that work:
- Two-minute stand-up (2 minutes): mountain (30 seconds), rainbow to both sides (30 seconds), chair (30 seconds), mountain again (30 seconds).
- The wide-legged three (4 minutes): star (30 seconds), warrior 2 on each side (1 minute), triangle on each side (1 minute), star (30 seconds), then mountain to finish (1 minute).
- Side by side with a grown-up: both of you in warrior 2, facing the same way, then your child calls the next pose and you copy.
Finishing in mountain, standing still, is a good habit. The Department for Education's Development Matters guidance asks reception settings to "encourage children to conclude movements in balance and stillness". For a flowing sequence that goes from standing down to the floor and back up, try a sun salutation, step by step.
Six of these nine are already on the Sun Salutation mat. Our mats have 15 numbered poses laser-engraved into the surface, so your child can find them by the picture. It's full length, at 183 x 61 cm, so a wide warrior fits, and so does a grandparent. Each mat is £34.99 with free UK delivery: see both designs and all the colours.
Should your child run about before standing poses?
Yes, if they want to. Standing poses are easier after a chase round the garden than instead of one, and the NHS says pre-schoolers should be active for at least 180 minutes a day, so the running counts too.
When they're ready, let them invent the names: a chair can be a skier and a warrior a surfer. Make your child the teacher and copy whatever they call. One pose counts. And if standing isn't their thing at all, seated yoga poses on the floor are a quieter way in.
Frequently asked questions
What are the classic standing yoga poses and their proper names?
There's no single official list. The classic standing poses in adult yoga include mountain (Tadasana), chair (Utkatasana), the standing forward bend (Uttanasana), warrior 1 and warrior 2 (Virabhadrasana I and II), triangle (Trikonasana) and the wide-legged forward bend (Prasarita Padottanasana). Tree is a standing pose too, but it lifts one foot, so it counts as a balance.
What are some standing animal yoga poses for kids?
Frog, a low squat, and deer, a high lunge with antler arms, are the two standing animal yoga poses for kids in this list, and both are on our Sun Salutation mat. Eagle and flamingo are animals too, but they lift a foot, so they're balances. Cat, cow and dog happen on hands and knees.
Do you need pictures to follow standing yoga poses?
No. Standing yoga poses for kids with pictures usually means a printable or a video, but you can read the instructions here aloud, show the shape once and let your child copy. A mat with the poses engraved into it means your child can see the next one without a screen or a printer, but it isn't essential.
Can you do standing yoga in a small space?
Yes. Mountain, rainbow, chair, rag doll and frog fit on a patch of floor the size of a mat. Star, warrior 2 and triangle need an arm span of clear space on each side, so move the coffee table first, or turn sideways in a hallway. Bare feet and a floor that doesn't slide matter more than space.
