Our yoga sessions help children build planning and organizational skills through movement, breath, and playful mindfulness. We also plant seeds for values that shape better humans: kindness, honesty, patience, and joy.
As your child learns to pause, plan, and proceed, you just might find those socks in the drawer… where they actually belong.
Mom, if your child can remember every Pokémon character but forgets where their socks are (again), you’re not alone. Many parents of young school-aged children struggle to help their kids develop organization and planning skills. These are executive function skills—like knowing what to do first, how to switch gears, and remembering to actually pack the backpack they spent 10 minutes organizing.
What if there was a way to help improve these skills that didn’t involve another planner, chart, or sticker system? One that didn’t feel like “training” at all, but felt like play? Enter: Yoga.
Yoga might look like just stretching on a mat, but it’s secretly a master class in organization. Each class has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Every pose has steps. Breathing patterns create rhythm. Sequences require remembering what comes next. And just like that, your child is practicing planning, sequencing, and self-monitoring—all without a single worksheet.
“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.” – Benjamin Franklin
Here’s what yoga can improve in terms of planning and organization:
- Sequencing: Children learn to follow a flow of poses, remembering and predicting what comes next.
- Task initiation: Guided prompts like “Let’s start with breath” train kids to begin tasks calmly.
- Flexibility: No, not just the kind that helps them touch their toes—mental flexibility to shift from one pose or activity to another.
- Working memory: Holding the pose name, shape, and breath pattern all at once? That’s memory in motion!
A mindful stretch routine helps kids feel their bodies in space—crucial for putting things where they belong (hello, coat on the floor). Breathing practices regulate emotions, reducing the overwhelm that often derails organization. And guided flows—like a 3-pose “Get Ready for School” mini sequence—teach routine without nagging.
Yamas & Niyamas: Making Better Little Humans
Now, here’s the secret ingredient: yogic principles. The yamas and niyamas aren’t rules—they’re wise and kid-friendly values like kindness (ahimsa), truthfulness (satya), self-discipline (tapas), and contentment (santosha). We weave these into every session.
For example, during a lesson on saucha (cleanliness), we talk about keeping our mat—and room—tidy. We act out a “clean-up” yoga flow with poses like sweeping (forward fold) and folding (seated twist), while imagining our minds getting clearer too.
A Story: The Turtle with a To-Do List
Once upon a yoga mat, there was a young turtle named Tavi. Tavi wanted to be fast like the bunnies, but he often forgot what he was doing. One day, his wise grandma turtle gave him a plan: “First, breathe. Then stretch. Then take one step at a time.” Tavi made a routine—wake up, stretch like a cobra, breathe like a lion, walk to the pond. By following his little turtle yoga plan, he didn’t just stay on track—he got there happy and calm.
Moral of the story? Planning doesn’t have to feel like work—it can feel like smooth flow.
Article by Natasha Marsch, MS Ed.
TeachYoungMind@gmail.com
