This month’s yoga adventure is all about hugs—big hugs, little hugs, and the kind of hugs that help us feel safe, calm, and connected. Through breathing, movement, and storytime, we’ll explore how our bodies move, how our breath helps us slow down, and how kindness lives inside each of us. As we begin, we’ll take a moment to greet one another, settle our bodies, and remember that everyone here is both special and kind—ready to move, imagine, and share our light together on the mat.
Download your printable pose guide (PDF) featuring a few highlighted poses from this sequence!
Recommended Tools:
- Hoberman Sphere (a.k.a. Breathing Ball/balancing ball)
- Bird Timer
- Yoga Dust Brush (clear-handled makeup brush with floating glitter)
- Speaker
- Book: Big Hugs, Little Hugs by Felicia Bond
This month, we’re excited to share our very first DharmaKids mini lesson—a short, under-15-minute video designed to fit easily into your day.
Led by instructor Megan Tager, who has been teaching yoga for over 15 years, this gentle session walks through each pose shown in the accompanying PDF. You’ll see the movements brought to life on screen, with the same poses clearly highlighted again in the flow outline below, making it easy to follow along with children at home, in the classroom, or in a studio setting.
1. Opening with Namaste
We begin by greeting each other with Namaste, which means:
“The light in me sees the light in you.”
For young children, I explain this as:
We each have something special about us—something we’re really good at, something we enjoy doing, or something
we’re learning to do. Examples of this are, jumping high, running fast, drawing, cooking or learning to read. I hold out one hand and say,
“This hand reminds me of something that makes me special.”
Then I talk about how we all do kind things for others—like helping a friend who is sad, putting recycling in the bin, or cleaning up the classroom. I hold out my other hand and say,
“This hand reminds me of all the kind things I do for others.”
When we put our palms together, it shows that we are both special and kind. That is our light. When we begin and to end yoga, we honor that light in each other with Namaste.
2. Breathing Practice
We sit criss-cross applesauce and begin to breathe deeply to prepare our minds and bodies for yoga.
- Inhale through the nose like you’re smelling a beautiful flower, hands on our bellies, which get bigger as we breathe in.
- Exhale through the mouth, gently, making our bellies smaller again.
We repeat this three times. To help visualize the breath, we use the Hoberman Sphere, which expands and contracts like our bellies do when we breathe. Children can open the ball slowly or quickly to match their breath. This “breathing ball” is also a useful focusing tool in later poses.
3. Reading Big Hugs, Little Hugs
We read the book Big Hugs, Little Hugs one page at a time. After reading each page, we pause to do the corresponding pose together. Once we’ve completed the pose, we return to the book and continue reading. We repeat this pattern—read a page, do the pose—until the story is complete. Then we transition into Savasana.
Bolded poses indicates the poses that are on the worksheet.
-
Hugs (Sukhasana), pages 1-2- Sit on the floor with your legs criss-cross applesauce. Wrap your arms around yourself to give yourself a great big hug! Take a few slow breaths and feel calm and still.
-
Cat Pose (Marjaryasana), page 3- Come to your hands and knees, like a cat. Take a deep breath in and look up towards the ceiling arching your back. Exhale and look at your belly, rounding your back like a stretching kitty. Repeat a few times, moving slowly and noticing how your back stretches.
-
Dog Pose (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana), page 4- Lie on your belly, place your hands under your shoulders, and gently push up so your chest lifts like a happy puppy looking up. Keep your legs long behind you and your shoulders relaxed. Take a big, slow breath in, and a slow breath out as you gently lower your head and chest back down to the ground. Repeat two or three more times.
-
Bear (Uttana Shishosana), page 5- Come onto your hands and knees like a bear cub. Walk your hands forward, keep your hips over your knees, and let your chest melt down toward the floor. Stretch your arms long, wiggle your tail (hips), and feel your bear body get super long and happy!
-
Hogs (Ananda Balasana) page 6- Lie on your back and grab your feet, bending your knees wide like a happy pig rolling in the mud. Gently rock side to side and make a soft “oink” if you want to. Take a few slow breaths and feel relaxed and playful!
-
Hamster (Adho Mukha Svanasana), page 7- Start in Downward Dog with your hands and feet on the floor and your bottom up high. Gently bend one knee, then the other, like a hamster running on a wheel. Keep your hands strong, breathe slowly, and have fun moving your legs
-
Hippo (Virabhadrasana I), page 8- Stand tall with one foot forward and one foot back. Bend your front knee and stretch your arms up like a big hippo reaching to hug its baby.
-
Penguin (Tadasana), page 9- Stand tall with your feet together and arms at your sides. Waddle a little and flap your arms like a penguin standing on ice. Now bring your heels together, toes pointed out, can you take a few penguin steps forward and a few backwards?
-
Spider (Malasana), page 11- Squat down low with your feet apart and put your hands on the ground in front of you. Wiggle your fingers and sway side to side like little spiders crawling.
-
Stairs (Utkatasana), page 12- Stand with your feet together and bend your knees a little. Stretch your arms up high and imagine you are a strong stair on a staircase that leads to the upstairs.
-
Bird (Eka Pada Tadasana), page 13- Stand tall like a mountain. Lean forward and bring one foot behind you. Look at something that is not moving on the floor ahead of you. Stretch your arms out like wings, lift the leg behind you, and balance as you fly through the sky like a bird!
-
Tree (Vrikshasana), page 14- Stand tall on one leg with your spine straight and shoulders relaxed, looking at something that isn’t moving to help you balance, (such as our Hoberman’s Sphere Ball). Place your other foot on your inner calf or thigh (not the knee), bring your hands to your heart or reach them up like branches, take slow breaths, and imagine you are a strong, growing tree. (Younger children can keep their toes on the ground for support).
-
Bat (Viparita Karani), page 15- Lie down on your back and bring your legs up. (You can do this near a wall, with legs straight up the wall). Take a few breaths here, while you sleep upside down like a dozing bat.
-
Turtle (Baddha Konasana), page 16- Sit on the floor with the soles of your feet together and knees wide like a turtle’s shell. Hold your ankles and slowly fold forward, bringing your forehead toward your toes. Take slow, gentle breaths and imagine you are a cozy turtle hiding safely in its shell.
-
Elephant (Baddha Konasana), page 17- Stand with your feet apart and fold forward at your hips. Let your arms hang down and bring your hands together to make a long elephant trunk and sway gently side to side. Take a few slow, swinging breaths and imagine you are a happy elephant exploring the jungle.
-
Ant (Bharmanasana, marching), page 18- Let’s be marching ants! Come to your hands and knees. Slowly lift one hand and extend it straight in front of you, lift the OPPOSITE leg and bring it straight behind you. Take a deep breath in, exhale and bring your hand and knee back to the floor with control. Inhale and repeat on the other side.
-
Deer (Mrga Asana), page 19- Sit tall with your legs crossed and your spine long. Place your hands on top of your head to make soft antlers and gently turn your head side to side, listening like a quiet deer in the forest. Keep your breath slow and your body calm and alert.
-
Sea Lion (Bhujangasana), page 20- Come to lie down on your belly. Bring your hands under your shoulders and push your chest up. Rotate your hands so your fingers are pointing to the sides, like a sea lion’s feet. Can you sway side to side and make sea lion noises? Enjoy the sun as you lie on a rock.
-
Day- Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar), page 21 *A great song to use for this section is Kira Willey’s Dance for the sun. The cues given here match her song-
-
Tadasana- Stand tall with feet together- look up and wave to the sun!
-
Uttanasana-Fold forward and bring your fingers to your toes. If you can reach, give them a tickle, if not just wave to them.
-
Plank Pose- Jump your feet back to plank pose. BIG breath in.
-
Chaturanga- BIG breath out as you lower your belly down to the ground. You can even hissssssss like a snake.
-
Bhujangasana or Urdhva Mukha Svanasana- Inhale as you straighten your arms and look at the sun.
-
Adho Mukha Svanasana- Exhale as you push yourself up on your hands and raise your bottom to the ceiling into downward dog. Take three deep breaths in and out.
-
Jump your feet to your hands like a frog.
-
Uttanasana-Fold forward and bring your fingers to your toes. If you can reach, give them a tickle, if not just wave to them.
-
Tadasana- Stand up tall again and wave to the sun, then bring your hands down by your sides or to your heart center! Amazing job!
*If using the song, this sequence repeats itself one more time.
-
Moon (Tadasana Parivrtta Chandrasana), page 22- Start standing tall with your feet together and reach your arms up high, clasping your hands. Gently lean your body to one side, curving like a soft, glowing moon. Keep your legs strong, breathe slowly, and then switch to the other side.
-
Dinosaur (Adho Mukha Svanasana), page 23- Put your hands and feet on the floor and lift your bottom up high. Press your hands down strongly and feel your arms and legs stretch. Take 3 giant dinosaur steps forward and then three steps backwards.
-
Flower (Sukhasana), page 24- Sit cross-legged like a little flower in the garden. Bring your hands behind your head, elbows wide, to make your petals. Sit tall, breathe slowly, and imagine your petals opening up to the sun.
-
Kangaroo (Utplutih) pages 25-26- Start standing at one end of the mat with feet together and knees bent, make a kangaroo pouch with your hands in front of your belly. Take a big breath in, then hop forward like a kangaroo, landing softly with bent knees and quiet feet. Freeze like a kangaroo and take a calm breath before going to the end of your mat and hopping again.
-
The Whole World Hugs (Parivrtta Utkata), pages 27-28- Stand with feet hip-width apart and bend your knees slightly. Extend your arms out in front of you, palms facing in, and make a big circle with your arms, like you’re wrapping the whole world in a hug. Slowly twist your upper body from side to side or sway gently, imagining sending your hug everywhere, from one side of the planet to the other.
4. Savasana (Final Rest)
After we finish our story and poses, we quiet our minds and calm our bodies with Savasana.
“Savasana helps our brains become calm and clear, making room for new thoughts and ideas.”
I demonstrate with the Yoga Dust Brush—a clear-handled brush filled with floating glitter. I show the kids how the glitter swirls when the brush is moving and settles when the brush lies still. I explain:
“Our thoughts are like that glitter—when we lie still, they settle down and our minds become clear.”
Children lie on their backs, breathing gently.
-
Optional tools: Eye pillows or breathing buddies (stuffed animal) on bellies, and/or star machine with calming music or the bird timer.
-
I gently “brush” a little yoga dust on each child’s forehead to help them relax.
-
I guide them to breathe in through their noses, expanding their bellies to rise, and out through their mouths, letting their bellies fall.
5. Magic Yoga Hugs & Closing Namaste
After a few quiet minutes, we begin to wake up:
-
Stretch arms overhead for a full-body stretch.
-
Hug knees to chest, and slowly roll up to a criss-cross seated position.
We bring our hands to our hearts and think of someone or something we love—family, friends, pets, even a favorite toy or blanket. It can be someone alive or someone who’s passed on.
-
Breathe in and raise your arms up.
-
Breathe out and give yourself a hug.
“As we breathe out, whoever or whatever you were thinking of will receive a magic yoga hug, wherever they are!”
Repeat once more, either with the same person/thing or someone new.
Then, we place our special and kind hands together and bring them;:
-
On our hearts: > “We respect each other with loving hearts.” Have the children repeat “loving hearts”
-
On our mouths: > “We respect each other with kind words.” Have the children repeat “kind words”.
-
On our foreheads: > “We respect each other by trying new things with open minds.” Have the children repeat “open minds”.
Finally, we all say together:
“Namaste.”
Stay tuned for our next DharmaKids yoga lesson, inspired by the beloved book My Heart Is Like a Zoo by Michael Hall—a playful and meaningful story that helps children explore feelings through imagination and movement. We encourage families and teachers to rent or purchase the book so children can follow along, connect more deeply with the poses, and continue the conversation about emotions both on and off the mat.