Get ready to stretch, move, and spell! This week in the DharmaKids Yoga Circle, we’re turning our Yoga Alphabet Cards into a playful movement game called Stretch & Spell.
Follow along with our yoga teacher as kiddos use their bodies, imaginations, and yoga poses to work their way through the alphabet. We’ll stretch, balance, breathe, and spell together—making this a fun way to combine movement with early learning.
Before you press play, make sure you have your DharmaKids Yoga Alphabet Cards ready! Then find a little space to move, roll out your mat, and let’s Spell & Stretch!
Recommended Tools:
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 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.
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Inhale through the nose like you’re smelling a beautiful flower, hands on our bellies, which get bigger as we breathe in.
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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.
We’re using our DharmaKids Alphabet Yoga Cards to play Spell & Stretch! Follow along as we spell, move, and stretch our way through a fun yoga activity designed to get little bodies moving and minds engaged.
3. Spell and Stretch with the Alphabet Cards
Last time, we discovered that our Alphabet Yoga Cards can take us on all kinds of adventures. Today, we’re going to discover another way to use them. It’s called Spell & Stretch! To play, choose a word and find the Alphabet Yoga Card for each letter. Put the cards in order to spell your word. Then, instead of simply saying each letter, we’re going to move our bodies through each letter! Your word becomes your very own yoga sequence. You can spell your name, your favorite animal, a color, something you love to eat, or even a silly word that makes you laugh. Today, let’s start with a word that has just three letters.
CAT
Can you spell CAT with me?
C – A – T
Let’s find our cards!
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Our first letter is C- C is for Camel Pose – Ustrasana- Kneel on your knees with your hands on your lower back. Gently press your hips forward and lift your chest toward the sky, letting your head drop back slightly if it feels good. You can also reach down and hold your heels. Take a deep breath in, breathe out. Open your heart like a camel standing tall in the desert. Slowly come back up and sit on your heels to rest. We just stretched our first letter! C!
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What letter comes next in CAT? A- A is for Airplane Pose – Dekasana- Stand tall and stretch your arms out wide like airplane wings. Find something that isn’t moving to look at. We can use our Hoberman Sphere as our focus point. Slowly lean forward and bring one leg behind you. Can your airplane balance? Take a breath in, breathe out. Gently land your airplane by bringing your foot back to the ground. Let’s take back off on the other side! We have stretched: C – A.
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We need one more letter to finish our word- our last letter is T is for Tree Pose – Vrksasana- Stand tall and place one foot on your ankle, calf, or above your knee, (never on your knee). Find your focus point. Reach your arms up like branches growing toward the sun. Maybe there’s a little breeze. Can your branches sway without your tree falling over? Take a deep breath in, breathe out. Switch sides and grow another strong tree. We did it! C – A – T, CAT!
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Put It All Together: Our CAT Yoga Sequence- Now let’s see if we can remember our whole word with our bodies. First…C – Camel. Next… A – Airplane. And finally… T – Tree.
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Let’s do it one more time, flowing from one letter to the next. Camel. Airplane. Tree.
We just spelled a word with yoga! That’s Spell & Stretch. And CAT is only the beginning. What word would you like to spell? Maybe your name. Your favorite animal. Your favorite food. Or the silliest word you can think of! Or maybe a WHOLE sentence like… YOGA IS FUN!
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Y-Yo-Yo
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O-Owl
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G-Grasshopper
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A-Airplane
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I-Inchworm
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S-Spider
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F-Frog
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U-Umbrella
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N-Night
Y-O-G-A-YOGA! I-S-IS! F-U-N-FUN! YOGA IS FUN!!!
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.
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Optional tools: Eye pillows or breathing buddies (stuffed animal) on bellies, and/or star machine with calming music or the bird timer.
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I gently “brush” a little yoga dust on each child’s forehead to help them relax.
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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:
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Stretch arms overhead for a full-body stretch.
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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.
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Breathe in and raise your arms up.
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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;:
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On our hearts: > “We respect each other with loving hearts.” Have the children repeat “loving hearts”.
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On our mouths: > “We respect each other with kind words.” Have the children repeat “kind words”.
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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.”
