Looking for a simple way to slow down and connect with your little one after a busy day? Partner yoga for kids is one of the easiest places to start. You need a bit of floor space, a mat or rug and about ten minutes. No yoga experience is needed for you or your child.
Our Yoga Bears teachers have run kids yoga sessions with more than 600 early learning centres across Australia since 2019, and partner poses are always a favourite. Children love the teamwork, the giggles and the feeling of doing something together with a grown up they trust. Below are six easy partner yoga poses for children aged 2 to 6, with simple cues you can use at home tonight.
6 easy partner yoga poses for kids
1. Seesaw
Sit facing each other on the mat with your legs out wide and your feet touching your child's feet (or their ankles, if their legs are shorter). Hold hands. As you lean back gently, your child leans forward. Then swap. Sing "Seesaw, up and down" as you rock slowly back and forth.
Cue to try: "Breathe in as you lean back, breathe out as you come forward."
2. Double tree
Stand side by side and hold your inside hands. Each of you lifts your outside foot off the floor and rests it against your standing leg, or simply bends the knee and lifts it a little (avoid pressing the foot into the knee). Raise your free arms up like branches. Holding hands makes balancing much easier for little ones, and wobbling is all part of the fun.
Cue to try: "Our roots are strong, our branches sway in the wind." Swap sides after five slow breaths.
3. Back to back breathing
Sit cross legged with your backs touching. Close your eyes if that feels comfortable. Take a slow breath in through the nose and feel each other's backs rise, then let the breath out slowly. This is a lovely way to calm down after big play or before bed, because your child can literally feel your calm breathing.
Cue to try: "Can you feel my balloon breath fill up? Now let's let the air out slowly together."
4. Double boat
Sit facing each other with your knees bent and hold hands. Press the soles of your feet against your child's feet, then slowly lift your legs together so you make a "W" shape. If straightening the legs is too tricky, keep the knees bent. Row the boat side to side and look out for dolphins.
Cue to try: "Hold on tight, sailors! Let's row our boat across the sea."
5. Tunnel
You come into downward dog: hands and feet on the floor with your hips lifted high, making a tunnel with your body. Your child crawls underneath like a train, a bear or a cat. Then swap roles if your child would like to be the tunnel (you can wriggle under their legs or just pretend). This pose builds strength and is guaranteed to bring laughter.
Cue to try: "Choo choo! Here comes the train through the mountain tunnel."
6. Mirror mountain
Kneel so you are at your child's height and face each other. Reach your arms up high and press your palms together above your head, then ask your child to copy you like a mirror. Stand tall, then float your arms down slowly. Take turns being the leader and repeat three times, breathing in as the arms go up and out as they come down.
Cue to try: "We are two tall mountains. Reach up to the clouds, now let the snow slide down!"
How to make partner yoga work at home
Keep it short. Five to ten minutes is plenty for toddlers and preschoolers. Stop while they are still having fun.
Let your child lead. Ask them to choose the next pose or invent a name for it. Ownership keeps children engaged.
Go gently. Never pull or push your child deeper into a pose. Partner yoga is about trust, not stretching.
Use stories. Turn the poses into an adventure: sail the boat, climb the mountain, drive the train through the tunnel.
Finish calm. End with back to back breathing or lie down side by side for a quiet minute.
Why partner yoga is so good for young children
Partner poses help children practise balance, coordination and body awareness while they connect with you. They also build turn taking, listening and gentle communication, the same social skills educators work on every day in early learning. Slow breathing together helps children notice how their body feels when it is calm, which makes it easier to come back to that feeling when emotions run high.
If you would like a full routine to follow, try our easy 15 minute kids yoga routine at home, or pair these poses with our bedtime breathing games for a calm wind down.
Bring kids yoga to your child's centre
Yoga Bears teachers visit childcare centres and kindergartens across Australia each week, running playful kids yoga sessions with movement, games, breathing and relaxation. If you would love your child to enjoy yoga at their centre too, share our childcare yoga programs with your centre director, or get in touch with Yoga Bears and we can reach out to them.
