1 Minute Yoga for Educators and Caregivers

When people ask me how often I do yoga, I chuckle and say “I am doing it right now!”. 

From my experience, we have a choice in every minute of our day to be doing yoga or not. Sure, it is easy to forget and might not look like a traditional yoga flow, but we have a decision, right NOW, if we want to be mindful of our movements and find yoga poses in everyday activities–especially the activities that involve kids. 

Mindful Questions to Ask Yourself to Inspire Yoga

The best way to invite more yoga throughout your day is checking in with yourself and asking:

How is my posture right now? 

How am I sitting? 

Is my neck straight? 

Is my tailbone tucked?

Is my back straight or slouched? 

Our posture and everyday movement are the most important yoga poses we can practice, because they never go away and require mindfulness to correct. The beauty is, it only takes one minute to recognize our posture and correct it. 

When is the Best Time to Do Yoga?

As I mentioned above, there is no better time to do yoga than now. It doesn’t have to be a full flow, it can be as short as one minute, and you can get your kids to do yoga too!

Standing in line? Yoga. 

Carrying a child? Yoga. 

Brushing your teeth? Yoga. 

Working on the computer? Yoga. 

Tying your shoes? Yoga.

Breathing? Yoga. 

While I wait and breathe, I like to distribute my weight evenly between my feet or, if I am feeling really wild, I stand in a tree pose or bring a knee to my chest. I start slowly, in tune with my breath, in one minute increments. Then I start to see yoga all around me. Yoga is presence.

Practice presence

As a kids yoga teacher, school teacher, caregiver or youth educator, it is important to practice self care.

Practicing presence is the best gift I can give to myself, my family, my chosen family, and my children. 

For more online resources for mindful living, visit the Yogiful online resources, with articles, videos and kids yoga.