Earth Day – A Yogi’s favourite holiday and a wonderful theme for a yoga class. Here are my favourite earth day activities for elementary students all put together in a yoga lesson plan you can use this week or really anytime of year when we are celebrating our connection to the planet.

These yoga earth day activities have the students becoming “Earth Warriors” or “Yogi Superheroes” to protect the planet. At the end of the class you can review everything you did with a game that gets your kids connecting.

Get ready to play along!

Earth Warriors – Yoga Lesson Plan

Lesson Objectives: Show how everyone can be a superhero and help take care of our planet and the species that live here.

Materials: Mats, Ipod, Pose Pictures
Age: 5 – 12 years

Create the Mood and Tone
Set out mats in a circle. Cue Music. Be centered and prepared. Playlist ready.

Connecting & Preparatory Poses
Welcome the students, review of ‘class conduct’ / pledge.

Introduce the theme
Yoga is about connecting to our body, our emotions and to the world around us. To celebrate Earth Day we are going to see what we can do as Yoga Warriors to help our planet.

Today in our class we are going to be yoga superheroes. But first we have to go to superhero training camp…

Super Hero Training Camp…

(Play the Music: “The World’s Greatest” or other empowering quick tempo song)

Sun Salutations – Jumping back like stealth warriors – quiet & stealthy OR Ninja Lunges for K and G1

Yoga Warriors use the 3 R’s to help the earth;

Reduce / Reuse / Recycle – Repeat this series of poses 3X times while you chant the motto.

Qualities of Yoga Warrior:

Warrior 2 – I am strong, courageous

Warrior 1 – I am brave, smart

Warrior 3 – I am powerful, I can fly, I am a super hero OR I can do anything, accomplish all I set out to)

The first mission for our superheroes to save the Environment is to plant some trees.

Next our Yoga Superheroes are going to help save a species.

Eagle – A long time ago the Bald Eagles, the ones we see high on top of trees and power poles, were almost extinct because of a chemical we were using to control weeds on our farms. This chemical DDT made the shells of the eagle eggs Egg Pose (childs pose) so thin the moms would break them when they sat on them to keep them warm.

Eagle – other side – but when scientists discovered what was wrong – we quickly banned this chemical to keep the eagles safe and now they are no longer endangered – truly the act of yoga warriors.

Cut out chemicals and help save the birds & water animals:

Ask students what animals live near or in water that we can help and act out poses for those animals.

Some of our favourites are:

• Stork
• Dolphin
• Flamingo
• Turtle
• Swan

OK- superheroes – we have another mission:

Down at the park someone – has left a lot of garbage – we need to go and pick it up!

Marble Toes – Place marbles on an extra mat in the center or inside a hoola hoop to keep them from rolling. Have students pick up the marbles with their toes (no hands allowed) and carry them to the trash can (cups set around the room). Make sure to use both feet.

(Music: The 3 R’s by Jack Johnson) Pick up all the “marbles” before the song ends.

You can also use pom poms, and stones to pick up.

It’s yoga for your feet!

What about driving?

We just need to go down to the corner store – How else can we get there besides driving?

• Bicycle (Pedal Laughing)
• Walking (Tight Rope Walking) – walk around perimeter of mat
• Carpool (Drive my Car OR Rollercoaster) – for well-behaved classes only, time permitting
• Take the Subway / C-Train (Locomotive or Breathing Train)

Superheroes can help by giving wild animals space & don’t feed them!

Bear (Polar Bear Pose) – put away food when camping, don’t leave garage out.

Animals need their space!

Yoga Warrior Attitude

One of the best ways we can help save the earth is simply to Be Content. We don’t need everything! Be happy with what we have, having less stuff makes us happier.

Calm and Quiet

Guided Visualization – Superhero Flight

• As your body gets heavier and heavier allow your mind to become light.
• Allow your superhero body to lift out of your physical body and soar up into the air.
• Fly to wherever you are needed. Go on a superhero quest or rescue mission.
• Soar over the earth looking for a way that you can help.
• Perhaps there is an animal that needs you or you can help to clean up the earth or you can invent something to reduce pollution.
• Take a few moments to do whatever you can to help out – use your strengths to best help the world.
• Pause.
• You start to notice the sky getting darker and the stars coming out it’s time to head back.
• As you come to rest gently on the floor again – feel the solid earth beneath you and gently start to stretch your arms and legs.

End the Class with Peace Breath (3X)

Thanking students for sharing yoga with you today.

Print off the Earth Day Classplan

To make this easier to use in your classroom – download the class plan and bonus game here.

Have fun with this and share in the comments below which part of the adventure did your students like the best?

For another Earth Day Activity check out this Earth Day Warrior Visualization