Imagine a Day… when the peace of a forest and the strength of a mountain become a cathedral for your heart.

Combining reading and yoga makes reading fun for young readers with the bonus of improving their reading skills at the same time.

“Imagine a Day ” by Sarah Thompson is a beautiful book full of wonderful verses and yoga poses to act out. Allowing young readers to experience the book not just through the words but through the whole body.

Here are some pose options to get you started but feel free to improvise as you get going and follow the lead of the kids to find other gems to act out or change it up. You don’t even have to act out the whole book – pick a few favourite pages and see where it leads..

Let each reading be a new adventure.

Imagine a Day Lesson Plan

Page 1 – Tree Pose, folding forward to dive down through branches and grow up on the other side. Swim up to the Sun – make swimming motions and do Reach for the Sun Pose.

Page 2 – Bridge Pose, extra activity – join your bridges together with grace and daring.

Page 3 – Balloon Breath to imagine your wishes into Hot Air Balloon as you float on a puff of air.

Page 4 – Mountain Pose bringing your hands together overhead to form a roof as your house enfolds you like a nest, then Windchimes to rock gently in the autumn wind.

Page 5 – Tight Rope Walking… when you forget how to fall...

Page 6 – Boat Pose rowing gracefully across the moat, keep your heart lifted not to keep strangers out but to welcome them in.

Page 7 – Swinging Pretzel, when you don’t need wings to soar.

Page 8 – Pedal Laughing on a road you have never ridden on before.

Page 9 – Table Pose, miming or adding real building blocks to your belly when everything you build touches the sky

Page 10 – Tree Pose, when roots drink up rivers into Ladder Climbing as your tree becomes a ladder between earth and air.

Page 11 – Chair Pose, miming putting together a puzzle as you build the world around you piece by piece.

Page 12 – Flamingo Pose, soaring through the air, gliding across cities, parks, oceans…when the edge of the map is only the beginning..

Page 13 – Waves, taking your knees back and forth withstanding even the highest waves.

And my favourite page…

Page 14 – when the peace of a forest, Tree pose connected by holding hands, and the strength of a mountain, Mountain Pose, become a cathedral for your heart, bring hands to Namaste at heart center.

Page 15 – when a book swings open, Butterfly Pose opening knees like a book.

Take time at the end for Relaxation Pose

Imagine the mat (or carpet) underneath you becomes your magic carpet taking you to a land where anything is possible…

Imagine a day when you have the grace and daring to build a bridge to go anywhere your heart desires…

Imagine the peace of a forest….

Imagine a road you have never ridden on before…

Imagine floating on a puff of air…

Where do you imagine you could go? What’s around you? What colours do you see? What objects do you see? Is there anyone else there with you?

Now it’s time to float back, feel the ground underneath you safe and secure and gently start to move.

Close off by having your students write about or draw about what they imagined.

Share below how this works for you and your students. What did you imagine? What is your favourite page to act out and inspire creativity?