Equip your classroom with tools to help you keep your sanity and your students engage their thinking brain.

Yoga and meditation tools for the classroom are super useful but only if they are easy and quick to use.

Here are my top 5 picks that make incorporating these great habits daily super easy for your classroom. These include everything from the 5 best yoga pose cards series for kids and teens to visualization resources and toys for meditation moments.

Top 5 Yoga and Meditation Tools for the Classroom

1. Yoga Pose Cards

There are several choices of great pose card decks available depending on the age of your students.

Yoga Pose Cards for Elementary Students

Yoga Pretzels has 2 difference card decks with cute illustrations and a variety of different poses not found elsewhere.

To purchase check out yoga pretzels on amazon.ca

Yoga 4 Classrooms is another illustrated deck with great visualization exercises and healthy habit tips.

Go directly to yoga4classsrooms.com for the best pricing

YogaKids Toolbox of Poses has photos of real kids in the poses which tend to be a favourite of kids especially for special needs students. There are also 5 – 6 curriculum tips on the back of each card which really help to integrate movement into your daily curriculum learning.

Go directly to yogakids.com for the best pricing.

Yoga Pose Cards for Middle School and Teen Students

Grounded has a fun illustrated deck that appeals to the mid school years. They have re-named a lot of the core yoga poses to fun names that older kids love. These pose cards focus on empowering youth.

Get this directly from Grounded: Grounded Yoga Cards

Breathe Yoga for Teens has a great deck for the mid school and teen ages. They also include a few flows for students to follow for different emotional needs.

To purchase check out Yoga For Teens Card Deck at amazon.ca

2. Hoberman Sphere

My all time favourite breathing tool for all ages – even adults. There is something completely mesmerizing – or even meditative to watching this ball inflate and deflate as you breathe.

Pass this one around to a few students each day to have them lead the class in breathing. This also gives them a chance to have everyone focus on them in an non-intimidating way as the awareness is on their hands and not the face so this works great to build up the confidence of the shy child.

Buy it here: Hoberman Sphere

OR track it down at a children’s toy story near you. Warning the dollar store versions are cheaper but may not stand up to the rigorous testing of kids…

3. Imaginations – Relaxation Stories for Kids

Carolyn Clark has put together a compilation of wonderful visualizations to use with kids – and now she has a second volume out as well which is equally fabulous and give you more variety, enough to last you till Christmas.

I have used these visualizations with all ages from preschool through high school by just modifying the wording slightly as I read to accommodate the younger and older ages.

You can purchase a hard copy or a kindle version of Imaginations here: Imaginations: Fun Relaxation Stories and Meditations for Kids at amazon.ca

4. Tac on Mat

To help display the cards as a pose of the day or a daily yoga series use a Tac On Mat. This mat sticks to a smooth surface such as a wall or whiteboard on one side and adheres to the cards or any laminated paper on the other side. It also sticks to paper – but it sticks really well – so you need to be careful not to rip the paper as you take it off… just stick papers gently or hang them from the bottom edge. You can purchase these directly from YogaKids here: Tac on Mat

5. Chime or Tone Bowl

A chime or tone bowl is a wonderful way to direct your students attention back to you when switching activities or you need to draw them in for more instructions.

The sound of the chime can be a therapeutic note to a stressful day.

Use the chime together with the pose of the day to get them focused and give them a yoga break at the same time.

I also love to use the chime while practicing a few brain engaging balancing activities. Hold up a pose card of a balancing pose, ring the chime and hold it for as long as you hear the sound. Enjoy the meditative silence while everyone listens deeply.

To purchase check out Woodstock Chimes Percussion Zenergy Chime, Solo Percussion Instrument at amazon.ca

Programs to Help You Use These Top Yoga and Meditation Tools for the Classroom

Classplans and Activities to help you have fun with your new toys…

Calm Classroom Guide – 5 Tips for Calm Classrooms

The Calm Classroom Guide is a resource full of tips and tools to create a classroom for calm, focused learners. It includes more suggestions on using the pose of the day, getting the sillies out before you learn and how to start a daily visualization practice.

It’s completely free – my gift to you for joining this tribe of teachers and parents who love kids and love how yoga can help kids.

Download the Calm Classroom Guide

21 Days of Yoga and Mindfulness for Kids

To use all of these tools on a daily basis with your students check out the 21 Days of Yoga and Mindfulness for Kids program.

This is a compilation of my favourite activities to share with students in the classroom put together in a weekly format to help you integrate yoga and meditation into your classroom.