Space Yoga for Kids: 9 Activities That Are Out of This World
/Space yoga is one of our favorite Yo Re Mi classes to share with kids because it combines music, yoga, mindfulness and STEM (which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Anytime we can integrate curriculum into our musical yoga adventures, we leap at the chance!
For early learners, making abstract ideas tangible and visible can help with integrating big concepts…like space travel, planets, orbit and stars. By bringing this lesson into a yoga experience, children get to interact with these theories and make them their own.
If you are exploring the subject of science and outer space with your children, you’ll love these nine space-themed yoga activities (they include some of our favorite space yoga for kids from the Yo Re Mi App’s Space Adventure series).
Get ready: this outer space musical yoga adventure begins in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…BLAST OFF!
1. Sun Dance
We warm up for our adventure by celebrating the center of our solar system with the Sun Dance, a musical yoga take on the classic sun salutation. The Sun Dance combines several basic yoga poses into one fun sequence that is sure to get bodies moving and hearts pumping.
The sun provides energy for our all living things on our planet. Do this dance a couple of times and you might just feel the heat of the sun in your own body! You are creating energy, just like the sun!
What songs do you know about the sun? Invite children to play instruments or dance along to “You Are My Sunshine” or “Mr. Golden Sun” to continue the solar exploration.
2. Star Pose
Did you know that the sun is a star? It’s the star closest to us but there are billions of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Practice Star Pose and shine your light! Star is an active and energizing pose that lengthens the body in all directions at once. We can get energy from star pose just like we get energy from the sun!
Try This: Star and Mountain Pose
Stand tall in mountain pose
Step your feet wide apart with toes pointing forward
Reach arms out to your sides at shoulder height
Lift the chest and heart while expanding and lengthening outward with legs and arms
Stay for 2-3 breaths, then jump back in to Mountain
Stay for 2-3 breaths, then jump back out to Star
Shorten the length of time you stay in each pose until you find are doing jumping jacks!
Do 10 fast and then slow down again and breathe
3. Rocket Ship
How do we travel through outer space? On a rocket ship, of course! Rocket ship combines Star Pose with Chair Pose, a strengthening and grounding posture that builds core engagement and helps children feel fierce and confident.
Chair is a challenging pose so the countdown really helps children and adults stick with it, even when it get hard. Let’s blast off into space with Rachel…
READ NEXT: Kids love travel poses. Read this roundup of transportation yoga poses next!
4. Satellite
Rocket ships aren’t the only machines traveling through outer space. A satellite is a small object that orbits, or revolves around, a larger object in space. There are over two thousand artificial satellites orbiting our planet and they are used for all sorts of cool things.
The Hubble Space Telescope and various space stations help scientists explore space in new and exciting ways, while other satellites help us communicate with people all over the world.
Our satellite pose combines a deep squat with a twist, building flexibility in the spine while strengthening the legs and opening the chest and shoulders.
5. Melting Mercury
Let’s check out the planet closest to the sun, Mercury. Mercury has no atmosphere so when it’s facing the sun, everything gets REALLY HOT!!! And then when it is not facing the sun, everything gets really cold and freezes…BRRRR!
In this fun and open-ended activity, we practice melting our bodies and then freezing in place. Children have the opportunity to move in an imaginative and creative way while learning about this unique planet.
6. Move Your Middle
Did you know that four of the planets in our Solar System have rings? Saturn has the largest and most famous ring system but the other three giant gas planets, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune, have rings too!
How would you move if you had rings around your middle? This fun activity is perfect for a brain break or anytime you have been sitting still for too long. Circular movements are great for loosening any tightness in the hips, torso and low back!
7. Space Rover Robot
Now let’s travel to Mars, the red planet next door! Over the years, NASA has sent four robotic vehicles, called rovers, to Mars, Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity, and Curiosity. The Perseverance rover will be heading to the Red Planet soon.
These rovers collect data and specimens and send information back to scientists here on Earth so we can learn more about our red planet neighbor. It’s pretty dry and dusty on mars, so make sure you have your water bottle nearby!
8. Walking On The Moon
Our space yoga adventure is almost over, but before we head home to Earth, let’s take a quick stop on the Moon! The moon is a natural satellite, as it orbits or circles around our planet. The Moon's gravity is about 1/6th of the Earth's gravity, which means walking on the moon is quite a different experience.
Try taking giant, slow steps and jumps as we move together on the surface of the Moon!
9. Moon Yoga Poses
There are so many ways to make moons with our bodies. Reach and bend into Standing Side Stretch to turn your body into a crescent moon shape or try the traditional Half Moon Pose!
Try This: Half moon pose
From star pose, bring hands to your hips
Turn you right foot to the right, perpendicular with your left foot, opening the hip
Bend your right knee and place your right hand in front of the pinky side or your right foot
In one movement, straighten your right leg as you lift your left leg in line with your left hip
Flex the toes toward you and reach back through your left heel
If you feel steady, reach your left arm up inline with your left shoulder
Open the heart upward and broaden across the chest
Stay for 3-5 breaths and then try the other side
READ NEXT: Try these resources for more STEM activities and ideas
When astronauts return to earth, sometimes they land their spacecraft in the ocean. This is called a splashdown. To end our outer space kids adventure, let’s all splash down to the floor and imagine we are floating on gentle waves.
Take a few minutes to relax your whole body while you look up into the sky at all the stars and planets we just visited. Mission accomplished everyone — we hope you enjoyed this adventure exploring outer space yoga for kids, Yo Re Mi style!
Save this article for later and don’t forget to download the Yo Re Mi app for exclusive mindfulness and musical yoga videos for kids.
