Little Dreamers #10: Animal Yoga

Step into a peaceful morning on the farm with this episode of Little Dreamers, where host Kathryn leads preschoolers through a soothing mindfulness journey themed around animal yoga. The adventure begins with gentle breathwork and a gratitude practice, inviting children to imagine the sights and sounds of a paddock. By combining soft imagery with mindful movement, this episode helps young listeners transition into a state of calm, teaching them how to feel their bodies become quiet and grounded.

This month’s session features easy-to-follow instructions for cow pose and horse pose, designed for little bodies and growing imaginations. Children will learn to stretch like a cow on the grass and find their balance as a steady, strong horse in the stable. The episode concludes with a sunset visualisation, leaving children feeling safe, happy, and as peaceful. It is the perfect resource for educators and parents looking to integrate gentle physical activity with emotional regulation.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to Learn Play Thrive the podcast, the ultimate early learning podcast for educators and leaders in the sector. Let's learn, play, and thrive together.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

The Learn Play Thrive podcast was recorded on the land of the dark and jungle people. We pay our respects to the traditional custodians, past, present, and emerging. Hands out, hands down, clear and dark and jungle.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Welcome to Learn Play Thrives Mindfulness Stories, Little Dreamers. These podcast episodes are specially written mindfulness stories which naturally guide preschoolers through gentle imagery, concluding with easy to follow yoga poses. This month, our theme is animal yoga. The yoga poses we are gonna practice today are cow pose and horse pose. When you're ready to play this for your preschoolers, play it from this spot. Hello little dreamers. My name is Catherine, and I'm so glad you're joining me today. Let's start by wiggling all our fingers and toes. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle! And now let's make them stop. Let's keep all our fingers and toes super still. Can you feel how still they are?

unknown 1:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

That's what we're going to practice today. Feeling our bodies being calm and quiet. Let's start by all sitting down together, crossing our legs, and placing our hands on our knees. Let's take a big breath in through your nose. And blow it away out through your mouth. Let's try that again in through your nose. And blow it out through your mouth. Great work. Sitting comfortably still, resting your hands on your lap, let's think about the farm animals today. With all the animals wandering around the paddocks. What animals can you see in your mind? A brown cow? A pink piglet splashing in muddy puddles? A noisy rooster waking up the farmhouse? Or a dark horse trotting near the timber fence? We are going to think about something we are thankful for. Maybe it's the sunshine that helps the veggies grow in the patch. Or the cool water we drink when we're thirsty. Let's hold that thankfulness in our hearts like a little treasure. Good job. Now imagine you are a happy, sleepy cow resting on the green grass. As you breathe in, feel your belly get big and round like a balloon. And breathing out through your mouth. Good. Big breath in through your nose, feeling calm and heavy, like a cow in the grass, and breathe out through your mouth with a soft, quiet move. Let's try that again. In through your nose. Out through your mouth with a move. Breathe in through your nose, feeling nice and peaceful. Breathe out through your mouth with a move. You feel so grounded and calm. Well done. Now that we've found our calm breath, let's move our bodies. We're going to pretend to be a friendly cow, waking up as the sun rises over the paddocks. So gently move on to your hands and knees and make sure your back is as flat as a tabletop. Take a deep breath in and let your belly sink towards the floor. And at the same time, lift your head up and look towards the blue sky. Can you see the puffy white clouds passing over the farm? Feel your back make a gentle curve, just like a happy cow. And this is cow pose. Let's see if we can stay in this position and make that big soft moo sound. That's it. Great job. Now bring your back to be flat again and let's try it one more time, shall we? Breathe in. Sink your belly to the ground and look up to the sky. Good job. Stretch your neck nice and long and feel how strong your cow hooves are on the ground. Well done. Let's sit back on our heels. Take a big breath in. And as you breathe out, let's see if we can be nice and still for a moment. Beautiful. Now we are going to pretend to be a beautiful strong horse standing in the stable on the farm. Come back onto your hands and knees. Check that your hands are right under your shoulders and your knees are right under your hips. A horse is very strong and steady. Are you strong and steady? Yep. To find our horse pose, we're going to stretch out one leg behind us, straight and long, just like a horse's tail. So that's it. Get one leg out behind you and keep your eyes looking down at the hay on the floor as you stay balanced. Are you nice and balanced? Can you imagine your long silky mane flowing in the wind? Now for a tricky bit. If you feel very steady, can you stretch out your opposite arm? So the opposite arm to the leg that you've got stretched out behind you. Can you stretch that opposite arm out in front of you? Oh balancing. Great job! Now gently put your hands and knees back down. We've got to make sure our bodies are nice and even, so should we try the other side? So you're on your hands and knees, you're gonna stretch out the other leg behind you. Stretch, stretch, stretch. Good job. You are a magnificent steady horse. And when you're nice and steady, stretch that opposite arm to your leg out in front of you. Stretch, stretch, stretch. Good job! You are a strong, steady horse. Well done. Now gently bring your hands and knees back to the floor and sit up on your knees. Amazing! So gently coming back down to sit with our legs crossed. And you know what? Let's close our eyes for a moment. That's it. Let's imagine we are sitting in the middle of a quiet golden farm. The sun is setting, painting the sky in pink and orange. You can hear the distant soft clock clock clock clock of the chickens heading to bed. Nearby, a horse is resting its head over the fence, and a cow is chewing slowly on some green grass. You feel the warm dry hay beneath you. It's so peaceful here. You are so safe. You are happy, and the farm is getting ready to sleep. You feel your own breath moving slowly, like the tall corn swaying in the fields. In and out. In and out. You are as steady as a horse and as calm as the cow in the meadow. Let's take one more deep breath in through our nose, filling our whole body with warm farm sunshine, and slowly gently breathe out through your mouth. And when you're ready, blink your eyes open. Beautiful. Thank you so much for stretching with me today. You are so good at being calm and still. You moved your body, you breathed nice and softly, and I bet your mind may have become a little bit quiet too. Thank you for listening to Little Dreamer's Mindfulness Story. Be sure to join us next month for our next episode. To learn more, visit our Learn Playthrive website at www.learnplaythrive.com.au.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Thank you for joining us on this episode of Learn Playthrive the podcast. We hope you found inspiration and valuable insights to fuel your journey in early childhood education. Remember the key to fostering learning, promoting play, and empowering young minds lies within your dedication and creativity. If you enjoyed today's episode, please like, subscribe, rate, or review our podcast on your favourite platform. Your feedback helps us to continue to deliver content that resonates with you. And don't forget to visit us at our website at learnplaythrive.com.au for additional resources, blog posts, and professional development opportunities. Until next time, keep learning, keep playing, and keep thriving. We'll see you in the next episode of Learn Playthrive the podcast.