Yoga in PE: 20 Poses and Postures for Physical Education Classes
Updated: 4 days ago
Adding yoga to physical education is a great way for students to learn about and experience the benefits of yoga and mindfulness. Yoga poses help students learn about their bodies and how to move with good alignment and posture, while they build strength, flexibility, and balance. Yoga also helps students focus on the task at hand, and the calm breathing can help them handle stress and tough moments both in and out of the gym.
Pics by Bo Phillips @BoPhillips10 and Mrs. Hochman (& Mr. Ramlow) @CopelandD70PE
In this post, I'll share the benefits of yoga in a PE program and some tips for adding it to your curriculum. I'll also share 20 yoga poses, sorted into four levels, that you can use in your lessons. These poses work for students of all levels, from beginners to kids who have done yoga before, and they fit well into a warm-up, a cool-down, or a full yoga lesson.
Quick Answer: Yoga in PE builds strength, flexibility, balance, focus, and body awareness, and the slow breathing helps students calm down. Start with simple poses like Child's Pose, Mountain Pose, and Downward Dog, offer easier and harder options, teach breathing, and use yoga in warm-ups, cool-downs, stations, or a full lesson.
Click any of the links below to jump to a section of this article:
Pic by Bo Phillips @BoPhillips10
What Are the Benefits of Yoga in PE?
1. Yoga Builds Muscle Strength, Flexibility, and Balance: Yoga helps every student build strength, flexibility, and balance, no matter their physical ability. It's a great form of exercise with real health benefits.
2. Yoga Helps Students Focus: Holding a pose and paying attention to their breathing gives students practice with focus and concentration. That's a skill they can carry back to the classroom.
3. Yoga Helps With Stress: Slow breathing and quiet poses give students a chance to calm their bodies and minds. Many teachers use yoga as a reset after a busy day or before a big test. A faster flow of poses can also raise heart rates and get students moving.
4. Yoga Builds Body Awareness: Yoga poses help students notice how their bodies move, how to line up their joints, and which areas feel tight or need more work.
5. Yoga Gives Students a Chance to Work Together: Partner poses, small group stations, and student leaders give kids lots of chances to work with classmates and build teamwork. It's also a nice tie-in to social and emotional learning.
Does Yoga in PE Help Meet Standards?
Yes! Yoga is good for students, and it also helps you meet important standards. The yoga poses in this post help students work toward SHAPE America's Standard 1: Develops a variety of motor skills.* Yoga also supports Standard 4: Develops personal skills, identifies personal benefits of movement and chooses healthy opportunities for movement.*
How Can I Add Yoga to a PE Lesson?
Now that you know some of the reasons yoga is a great fit for physical education, here are some tips to help you get started:
Start Slowly: Don't expect students to be yoga experts right away. Teach simple poses with step-by-step directions so they can learn a little at a time with regular practice. Explain how each pose helps their fitness, focus, and ability to relax.
Add Yoga to Warm-Ups and Cool-Downs: Use poses that build flexibility, like Child's Pose, Mountain Pose, Downward Dog, and Upward Dog. They also make a great brain break for classroom teachers.
Offer Different Levels: Not every student will be comfortable with the same poses. Give easier and harder options so everyone can take part at their own level. Teach to the students in front of you.
Pic by Bo Phillips @Bo Phillips10
Keep It Positive: Make the gym a place where students feel safe and supported while they try new poses. Let them move through each pose at their own pace, use yoga mats if you have them, and step in to help when a student is struggling. Make it fun!
Teach Breathing: Slow, deep breaths help students relax their bodies and minds. Have them pay attention to their breath, how the pose feels, and how it helps their body.
Give Feedback: Offer supportive feedback and corrections so students learn good form. Encourage classmates to help each other, too. A yoga word wall is a great way to keep pose names and cues in front of students. If you want more help, reach out to a certified yoga teacher in your area.
20 Yoga Movements and Poses for Physical Education Classes
Yoga is a great way to add variety to your PE program and give students a mind and body workout. Below are 20 yoga poses you can use in a PE class, sorted into four levels.
Students can do these poses on their own, or work in pairs or small groups and take turns teaching each other at stations around the gym (on a yoga mat if possible). You can also lead the whole class through one large yoga session.
Level 1: Basic Poses
Child's Pose: Kneel and sit back on your heels. Fold forward and rest your forehead on the floor in front of you. Stretch your arms out in front.
Mountain Pose: Stand tall with your feet together. Relax your shoulders and raise your hands over your head with your palms facing each other. Reach up high.
Upward Dog: Lie face down with your hands on the floor next to your chest. Keep your elbows close to your body and press down through your hands. Straighten your arms and lift your chest and thighs off the floor.
Easy Pose: Sit and cross your legs in front of you, with each foot under the opposite knee. Sit tall and rest your hands on your knees.
Downward Dog: Start on your hands and knees and walk your hands a few inches forward. Tuck your toes under and slowly press your hips up toward the ceiling, making an upside-down V with your body.
Level 2: Basic Poses
Bridge: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor under your knees. Press your feet and arms into the floor as you lift your hips up.
Triangle Pose: Stand with your feet wide apart and your arms out to your sides. Bend sideways over your left leg, reach your left hand toward the floor, and stretch your right fingertips up to the ceiling.
Cobra Pose: Lie face down with your hands under your shoulders. Tighten your core and keep your hips on the floor. Press your shoulders down and lift your chest toward the wall in front of you.
Warrior Pose: With your legs wide apart, turn your left foot out and your right foot in slightly. Stretch your arms out to the sides and bend your left knee over your left ankle.
Head to Knee Forward Bend: Sit with your left leg straight. Bring the sole of your right foot to the inside of your left thigh. Fold forward from your hips over your left leg and reach your arms forward.
Level 3: Intermediate Poses
Boat Pose: Sit and lean back a little, then slowly lift your legs off the ground. Stretch your arms out toward your feet and hold the position.
Salutation Seal: Sit with your legs crossed in front of you. Press your palms together in front of your chest and keep your chin tucked slightly.
Tree Pose: Stand on your right leg and place the sole of your left foot on the inside of your right leg (above or below the knee, never on it). Bring your palms together in front of your chest.
Seated Twist: Sit with both legs straight. Bend your left knee and cross your left foot over the outside of your right thigh. Place your right elbow outside your left knee and your left hand on the floor behind you. Twist gently and look over your left shoulder.
Low Lunge: Take a giant step forward and bend your front knee so it's right over your ankle. Lower your back knee to the floor and reach both arms straight up over your head.
Level 4: Advanced Poses
Cow Face Pose: Sit and cross your right leg under your left leg. Reach your right arm over your shoulder and down your back, then reach your left arm behind your lower back and try to touch your fingers. Hold the pose.
Crow Pose: Squat down and press your palms into the floor. Bend your elbows and rest your knees on the backs of your upper arms. Lean forward and lift one foot, then the other, off the floor if you can.
Pigeon Pose: From Downward Dog, bring your left knee forward between your hands with your left ankle near your right wrist. Stretch your right leg back behind you and keep your hips level.
Lotus Pose: Sit and place your right foot on top of your left thigh, then your left foot on top of your right thigh. Only go as far as feels comfortable. Half Lotus (one foot up) or Easy Pose are great options.
Bharadvaja's Twist: Sit with your knees bent and your legs folded to the right. Twist your upper body to the left and hold.
Final Thoughts
Yoga is a great way to bring physical exercise and calm, focused breathing into physical education. It helps students build strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, and focus, and it adds variety to your PE classes. Start with the Level 1 poses and work up to Level 4 over time. Give clear directions on how to line up each pose, teach students how to breathe, and offer easier options when needed.
With these tips and 20 poses, you have a great starting point for yoga in your PE classes. If you want a full unit, my Yoga Movement and Activities Unit with 10 PE Lesson Plans has everything ready to go, and my Downward and Upward Dog rubrics make it easy to check student progress.
Thanks for reading! I hope these tips and poses give you a starting point for your own PE classes. Namaste, PE teachers!
*National Physical Education Standards are used under license from SHAPE America. © 2024, SHAPE America, https://www.shapeamerica.org/. All rights reserved.
Need Resources?
Do you need some PE Yoga Movement Challenge Cards to help you teach poses like the ones in this post? Would easy-to-use visuals with clear directions and great graphics help? Here's a set to help!
Fill in the form below to download 12 FREE PE Movement Challenge Cards with a variety of yoga poses to teach in your physical education classes.
The set is a PDF digital download with twelve cards you can use to teach mindfulness through yoga poses. The cards make it easy to guide students through a variety of yoga movements while they build flexibility, muscular strength, and endurance.
This free set is one you'll use in your PE classes for years!
If you want even more yoga resources for your PE program, check out my 6 Resource Yoga in PE Super Bundle. It has a variety of yoga lessons and visuals for PE teachers, classroom teachers, coaches, fitness instructors, camp counselors, and anyone else who leads movement activities.
You can find this bundle in my TPT store: Yoga PE Bundle | Lesson Plans, Pose Cards, Brain Breaks & Mindfulness | K-5
The Super Bundle has 6 of my yoga products:
About Pete Charrette
Pete Charrette is a National Board Certified physical education teacher and former Georgia PE Teacher of the Year with more than 30 years of experience teaching elementary PE. He is the creator of Cap'n Pete's Power PE and has developed more than 1,000 PE and health resources used by teachers around the world. Pete loves helping PE teachers build programs their students enjoy.
