Our Circle, Our Stories: A Yoga Adventure in Belonging

What if belonging meant more than being invited into a circle? A Children’s Week yoga adventure in which children help shape the story, the movement and the welcome.

“Everyone is welcome here,” announces the teacher.

Lovely words. Then class begins. Everyone must greet each other the same way, sit in the same shape, use the same language and explain their feelings on command. One child is corrected for moving differently. Another is asked to describe their entire culture to the group, because today they have apparently been appointed Minister for Interesting Traditions.

We have made a welcoming circle. We have simply forgotten to leave room for the people.

A child can be invited into a circle without being invited to bring their whole self.

Why this matters during Children’s Week

Australian Children’s Week runs from 24 October to 1 November 2026, with a focus on Article 30 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: children's rights relating to their language, culture and religion. See the Children’s Week resources.

Article 12 also recognises children’s right to express views in matters affecting them. Article 31 recognises their right to rest, play and participate in cultural life. These are rights, not prizes earned by sitting beautifully. Read the Convention.

In Rainbow Yoga, a circle can become a small experiment in how we share a world. The question is not only whether every child has a place, but whether their needs and ideas can change what the group creates.

From inclusion to influence

Inclusion is sometimes described as getting a child into the existing activity. But what if the activity itself could change? What if one child needed less noise, another wanted to contribute a story, and another preferred to participate without touch?

The Lundy participation framework, applied in education through the European Agency’s Voices into Action work, describes Space, Voice, Audience and Influence: opportunity, accessible expression, someone who listens and an answer that matters. Explore the framework.

That does not mean every wish must be granted. Adults still protect safety, fairness and supervision. But we should stop calling a decision “children’s choice” when the answer has already been chosen.

Our Circle, Our Stories: a 25-minute Rainbow Yoga adventure

This original activity is a practical teaching suggestion, not a clinically tested intervention. Adapt it for your group’s ages, abilities, languages and communication needs. Prepare a clear, accessible space and optional paper or floor markers. No child must disclose private family information, religion or ancestry. No contact or closing eyes is required.

Five traps even caring teachers can fall into

1. The cultural spokesperson trap. Never expect one child to explain or represent a whole language, religion or culture.
2. The identical-shapes trap. A circle of different bodies does not need identical movements to be connected.
3. The consent trap. Joining a game is not agreement to touch, photograph or publish a child's image. Ask appropriately and respect the answer.
4. The cheerful exclusion trap. Watch who gets chosen, interrupted, laughed at or repeatedly left without a meaningful role.
5. The decorative-choice trap. Let children influence something real, and tell them when and why a request cannot be met.

For families: Our Stories, Our Living Room

Try a shorter version at home. Each person contributes one part of an imaginary journey. One chooses a place, another a character, another a comfortable movement or sound. A grandparent can narrate from a chair; a teenager can choose the music; someone who wants quiet can draw the route.

Families do not have to share the same traditions, abilities, energy or interests to share an experience. Nor should an adult demand a cultural performance from a child who wants privacy. The aim is curiosity and belonging, not a household documentary.

What the future might learn from a circle

We often say the future needs collaboration, empathy and creative problem-solving. Then we arrange childhood so adults make nearly every meaningful decision and children practise following directions.

Perhaps those human skills grow when children experience adults who listen, boundaries that make sense, disagreements that can be worked through, and groups willing to adapt rather than exclude.

A yoga circle will not solve prejudice, inequality or the problems of the world. But it can offer a small rehearsal for a better way of being together.

Belonging is not making everyone the same. It is creating enough room for everyone to be themselves, together.

Continue exploring: Are We Listening to Children’s Voices?, The Child Outside the Circle, and the free Rainbow Yoga Play Audit. Explore Rainbow Yoga teacher trainings.

Sources: Children’s Week NSW, 2026; UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; Voices into Action participation framework. Activity design is a Rainbow Yoga teaching proposal, not an intervention tested by these sources. Images are from the Rainbow Yoga archive and do not portray research participants.