From Boxes to Infinite Possibilities — A Creativity-Fueling Kids Yoga Class Plan

When I first visited Mexico (my Mum is originally from there) when I was about 10 years old, I remember visiting some very impressive pyramids and learning about the Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Haudenosaunee or “People of the Longhouse,”. They offer one of the most inspiring examples of innovation and adaptability in human history. 

At the heart of their governance lies the Great Law of Peace, a system of unity and democracy that brought together six nations—the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later the Tuscarora—under a shared vision of cooperation and harmony. What made the Haudenosaunee remarkable was not only their ability to create peace but their willingness to periodically reassess and transform their cultural practices to stay aligned with the changing needs of their people and the world around them.

An important aspect of their cultural brilliance was their practice of renewal, with significant changes occurring approximately every 70 years. This cyclical evolution was an intentional process of reevaluating traditions, governance, and ways of life to ensure their relevance and effectiveness. Rather than clinging to the past, the Haudenosaunee understood that cultures must grow and adapt to stay vibrant. This ability to periodically “think outside the box” and embrace innovation was key to their resilience and longevity as a confederation. They recognized that stagnation could lead to decline, while thoughtful transformation could strengthen their society for future generations.

This tradition of reinvention aligns beautifully with their Seventh Generation Principle, which encouraged leaders to consider the impact of their decisions on descendants seven generations into the future. By renewing their culture every few generations, the Haudenosaunee ensured that their practices and governance structures would remain adaptable to the evolving needs of their people. This approach required an extraordinary openness to change and a humility to recognise that no tradition, no matter how sacred, was beyond improvement.

The Haudenosaunee’s ability to embrace renewal teaches us a profound lesson about breaking free from outdated patterns. They didn’t just react to change—they anticipated and welcomed it as an opportunity for growth and improvement. This willingness to reimagine their way of life, while remaining grounded in core values of peace, equity, and respect, is a testament to their ability to think beyond the constraints of their time.

Their story challenges us to approach our own lives and systems with similar courage and creativity. What if we, too, committed to reassessing our personal and collective practices every so often? What if we embraced the possibility that the best way forward might require letting go of old ways of thinking? 

Just as the Haudenosaunee periodically reinvented their culture to ensure its vitality, we can dare to rethink and rebuild our world to align with the needs of our time—and the generations to come. Their example inspires us to think outside the box, envisioning a future where adaptability, unity, and bold innovation lead the way.

It’s so easy to find ourselves confined within invisible walls—placing ourselves, others, and the world around us into neat but limiting boxes. While categorising and forming habits can bring structure and comfort, these patterns can also become barriers, unintentionally suffocating our growth and potential.

We all get stuck sometimes, repeating the same routines, clinging to the same perspectives, and accepting the same definitions of who we are. But if we never challenge these “safe” patterns, we risk staying stuck, unable to see the endless possibilities that lie beyond.

During my 10 years as a monk in the Ashram, we worked hard to create positive habits—practising yoga and meditation daily and living according to the values we were learning. Yet, just as important as building these habits was the practice of breaking the mind’s patterns by doing things differently.

Sometimes, I would sleep on the floor, challenging my belief that comfort only comes from a bed. Other times, I embraced cold showers for extended periods, training my mind to find ease in any circumstance. For months, I avoided salt and sugar entirely, breaking the grip of preferences and cravings.

These practices weren’t about discomfort for its own sake—they were about teaching the mind to be flexible, open, and free. The goal was to move beyond limitations, to dissolve the boxes that confine us, and to discover the infinite potential waiting just outside the boundaries of habit.

Rainbow Yoga is all about breaking out of the box… We come out of our individual yoga mat boxes and join the Rainbow Yoga Circle! We don’t just go within, we also expand to connect to everyone and everything around us, and the feeling is ecstatic!

You, too, can break free. Step outside the familiar and embrace the unknown. Growth begins where the box ends.

To Bring:

• Paper

• Writing Instruments

• A Giant Box

Think Outside Of The Box

What does it mean to think outside of the box?

Have a short discussion with your students. You can use your personal experience or some  of what I shared above.

In the circle, one after the other, have everyone first say their name and their favourite yoga pose. Everyone together do the pose named.

Now go a second time and have each person give themselves an adjective that starts with the same first letter as their name (for example The Great Gopala) and does that same favourite pose of theirs but this time somehow totally different… Still somehow like the original pose but with an addition or variation or a sound or anything that makes it un-ordenery and “outside the box”.

5-10 Minutes

Out Of The Box Breathing

Guide kids to imagine breathing into different shapes according to how you move your hand.

• If the leader moves their hand up it means to breathe in

• If the leader moves their hand down  it means to breathe out

• If the leader moves their hand in a horizontal line it means to hold the breath

First draw squares and have everyone breathe like this box… Breathing in, holding breath breathing out, holding breath and so on. Draw small squares and big ones…

Now, encourage each child in their turn to take the lead and think outside of the box by doing other shapes (you cannot do any shape that was led before in the circle. Triangles and circles are kind of obvious; but can they break the mold and think very differently?

Whatever shapes the leading student draw with their hand everyone follows with their breath.

5 Minutes

Out Of The Box Walking

Everyone stands up and walks around the room in a box/sqare shape. Again, you can have each student walk in smaller squares, lets say one to three steps  for each side of their box. Then guide them to walk in bigger squers… As big as they can get it around the room, but still a square.

Then encourage them to think outside of the box and walk in different shapes of their choice.

End with Scribble Walk: Pretend to draw big scribbles with your body as you move around the room. Use arms, legs, and whole-body twists to “draw.” Encourage kids to try unique movements, TOTALLY UNIQE, never sen before movement thinking outside of the box.

5 Minutes

Out Of The Box Meetings

This is a great warm-up!

Divide the group in two, please each on either side of the room, and have them move toward each other switching sides of the room gradually increasing the size of the movements in all of these ways:

• Group A closes Eyes, group B (with eyes open) dodges them

• Rolling on the floor

• Tornados & Animals -What happens when they meet? 

• Water and pumps 

• Flowers and bees 

• Tree and Monkeys 

• Suns and Sunglasses 

• Waves and shore

• Waves and Surfers 

• Waves and Sharks

• Sharks and Surfers

• Chickens and Eggs

• Chicken and Worms

• People and Chicken

• People & Onions

• People and Vegetables For Salad

• Ask the groups for more ideas…

• Now each group member whispers rolls to a member of the other group

• Now same in pairs connected with elbows interlaced with each other

• Now bounce off each other like energy balls, like atoms, in groups of 1, 2, 3… All colliding… And finish with all becoming one big gue stuck together melting into each other!
  

5-10 Minutes

Out Of The Box Stretching

Remember the Scribble Walk?

Now we are going to do Squiggle Stretches! 

To the music, encourage each student to find their own way to stretch… Stretch into wavy lines, zigzags, and spirals, turning stretches into playful shapes.

There is no wrong way to do it!

Try to find ways to stretch that you have never done before… What can you contribute to the stretching world that no one has ever done before or even thought of before?

Ready to be impressed by your students; or if not, provide them more guidance about thinking outside of the box here 🙂

5 Minutes

Side By Side In The Yoga Mat Box

This exercise is very physical (great cardio) and also helps us to think outside of the box… More and more and more until it is unbearable!

Standing side by side in pairs, not looking at each other and only using your peripheral vision:

Do what the other does, alternating coming up with ideas that must be obviously different from each other by size, speed, nature, part of the body etc

Repeat exercise, but this time build up on each other ideas and evolve them. Let it go bigger and bigger, crazier and crazier! When it reaches an ecstatic peak/climax that you can’t handle anymore, slow it all the way down and start again.

No talking, only movements and sounds.

How far out of the box can you take it?

5 Minutes

Out Of The Box Drawing

Divide into pairs and give each pair a piece of paper and a writing instrument.

One of the partners draws WITH THEIR UNDOMINANT HAND a yoga pose or an animal for the other partner to do no matter how weird and unusual it comes out as. Try to do the pose as truthful to the drawing as possible!

Switch rolls after a few minutes.

5 Minutes

Out Of The Box Yoga

Start standing in the circle, each child on their own yoga mat or in their own allotted space.

Put the music on and guide each child to do and yoga poses of their choice. Any pose, but to start with, simply  do basic variations of the pose staying in your yoga mat box.

After a couple of minutes… Now it is time to break out of the box!

Reach out of your yoga mat box with your hands or legs or butt and connect to the people around you. Think outside of the box! Do yoga poses together; poses that were never thought of before!

You either both do the same pose connected in some special way or you can do different poses and find amazing ways to connect them.

You can do poses in pair or groups… Poses can be static or dynamic or dramatic or exotic!

Do the impossible!

Do poses under the yoga mat… Do poses with the yoga mat!

You have a couple of minutes that you can GO CRAZY! As long as it DOES NOT HURT YOURSELF OR OTHERS OR DAMAGES ANYTHING IN THE CLASSROOM!

5 Minutes

Box Poses & Outside Of The Boxes (Optional For Capable Groups)

This is a bit more advance acro so it is for more capable groups, but we will do it here in stages to make it all possible. The main group of muscles needed here are abs…

Box Prep + Box - To allow for a higher success rate in this pose start with the Box Prep where we will practice making the two shapes in this trick one person at a time.

The 2 shapes are a Pushup Shape and an L Shape.

In pairs, the flyer starts in the Pushup Position while the base starts standing and holding on to the flyer’s ankles. This is the first shape.

To come to the L Shape, the base takes a step forward as the flyer bends in their hips lifting their hips to be right over their shoulders. This is the second shape.

For the full version of The Box, the base will lie down on their back with their hands straight up, 90 degrees in their shoulders. The flyer will stand facing the feet of the base and bend to hold the base’s ankles. Some bases have skinny or sensitive ankles so you can use a towel or blanket or a yoga mat to pad them before the flyer grabs the ankles.

Now the base keeps their arms really straight, and the flyer gives the base one ankle to hold and then the other, so that both flyer and base are in the first shape together forming a rectangle box.

To go up into the second shape and to make a square box, BOTH flyer and base need to use their core to pull into the centre making an L Shape with their body. Flyer must be stacked with hips over shoulders over hands over the base’s ankles. Flyer’s ankles are stacked over the base's hands, over shoulders, over hips.

Keep switching between the square and rectangle as long as you have strength. Use a Mini Teacher (3 person) for help who can even help pull the flyer’s hips up towards the square box and also keep everyone safe.

Now, if you are strong and trusting enough, you can break outside of the box by letting go of one hand/leg and stretching them away from each other in the box!

10 Minutes

Out Of The Box Yoga Combos

Give everyone a piece of paper and a writing instrument. Each person writes a name of an animal, an object, a person, a feeling or ANYTHING.

Randomly pair people and have them create a pose that is a combo of both of those. Of course, show everyone!

Repeat a few times, then try in groups of 3 and combine 3 elements into a new yoga pose.

You can even try the same in groups of 4 or 5…

5 Minutes

Out Of The Box Yoga Anything

Just taking the previous exercise to a more freelly creative level…

Here we will make yoga half-humans half-machines or half-animal Frankenstein like poses. 

Take any 2 or more things and put them together into one pose. Let the kids be as creative as can be here!

Here are some hybrid combinations of trees and animals as an example:

Try also poses combinations in pairs.

It is cool to first come up with 2 ideas and then see how we can put them together.

If your groups is not naturally and freelly creative, you can start with a more guided version of this:

Box Pose (Tabletop): Start in tabletop and ask, “What would it look like to break out of this box?” Encourage kids to move their arms and legs in new ways.

Upside-Down Triangle (Downward Dog): Shift weight to create unusual shapes with the body, such as lifting one leg high or twisting the torso.

Invent-a-Tree Pose: Begin in classic Tree Pose, then challenge kids to turn into a “magic tree,” “robot tree,” or “singing tree.”

Really try to think outside of the box here… Sound effects are welcome too… What about a Barking Cows Pose Or Flying Pigs Or A Rat On A Bicle Pose or3 Headed Alian Robot Fairy Princess Pose?

5-10 Minutes

The Pretend Box

Place an imaginary box in the centre of the room. 

Each child takes turns “opening” the box and miming an unusual object, how to use it, what do to with it, their amazement of it etc. 

Others guess what it is. 

Encourage wild and creative ideas!

5 Minutes

Yoga IN AN ACTUAL BOX & Outside Of The Box

If you can get a giant box (try your local furniture store or white goods store)... Have each kid (or a few depending how big your box is) get into the box and emerge in a yoga pose of anything impossible or newly created that they can imagine… If you can imagine it, you can make it happen (over time and weith other people’s help)!

The rest of the group tries to guess what it is and the person that came out of the box gets to explain their invention at the end.

5-10 Minutes

Out Of The Box Creation (if you don’t have a real box or if you want to continue the fun from the box)

If there were no limits of any kind and you could invent ANYTHING that would be usful or fun or amazing or ANYTHING… What could you invent?

Pair up, or group up, discuss all your amazing ideas and option and show us with yoga poses what your new invention is!

It can be a pose or a sequence and you can of course use drama and science and whatever else can enhance your creation presentation!

Imagine how far we humans can go with our imagination and with our ability to think outside of the box in our personal life and as a humanity as a whole!

5 Minutes for creating and 5-10 Minutes for preforming

Out Of The Box Relaxation

Invite kids to lie down and close their eyes. 

After a few deep breaths, guide them through a story where they solve a problem by thinking differently. For example: 

1. The Floating Island

“Imagine you wake up on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean. There’s no boat in sight. How will you get back? Could you build a raft from palm trees, make friends with a giant sea turtle, or call the wind to carry you on a cloud?”

2. The Upside-Down World

“You step into a magical land where everything is upside down! People walk on the ceiling, fish fly in the sky, and cars drive backward. How will you adapt? What fun things can you do in this world that you couldn’t do before?”

3. The Talking Objects

“One day, you wake up and realize that everything around you can talk—your bed, your shoes, even your toothbrush! What advice do they give you? How do they help you solve a problem in your day?”

4. The Locked Door Mystery

“You find yourself in a room with a locked door, but there’s no key. How will you get out? Could you shrink yourself to slide under the door, turn into a shadow to pass through, or maybe the door isn’t locked at all—just push?”

5. The Colorless World

“Imagine you wake up and the world has lost all its colors! Everything is black, white, and gray. How can you bring the colors back? Would you paint the sky, sing a rainbow song, or mix potions of happiness?”

6. The Secret Passage

“You’re in an old castle and discover a hidden door behind a bookshelf. It leads to a mysterious tunnel. Where does it go? What will you find? How do you decide whether to go forward or turn back?”

7. The Impossible Challenge

“A wise old wizard gives you an impossible task: to carry water in a basket full of holes. How will you solve it? Will you freeze the water into ice, weave a new basket, or change the rules of the game?”

8. The Mirror That Shows the Future

“You find a magical mirror that shows what will happen tomorrow. But something in the future looks wrong! How can you change it before it happens? What creative solutions can you come up with?”

9. The Animal Translator

“You drink a special potion that lets you understand animals. A group of birds tells you they need help solving a big problem. How do you communicate with them? What clever ways can you use to help?”

10. The Cloud Bridge

“You need to cross a deep canyon, but there’s no bridge. Suddenly, the clouds above you start whispering. Can you shape them into a bridge? Can you float across like a feather? What creative way will you use to get to the other side?”

11. The Maze

“Imagine you’re stuck in a maze. How would you get out? Could you climb over the walls, dig under, or turn it into a game?”

Each child can get a turn giving their solution quietly and still lying down with eyes closed. They can put their hand on their heart if they have a good idea and you can choose who will speak up on that turn.

5-10 Minutes

Out Of The Box Reflection

Take a few more deep breaths, stretch, yawn and slowly sit up…

Have a short group discussion to conclude the class and make sure that your students can carry the lesson of thinking outside of the box outside of the classroom 🙂

What else in your life can you do differently than what you are doing now?

In what ways can you evolve yourself, rather than staying stuck in what is familiar?

5 Minutes