10 Barefoot Yoga Activities

From infancy through adolescence, moving around barefoot is key to supporting gross motor skills and sensory integration. Yoga is already a barefoot practice, but you’re not limited to postures! Try these 10 strategies to expand barefoot fun & learning in your classes.

1. Foot massage (recommended for parent/caretaker-child classes and infants through middle childhood)
   Guide parents/caretakers through the process of giving their little ones foot massages. Explore soft squeezes, long and fluid applications of pressure, and rotational movements of the ankles and toes. Expect giggles, squeals, and spastic movements — this might tickle! The goal is to build awareness around different forms of touch while also discovering what feels soothing vs. what feels too sensitive. In a class without parents/caretakers, guide the kids through the process!
   

2. Cold feet (recommended for ages 4-18)
   Bring ice to class and provide one ice cube to each child. Allow them to rub the ice cube all over their feet. Invite them to notice where it feels coldest (often in the arches), where it feels most soothing (often on the ball of the foot), where they barely feel it at all (commonly in the heels). Have dry, clean washcloths on hand to clean up. Kiddos who do not like the sensation can run the ice over different parts of their body or simply explore the sensation of the dry, clean washcloth on their skin.
   

3. Texture Trek (recommended for infancy through age 12)
   Bring different surfaces for kids to explore: bubble wrap (always supervised with infants and toddlers), sandpaper, tinfoil, sticky tape, carpet swatches, etc. For older students, practice postures on these surfaces and notice how having different textures underfoot impacts their experience: What do you notice about your balance? Your sense of stability? Your ability to focus?
   

4. Barefoot ball play (recommended for ages 4 to 10)
   Outdoors on soft grass, play a game of soccer with a soft ball. Indoors on a gym floor, play with a bean bag. Notice how playing on different surfaces impacts speed, agility, and coordination.
   

5. Piggie Painting (recommended for ages 4 to 18)
   Yes, even high schoolers love this one! Before class, lay a large sheet of paper outdoors (plain brown wrapping paper from the dollar store is a favorite; you can even use the brown-paper packaging that comes in many shipments!). Squeeze blobs of washable paint here there and everywhere on the paper. Invite kids to step in the paint and walk on the paper, Cue them through poses. Explore just how creative their feet can be, and how different movements leave different marks!

6. Toe Tickles (recommended for parent/caretaker-child classes and infants through middle childhood)
   Provide one feather to each parent/caretaker and have them wiggle it between each toe. Notice where the sensation is strongest or weakest; most soothing or most sensitive. Explore other areas of the body as well.
   

7. Toe-ga (recommended for ages 4 to 18)
   Provide each student with a cup full of pompons and a paper plate. Instruct them to pour out the pompons and transfer them to the plate using only their toes. Try this with other objects as well: small blocks or toys, tissues, etc.! Kids will build focus, coordination, and concentration.
   

8. Toe to Toe (recommended for ages 6 to 12)
   Pair kids up and have them sit face-to-face with their legs extended forward, as in dandasana (staff pose). Instruct them to press the bottoms of their feet together, then scooch their bottoms forward while bending at the knee and pressing into their partner’s feet. With the feet lifted, encourage kids to “dance” feet-to-feet in midair while you play music: try up-tempo tunes, classical music, and more.
   

9. Foot races (recommended for ages 6 to 12)
   Set up short and safe race courses, ensuring there is enough room for everyone to move and make turns. Line students up on the “starting line” and have them race on different parts of their feet — their toes, heels, and the inner and outer edges of their feet. To scaffold, explore these variations moving forward or backward!
   

10. Toe Tales (recommended for ages 6 to 10)
    Provide students with washable markers and have them draw a face and even an outfit on each toe. Invite them to name each toe and give it a story, a purpose, and a mantra or motto. Then, pair students up to tell their tales. Close by having them walk, run, jump, and play with all 10 toes participating.