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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

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Try some St Patrick's Day yoga

First suggested by Scouts Northern Ireland
Have a go at improving your strength and flexibility on St Patrick’s Day with this themed yoga activity.
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • Yoga mats, or something similar, such as towels (optional)

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. See our additional help to carry out your risk assessment, including examples. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.

Planning this activity

  • Before this activity, ask everyone to come to the meeting in suitable clothing, such as sportswear.
  • Set up the yoga mats, or whatever you’re using (such as towels), around your meeting place. Remember to leave enough space for everyone to move in between.
  • You could put up some relaxing fairy lights or gentle background music while you do this activity.
  • You could combine it with some other yoga based activities, such as Wake up to yoga or Animal yoga, for a longer session. 

Run this activity

  1. Explain to everyone that they’ll be having a go at St Patrick’s Day themed yoga, while taking the time to think about something in their lives. 
  2. Ask everyone to find a space or move onto on a yoga mat (or whatever you’re using). 
  3. Show everyone the St Patrick pose, before asking them to try it themselves. You can find the poses in the yoga poses accordion at the bottom of this page. 
  4. Give everyone one minute to hold the pose and think about something in their lives, which could be related to each pose. 
  5. Repeat these steps with the Dancing the Jig, Leprechaun, Shamrock and Pot of Gold poses. 
  6. When everyone has finished, ask if anyone would like to share anything they reflected on during the yoga. 
  • I am St Patrick – Stand up tall with your legs shoulder width apart. Put your arms straight alongside your body with your palms facing forwards. This pose is like the mountain pose and is to represent St Patrick casting the snakes from Ireland. Ask everyone to think about something they’re worried about, so it can be cast (or moved) out of their lives, just like the snakes. 
  • I am dancing the jig – Stand on one leg. Bending your other leg and place the sole (bottom) of your foot on the opposite inner thigh or calf. Put your arms above your head with your palms touching. After 30 seconds, swap legs and repeat. This pose is like the tree pose and is to represent an Irish dancing jig. Ask everyone to think about something they’re grateful for and are looking forward to – something that makes them want to dance with excitement! 
  • I am a leprechaun – Squat with your legs shoulder width apart and your feet facing outwards and put your palms together across your body. This pose is like the horse stance pose and is to represent a leprechaun guarding their gold. Ask everyone to think about something they care about and protect, just like a leprechaun looks after they’re gold.  
  • I am a shamrock – Sit down keeping your back straight and the soles of your feet touching in front of you. Lean back slightly and put your arms under your legs and hold your ankles. This pose is like the flower pose and is to represent a shamrock, bringing you luck. Ask everyone to think about something they’re wanting some extra luck for, such as a competition, a test or exam, or for a performance. 
  • I am a pot of gold – Lie on your back with your chin tucked in, hug your knees into your chest, then grab the outer parts of each foot—right foot in right hand and left foot in left hand. This pose is like the happy baby pose and is to represent a pot of gold. Ask everyone to think about something they’re looking forward to happening in the future or that might be an adventure for them. 

Reflection

This activity gave you the opportunity to try something new and be active at the same time. Had anyone done yoga before? What did people find the easiest or the most challenging?  

Yoga can give you the time to stop and think. You were asked to reflect on something while holding your pose. Did you manage this? How did it feel to get the time to stop and reflect? Has it made anyone feel differently, such as more thankful or more excited or more relaxed? 

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Active games

The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.

Adding more poses will make this activity more challenging, while removing some poses could help make this activity easier. 

Make sure any yoga poses you choose to do can be done by all members of your group. You could adjust them, such as by only using your arms. 

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Squirrels Feel Good Activity Badge
Beavers My World Challenge Award
Cubs Our World Challenge Award

Yoga can be a great method of fitness and can be good for your wellbeing. If everyone enjoyed this activity, think about going to a yoga class with the group, or you could incorporate a yoga session into one of your meetings or camps. 

Ask everyone to do some research on St Patrick and Ireland and come up with their own themed yoga poses to show the rest of the group.