Yoga Helps Kids Find Balance in Their Lives
Children today are under a lot of stress. Homework, pressure to compete with other children, endless after-school activities, over-scheduling -- it all adds up. And just like their parents, kids today are turning to Yoga to help them relax.Teaching Yoga to children, I've seen how Yoga helps them develop better body awareness, self-control, flexibility and coordination. I've also seen how they can carry these skills beyond class and into their daily routines.Yoga has also been shown to help the hyperactive and attention-deficit child. These children crave movement and sensory/motor stimulus. Yoga helps channel these impulses in a positive way. Yoga poses that seem to work especially well are the warrior pose and tree pose. They help instill calm, confidence and balance. The trick is to get beyond just "doing" the postureYoga, adapted for pre-school children, develops body awareness, language, good listening skills, cooperation and powers of observation. It teaches pre-school children about nature, their environment and inspires their imaginations. It prepares them for breathing techniques used in yoga. They learn by playing, singing, moving and imitating. This is an ideal time for children to begin a yoga practice.Yoga with school aged children balances quiet and active poses with game playing, singing, storytelling, drawing, simple breath meditations and rest. Children can easily follow the teacher's instructions by learning the names of different body parts, their locations and function. As children learn the names of the postures and movements they develop a yoga vocabulary. They can use their yoga poses to play games, take on the qualities of different animals or use their imaginations to make up stories about animals on a farm, climbing a mountain or trekking through a jungle. They can each assume the role of leader and teach their classmates a yoga posture or breathing exercise. Their yoga improves very quickly.Yoga Therapy "empowers the soul to empower the body so that the child can grow with a feeling of wholeness" and reach her/his full potential. Early intervention enhances the healthy and natural development of infants and toddlers. However,it is never too late to reap the benefits of Yoga TherapyTeaching Yoga to children is challenging, exciting and rewarding. I am continually encouraged by the positive results, both physical and emotional, that I have observed in children who take yoga regularly. Children's spontaneity, innate joy and natural innocence and wisdom are always an inspiration....and we have lots of fun.
Children today are under a lot of stress. Homework, pressure to compete with other children, endless after-school activities, over-scheduling -- it all adds up. And just like their parents, kids today are turning to Yoga to help them relax.Teaching Yoga to children, I've seen how Yoga helps them develop better body awareness, self-control, flexibility and coordination. I've also seen how they can carry these skills beyond class and into their daily routines.Yoga has also been shown to help the hyperactive and attention-deficit child. These children crave movement and sensory/motor stimulus. Yoga helps channel these impulses in a positive way. Yoga poses that seem to work especially well are the warrior pose and tree pose. They help instill calm, confidence and balance. The trick is to get beyond just "doing" the postureYoga, adapted for pre-school children, develops body awareness, language, good listening skills, cooperation and powers of observation. It teaches pre-school children about nature, their environment and inspires their imaginations. It prepares them for breathing techniques used in yoga. They learn by playing, singing, moving and imitating. This is an ideal time for children to begin a yoga practice.Yoga with school aged children balances quiet and active poses with game playing, singing, storytelling, drawing, simple breath meditations and rest. Children can easily follow the teacher's instructions by learning the names of different body parts, their locations and function. As children learn the names of the postures and movements they develop a yoga vocabulary. They can use their yoga poses to play games, take on the qualities of different animals or use their imaginations to make up stories about animals on a farm, climbing a mountain or trekking through a jungle. They can each assume the role of leader and teach their classmates a yoga posture or breathing exercise. Their yoga improves very quickly.Yoga Therapy "empowers the soul to empower the body so that the child can grow with a feeling of wholeness" and reach her/his full potential. Early intervention enhances the healthy and natural development of infants and toddlers. However,it is never too late to reap the benefits of Yoga TherapyTeaching Yoga to children is challenging, exciting and rewarding. I am continually encouraged by the positive results, both physical and emotional, that I have observed in children who take yoga regularly. Children's spontaneity, innate joy and natural innocence and wisdom are always an inspiration....and we have lots of fun.
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