Benefits of yoga for kids
Kids enjoy many benefits of yoga, It improves body awareness, coordination, and stress relief, that adults also can. Experiencing yoga also helps in encouraging kids to explore the unfamiliar things with open minds and be comfortable in their own bodies.
For kids who are not good at or not interested in conventional sports, yoga may provide a much-needed physical outlet in non-competitive environment. When they reach their teenage, yoga can help them deal with their changing bodies and give them ways to handle stress in academic and social situations.
What to Expect From Kids Yoga Classes
Many yoga studios now a days offer age-appropriate classes from toddlers to school-aged kids, which may include activities like singing, dancing, and other kinds of movement. Kids have a lot of energy, so the mood will be much more informal than in an adult class.
Make sure that your child’s teacher is certified to teach yoga for kids (If in doubt, ask the studio or the teacher directly).
How to Do Yoga With Kids at Home
If you want to do yoga with kids at home, here are some ideas:
- Put out the mats for your kid and yourself.
- Allow the kids to choose some music, but make it parent’s choice during final relaxation.
- Although children are naturally flexible, they probably will not do the poses “correctly” in the adult sense, so it’s important to keep things simple.
- Follow along with the video.
- Be ready to cut things in short when interest lacks in younger children.
- Most of all, have fun. Giving your kids a familiarity with yoga now is a wonderful way to encourage a life-long interest in the healthy lifestyle.
Here are some benefits for kids:
- Yoga is non-competitive.
In today’s competitive world, we hear so much about being the best and achieving the most. Yoga teaches kids that every body is different and different bodies do different things and that’s okay. There is no one better or worse in yoga; we are all just exploring our bodies and learning in our own way. Yoga is truly for every body .
- Yoga teaches self-acceptance.
Yoga teaches kids to love themselves. Learning from the young age, is incredibly valuable lesson that helps kids with the tools to fight off the increasing feelings of self-doubt that come during the teen years and beyond.
- Yoga teaches tolerance.
Yoga teaches acceptance and tolerance of others as well. By practicing yoga, kids learn that in life all living beings must be cherished and respected as they are, thus helping to create more peaceful local communities and a more peaceful world in our future.
- Yoga encourages healthy habits.
Any kind of exercise program begun in childhood helps the kids to remain physically active and healthy forever. However, yoga takes that further by teaching not them healthy habits, and also a healthy approach to eating and the ability to calm oneself and focus the mind.
- Focus. Focus. Focus.
We live in a world full of distractions. More over these days, kids seem unable to focus on anything for any decent time. Yoga helps in that. It teaches kids to focus on present, and to concentrate on their breathing.
- Yoga teaches calming techniques.
kids deal with frustration most typically by crying and throwing the objects near them. When they learn proper, healthy breathing techniques and tools to focus their mind, they begin to learn how to apply those tools everyday and to react appropriately to that situation. As in adult, we see a lot of improvements in this area.
- Children learn self-awareness through yoga.
Again, while guiding their bodies through the poses, children learn more quickly about their bodies and what they are capable of doing. They learn more about their minds, how to control and how they can affect on their own attitudes and approaches to life, and also the attitudes of others.
- Positive mental health in children.
When children learn to accept and love themselves for who they are, to see the good in others, to focus and calm their minds, and to be aware of their innate capabilities, they learn tools for resilience.
They are more likely to be positive and optimistic about life and their abilities, and will hopefully be less likely to succumb to anxiety, depression and other mental health issues that are so prevalent today.
Most importantly, yoga teaches children that relaxation should be allowed; and encouraged. Relaxing is not so easy and learning to relax takes a lot of practice. Yoga helps in providing space for the mind to slow down and settle.
Children are always told that they must be always productive. Children’s little minds are leaping from one activity to another the whole day, often right up until they crash at bedtime. Yoga teaches kids that it doesn’t have to always be like that.
If children can learn how to relax and be still, they will be able to handle better the stressors and pressures that will begin to hit them as they get older.
Children are actually natural yogis. Their innate trust in others, combined with their lack of inhibitions, allows them to receive the teachings of yoga and grow from them in inspiring ways. Adults have to learn a lot from the way a child learns yoga! If we lead them in right way, they will not only benefit, but they will enjoy it immensely.
Sri Krishna wellness yoga centre in Bangalore
