Yoga For Children: Of Twists And Turns

Yoga for children? How would active and animated kids manage or benefit from a physical activity like yoga? But the benefits of yoga are not just physical. It gifts your child with all-round, holistic development. Here’s how.

The Benefits Of Yoga For Children

Yoga can bring about a physical, physiological and psychological balance in your child’s body. The deep breathing techniques refresh him and foster general health and vitality.

Self-Awareness: I, Me, Myself

With practice, your little yogi will becomes aware of his body, develops spatial skills and knows his right from left. When both the hemispheres of his brain are vitalized, he becomes a better performer, both at school and at other physical activities.

The power of his mind peaks and the relaxation and breathing techniques go a long way in making him a positive thinker. Physiologically, he gets a better digestive, respiratory and immune system and psychologically, boosted self-esteem. Yoga turns your kid into a more confident and emotionally balanced individual.

One-On-One With Nature

Children love yoga’s typical animal poses, as these give them a chance to identify with other beings and also understand them better. They enjoy the sounds that they need to produce while practicing them.

Getting into the lion’s pose, for instance, helps a child understand his own sense of power – when to use it and when to withdraw. In fact, learning the animal poses also educates your child about nature.

One-On-One With You

Though kids should always learn yoga from a teacher to avoid injury, a practicing parent can help it become a family activity. Mom, dad and children can practice yoga together for about half an hour and even have laughs along the way!

You can actually spin a jungle tale that your child loves to listen to at bed time and make him practice poses like the rabbit, turtle, tree, warrior etc. Using some suitable music can add to the effect. Experts say that doing yoga together develops a deep bond of trust amongst practitioners.

Improve Focus

Yoga improves concentration and makes one focused. This is extremely helpful with children, since they are so inquisitive about everything around them. We all know that kids find it difficult to decide what they want and stay attentive towards it – and yoga can make all the difference, even helping them do better in their studies.

Reach For The Skies

We all marvel at the amazing flexibility of our kids. But as they grow, it gives way to stiffness. Yogic stretches are a great way to maintain that flexibility. They stretch and tone not only the muscles, but also the internal organs (something that not many kinds of exercise would provide), helping them remain in a good working condition.

As the muscles are exercised and strengthened, coordination in growing children improves. The spine stretch gives an erect posture to your child.

Yoga gifts your child with all-round, holistic development

Away With Stress

Yoga has a calming effect on your child- so essential today, with children so stressed and actually becoming aggressive. Yogic breathing exercises specifically have a wonderfully soothing effect on their nerves – an effect that trickles down to their core and helps them exercise control in real life situations. Best of all, children get to know the meaning of relaxation and the way to achieve it – an invaluable life tool.

Says yoga expert Shri Indrajeet Chakraborty (founder, Ranchi Yoga Culture, affiliated to World Yoga Society), who has worked extensively with children, “The most difficult part with kids is to get them into a state of silence. But it is really essential for developing a spiritual inclination in them.”

Lessons In Self-Discipline

When little children do yogasanas and are informed about their benefits, they learn to take it seriously and practice it regularly. This instills in them a sense of discipline that manifests itself in many ways in their lives.

For example, children practicing yoga are known to be more responsible and select healthier food options for themselves. They become better listeners and follow instructions carefully.

Children with special needs who are unable to get into other forms of exercise are advised to do yoga to get optimum movement. Studies show that yoga greatly benefits autistic children and those with ADHD.

“The camel, rabbit, tortoise and tree pose – Garudasana, Paschimottasana, Vajrasana and breathing exercises like Anulom Vilom, Bhramari pranayam and Om chanting can be done on a regular basis. It is good to make children do asanas in the standing, sitting and lying down positions to keep the balance in their bodies,” says Chakraborty.

What You Should Know Before Your Child Begins Yoga

• Wait for an hour after a snack and two hours after a heavy meal before starting yoga practice with your child
• It is best to practice on a mat, but a folded bed sheet will also do
• Dress your child in loose, comfortable clothing
• Don’t let your child push his body to cause pain – however, encourage him to do a little better each day either. The learning process has as many advantages as the asanas themselves
• If an asana is meant to be done from both sides, get your child to do so for an optimum balancing effect on the body
• Yoga can be done with kids from the age of five. You may begin with a session of 15 to 20 minutes and increase it to about half an hour. Don’t forget the warm ups and cool downs

How To Keep Them Hooked

• Your kids may not hold a pose for more than a few seconds. So, keep your expectations low, at least initially. Keeping the environment comfortable will produce best results
• Practice poses that give them an opportunity of movement instead of ones that require extended stillness
• Keep your cool and handle them gently when they do not exhibit the kind of seriousness and concentration that an adult would display
• The earlier you get them started on yoga, the better they’ll pick up and the more interested they would be in it throughout their lives

All said and done, it is finally your interest in yoga that would keep the activity alive in your child’s life.

Copyright © Priti Salian

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