Is Yoga for Kids Too?

Just as parents have a lot of stress in todays world, work, home life and of course, financial pressures, our kids are under an increasing amount of stress.

Everything from peer pressure to the ever increasing amounts of homework, their after school activities, sporting games and practices (soccer, baseball, etc.) and morecausing these pressures and stress.

As adults are doing yoga more and more kids are turning to yoga to help manage their stress levels, and by teaching children yoga, they can develop body awareness, flexibility, coordination and self control. These skills are also often displayed beyond their daily routines.

In addition to the daily stresses of life yoga has been been shown to help kids with ADD as well as hyperactivity. This is because children such as these crave a movement and sensory/motor stimulus. Yoga can assist a child channel impulses such as these in a positive way .

There are certain poses, the warrior pose as well as the tree pose, that work well in calming kids and helping both with their confidence and overall balance. The most difficult part of yoga is that yoga is NOT simply a physical exercise. Kids should think about what this posture means and how to become strong and warrior like just like these postures.

Another pose, the partner pose, helps the kids with trust and reliance by creating harmony between the two, as they must coordinate their efforts in order for both of them to get the most out of the pose. The partner pose has many variations, however all are similar in that the two "partners" must work together.

An example would be the partner forward bending pose

• Sit with legs extended, facing one each other with the soles of the feet touching.
• Holding hands.
• Breathe in and out slowly and allow your breathing to synchronize with your partner's breath.
• The partner who is being stretched exhales as their 'partner' leaning backwards and gently pulls the arms. As you lean back and gently pull your partner forward, your partner will be stretching.
• Hold for three breaths, then come back up and repeat, leaning back more and stretching more with each exhalation.
• Or a alternative use of this pose is to allow the partners to alternate leaning and stretching forward while the other partner is gently leaning back.

A child's trust can be developed through the partner pose. Team skills and bonding can be developed through working with each other.

Many children have difficulties with relaxation and sleeping where as other children feel like they can never get enough. Visualization is one technique that can encourage relaxation.

Some yoga teachers firstly focus on belly breathing whilst listening to relaxing music or imagine that they are somewhere peaceful or are doing their favourite activity. Children should be encouraged to share their experiences with their yoga peers.

Another approach may be to make up a visualisation or story with a theme that is calming for the child. The child may be asked to imaging that they are walking some very peaceful like a quiet beach or peaceful forest. They will be prompted to visualise the beautiful plants and trees along with the birds and butterflies flying around them. A sense of peace and tranquillity will be instilled into them by asking them to smell the fresh, scented air around them and listen to the birds and wildlife around them. This also encourages the child to form a strong relationship with nature.

The children should be encouraged to contribute their own ideas and questions whilst teaching them the meaning of union of mind, body and spirit.