While we as parents try to engage and entertain our children with various activities, we are only putting those pressures and anxieties on the back burner. Why not give our children the opportunity to understand their emotional, mental, and physical strength all at once? How about allowing kids to play and focus without fear of being wrong?
Yoga’s importance and advantages are now widely known around the world, however you may not be aware that yoga helps children not only stay active but also grow up to be more creative and disciplined!
In this blog, we’ll discuss the benefits of yoga for children and will showcase some simple yoga poses for kids.
Benefits of Yoga For Kids
Yoga is really beneficial to children as it improves their flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness. Furthermore, their focus and sense of calm and relaxation improve. When children do yoga, they move, play, connect more profoundly with their inner selves, and form an intimate bond with the natural environment that surrounds them. Yoga brings to the surface the wonderful inner light that all children possess.
Here is a more extensive description of how teaching yoga to children and incorporating yoga into the classroom can benefit children’s well-being:
Helps Manage Their Anxiety
The breathing exercises and relaxation techniques taught via yoga practise can assist kids with stress management. Teaching children how to cope with stress in a healthy way is a valuable life skill that will benefit them both as children and as adults.
Improves Emotional Regulation
Another advantage of yoga for children is that it teaches them to remain in the present moment while relaxing and obtaining a serene frame of mind, which enhances their emotional regulation.
Boosts Self-esteem
Yoga may do wonders for a child’s self-esteem. Young children might gain a sense of personal strength by perfecting a pose or increasing their balance and flexibility.
Increases Body Awareness & Mindfulness
Practicing a range of yoga positions teaches children about their bodies and the movements they are capable of.
Enhances Concentration & Memory
One of the most significant advantages of yoga for children is that the various types of moves encourage children to focus and work on their memorization abilities, both of which can transfer into improved academic performance.
Develops Strength & Flexibility
Yoga strengthens children’s growing bodies and improves their flexibility, lowering their risk of injury.
Teaches Discipline & Reduces Impulsivity
Yoga can help to lessen disruptive behaviours in the classroom by giving kids a physical outlet to express themselves. It also teaches children discipline as they practise clearing their minds and mastering their yoga poses.
Popular Yoga Poses For Children
Some of the asanas that can be conveniently practised at home or at school are listed below. The majority of them are named after animals, and the kids can pretend to be them and exercise while having fun.
Before attempting these positions, make sure that the youngsters are dressed comfortably.
Bidalasana – The Cat-Cow Pose
If your child enjoys animals, he or she will enjoy this posture. The Cat Cow Pose stretches and strengthens the back and core muscles, as well as helping to enhance posture.
Come to all fours with your knees hip-width apart and your fingers spread out. Inhale the cow while raising your gaze and sinking your abdomen. Exhale for the cat, tuck your chin to your chest, and arch your back. Rep a few times with proper breathing and perhaps some playful moos and meows for fun.
Benefits:
- Stretches the back of the torso and the neck.
- Massages the spine and abdominal organs gently.
- Relaxes the joints and muscles by releasing tension and stress. As a result, it is an excellent relaxing pose.
Tadasana – The Mountain Pose
This yoga pose for kids is both simple and effective!
Ask your child to stand on the ground with their feet firmly planted and balanced. Allow your child to stand tall and keep an erect posture. At the same time, your child should aim to relax their shoulders, back, and entire body. Make certain that your child balances his or her body weight evenly on both feet.
Benefits:
- Assists your child in maintaining proper posture and experiencing total peace.
- Encourages the child to stand up straighter.
- Strengthens their entire physique.
Ananda Balasana – The Happy Baby Pose
This yoga pose is ideal if you’re looking for yoga for preschoolers.
Ask the child to lie on their back on the floor and hug their knees toward their chest, chin tucked under. Then, instruct them to grip the outside of their feet with both hands once they’ve brought their knees up to their tummy.
Now, ask your child to open their knees as wide as they can comfortably. Ideally, their knees should be as wide as their torso. Your child must now press the feet into the hands. Make sure that your child’s tailbone is touching the ground and that they do not move too high while performing this pose.
Benefits:
- Stretches the inner inner thighs and the back spine gently.
- Calms the mind and aids in the relief of stress and exhaustion.
- It strengthens and stretches their spines. The posture will also assist your child in keeping the spine straight as it should be, as well as opening up and making the hip area more flexible.
- All of this will contribute to your child’s overall physique becoming more flexible.
Uttanasana – The Rag Doll Pose
The rag doll pose will focus mostly on your child’s hamstring. Most children have weak hamstrings that are usually overly tight and not very flexible. The longer your child practises the rag doll stance, the more flexible their hamstring will become.
Ask your child to stand upright on the ground and balance their body weight evenly on both feet for the rag doll stance. When your child is at ease, ask them to progressively bend forward. Your child can also bend their knees while doing so. Bring your head down towards your knees. Once your child is at ease, urge them to support themselves by holding their feet with both hands.
Benefits:
- By increasing flexibility, it helps to prevent injuries during play.
- It is excellent for reversing blood flow, which aids in re-oxygenation of the body.
Simhasana – Lion Pose
We all know how much energy children have. The Lion Pose is excellent for properly channelling this energy. This asana is excellent for soothing the mind, easing fatigue and stress, and dissipating excess heat. It’s also a lot of fun to do with children!
Allow the child to kneel and sit back on his or her heels for this. Place your open hands and palms on your knees. Take a deep breath in and exhale through your nose. The child should next expand their eyes, open their mouth with their tongue pushed out, and ‘ROAR!’
Benefits:
- The Lion Pose can help children learn to identify and manage their emotions.
- This yogic technique teaches healthy anger outlets and helps to prevent emotional outbursts by linking sound and movement.
Bedtime Yoga For Children
According to research, more than half of those who practised yoga reported that it helped them sleep better. They also mentioned that yoga helped them relax. Children, like adults, might experience sleep issues as a result of stress, worry, and other factors.
It’s time to take your bedtime tale routine to the next level. Disconnect from any distractions, such as cell phones and television. To create a relaxing atmosphere, dim the lights or light a candle. Prepare to do some stretching, twisting, breathing, and relaxing as a group. Simply listen to your body and teach your children to do the same.
- Child’s Pose: Sit on your heels, slowly lower your forehead to rest in front of your knees, and place your arms beside your body. It relaxes the body and calms the mind.
- Seated Twist: Sitting with your knees crossed, lay your right hand flat on the floor behind you and your left hand on your right knee, looking over your right shoulder. After that, switch sides. It is beneficial to the digestive system and helps to relax the mind.
- Turtle: Sit up and put the soles of your feet together. Slide your arms behind your legs and lower your body to the floor. It calms the mind and enhances hip flexibility, thereby strengthening the back.
- Crooked Branch: Lie on your backs with our arms spread wide. Raise your knees by bending them. Move your legs to one side and place them on the floor. Then, move your heads to face the opposite direction as your legs. It elongates the spine, relaxes the lower back, opens the shoulders, and soothes the mind.
- Whale: Lie on your backs with your legs bent and our feet flat and with our arms at our sides. Press onto our feet, arms, and hands to progressively lift your bottom up. Then slowly lower back down. It relaxes the mind and relieves tension.
FAQs
Yoga practise should ideally begin at a young age so that children can develop into well-rounded individuals rather than coming to yoga later in life to address concerns with their body and mind. However, experts recommend that kids should start yoga practice from the age of 7 or 8 years.
Yoga should be practised by children at their own pace and according to their individual ability. Having said that, the general rule of thumb is that each posture should preferably be held for 10-15 seconds or longer, depending on the child’s age.
Yoga is a great way for today’s children to manage their hectic schedules. Yoga not only provides a natural approach for children to decompress while simultaneously getting physical activity, but it also lays the groundwork for a life-long tradition of health and fitness. Finally, it is a non-competitive kind of exercise that is appropriate for children of various ages, sizes, and athletic skills.
Making yoga enjoyable for children is the key to encouraging them to practise it. The goal is to make yoga fun for children so that they will continue to practise yoga and learn fitness, calm, focus, and awareness. The goal is to keep the kids interested in what they’re doing. Maintaining a light tone and including games into the poses keeps the young child’s attention while still achieving the educational purpose of yoga for kids.
Conclusion
When it comes to yoga for kids, as a parent, you must set a good example. Show various photographs or movies to pique your child’s attention and curiosity before introducing him or her to yoga. Show your child how to do the position and then do it with them. Make it a fun session with them by starting with only a few minutes every day, getting colourful yoga mats, and matching your yoga attire to make it exciting for them. Allow your child to do as much as they can without pushing them too much.
To learn more about yoga and its benefits for adults as well, keep reading Seema.
