Yoga & YOU presents
Yoga for children
Yoga benefits children on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. It is a holistic science developed over thousands of years that can enable us optimum health. The yoga classes are carefully constructed to enhance the growth of each child. Age groups include planned classes for 5-8, 9-12 and 12-17 year olds. The class plans consider the time of the year, assimilating the body to the different seasons along with the developmental stages of each age group.
Some of the physical benefits include body strength, flexibility, better posture, healthy internal organs that improve digestion and a balancing of all the bodily systems. The skeletal, articular, muscular, nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, lymphatic, immune, endocrine, urinary and reproductive system.
The yoga classes will involve yoga posture, breathing techniques, relaxation and exercises that encourage self-esteem. Through physically aligning the body with asana (posture) and breath the mind can concentrate and focus easily. A healthy supported spine makes an agile mind. The different postures focus on joint mobility which is especially important when children are sitting in chairs for long periods of time. Breathe work is very powerful. The breath has an ability to balance all of the systems in the body and can especially benefit children with asthma. Breathing techniques balance the ph levels in the blood encouraging children to crave a more healthy diet. Meditation exercises will be introduced which help concentration and mindfulness both in turn improving memory. In the Yoga classes the children will be introduced to yoga through storytelling, singing, games, music, education and play appropriate to each age group.
Research indicates that the early school years are the most formative in a child’s learning. Eighty percent of a child’s measureable intelligence is developed by the age of eight. The 5-8 year olds are engaged in imaginative play that strengthens the connections in the brain. The yoga postures will refine sensory, motor, cognitive and dexterity skills relieving them of frustrations that can arise at this age. The child becomes comfortable with their bodies through yoga posture (asana). The postures are introduced in relation to animals and nature with a fun and playful approach. Social skills are developed through parallel play and play in groups that encourage a sense of belonging and respect for others. Knowing the fragility of a child’s self esteem we encourage the pursuit of independent activities that instil a sense of achievement and well being. With their successes their motivation is enhanced and they want to learn more.
With the powers of thinking and reasoning developing rapidly in the 9-12 age group classes are planned for the children to initiate activities, take on responsibilities, share their opinions based on their experience and ask and answer questions that relate to yoga. They are given the opportunity to nourish their vivid imaginations through storytelling and creative visualization. As this is a critical stage for establishing self confidence the term classes are planned out to gradually build up body strength and flexibility so that by the end of term some of the more advanced poses will be achievable and the children will feel a sense of accomplishment. With a mastery of skills already developed for this age group we can amuse them with different ways of using their skills.
The fast moving pace of today’s society puts a lot of stress on young people with an emphasis on doing, performing and excelling. Yoga will provide a much needed contrast by introducing techniques that allow the individual to focus on their internal space. It is a unique time for them to listen to the chatter inside their heads. By becoming aware of their thoughts they can decipher between the negative and positives and realize the expectations they can bring upon themselves. Their confidence and self esteem will automatically be improved. Learned breathing techniques develop calm and stillness which provide a tool for life’s challenges, especially during exams. For the adolescent a predominance of physical development and social pressures is often a very stressful and confusing time. Puberty is the developmental period where young people experience major bio-chemical, physiological, anatomical, and psychological changes. The term of yoga classes for adolescence will introduce a sequence of yoga postures designed to balance these changes. Yoga can be a life line to children facing the broad amount of experiences at this stage of their lives.
“Harvard medical school recently released a study on the psychological benefits of yoga on teenagers in the 11th and 12th grade the study concluded that yoga may serve a “preventative role in adolescent mental health” providing teens with beneficial ways to deal with stress and trauma, instead of falling into the dangerous and destructive behavioural patterns to prevalent in high schools across the country. (1)”
It is in our childhoods that we begin our habitual thoughts and beliefs that mould our bodies and states of health throughout our lifetime. This is the time of true opportunity to change any health-eroding patterns passed down from generation and culture. The yoga classes will teach principles that reinforce universal value such as truth, non-violence and self preservation. The children will cultivate will-power and sensitivity by challenging their own capabilities, respecting themselves and through listening and feeling. In the classes they may blossom to their own uniqueness in a non-competitive environment.
1. http://blogs.yogajournal.com/yogabuzz/2012/04/yoga-benefits-teen-mental-health.html
•Studies from SYTAR (symposium on yoga therapy and research) shared that children who practise yoga may not only be better to regulate their emotions, manage stress, and calm themselves; studies now show that they may also choose better foods to eat and engage in more physical activity than those who do not.
