subject: Even Children Can Receive The Benefits Of Yoga [print this page] We tend think of childhood as a carefree time, filled with play and laughter. What, other than anxiety over a spelling test, can cause stress in a child's life?
Well, think back to your own childhood. Feeling overloaded with homework assignments, pressure to compete with other children in school and sports, lots of after-school obligations. While it may not compare to the pressures you have today, it can be a substantial burden for a child.
But just as you have discovered the benefits of yoga to deal with pressure, children can also benefit from the cleansing practice.
Many yoga experts and even some child psychologists say that yoga can help children deal with a number of stressful issues, including peer pressure, school pressure and body-awareness issue, with the added bonus of learning self-control, gaining greater flexibility and developing coordination.
Also, yoga has helped children suffering from attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity, conditions that cause children to seek constant movement and stimulus. By practicing yoga, and learning the tools for discipline, can help children overcome the compulsions associated with ADD and hyperactivity.
But getting children to participate in yoga may be the most difficult step. Even for children not suffering from conditions like ADD, their general restlessness may make getting them to sit and meditate a difficult chore. And a parent's enthusiasm for yoga won't always translate to enthusiasm in a child.
Many experts believe the best way to get children to discover the benefits and peacefulness of yoga is to show by example, rather than force it on them. When children see yoga as part of their parents' daily routine as well as witness the mind, body and spiritual benefits of the practice they may be more apt to take part, or at least display a curiosity.
Some yoga experts recommend performing yoga in the home to demonstrate to children how it is conducted and some of the movements associated. The natural curiosity of children, experts say, will make them want to try some of the more "fun" positions in the practice. Poses like headstands and certain balancing moves mimic the regular playtime activities that children take part in every day, so seeing them in yoga will spark their interest.
When parents see their children developing an interest in the yoga poses and movements, parents can begin to show them the mental aspects of yoga. Yoga instructors recommend beginning with breathing exercises that can teach them to relax. Next, try poses such as the Warrior pose and the Tree pose, two movements that can teach them confidence, calmness and balance. The goal, experts say, is to get your child to start thinking about more than the movements and focus on what the poses represent and how they make them feel. For instance, ask them if the Warrior pose makes them feel strong and confident. Does the Tree pose make them feel tall and strong? The goal, the experts say, is to get them to mentally identify with the poses and the emotions that they create.
By combining the two feelings, experts say, children will learn how to connect their mind and body, which can bring an improvement in many aspects of their life, from school to outdoor activities. Children who make this connection learn to develop confidence in their movements and their thinking process.
At this stage of their learning, other aspects of meditation and yoga can be introduced to them, such as chants (which play on a child's natural instinct to sing and chant) and the development of an awareness of the world around them. Getting children to listen to the wind in the trees or notices the smells of a meadow become a much more enjoyable experience for them when they learn to develop a confidence and awareness from within.
Even Children Can Receive The Benefits Of Yoga
By: Linda Adams
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