Namo Yoga Kids Yoga at Unity
Why should kids do yoga? As parents, you may be able to pick many activities for your children. How do you choose what is best? What should be a priority? How do you make sure they have a balance between fun and other beneficial experiences, maybe even those with long-term benefits?
Fortunately, there’s yoga for your kids! It’s fun, it’s active and it’s calming – while subtly infusing a sense of self-worth. Through the physical practice, yoga nurtures flexibility and freedom of movement and grows corresponding self-confidence. Yoga gives kids healthy bodies and minds and develops their radiant little selves.
So, what goes on in a kids’ yoga class? First, yoga gives children a chance to explore being in their bodies and discover the spectrum of amazing things we can do... stretch, jump, be quiet/loud, balance, twist, bend, rest, be alone and in a group, focus, get strong and flexible, sing, play and be upside down. Yoga is one of the best activities for kids. A child can come into the class tired, frustrated, hot, hyperactive and – wherever they are – yoga practice begins.
Second, yoga is non-competitive. Unlike sports, learning an instrument, or playing video games, yoga does not encourage competition; nor does it put pressure on children to do more, do better, or go faster. During yoga, kids notice how their own bodies move. It’s fun as they try different poses, developing self-awareness and recognition of the their strengths and where they can improve – without self-judgment or comparison. Yoga is one of the best ways to build children’s confidence.
Finally, yoga gives children a chance to be mindful, get perspective and rest. All of us, all the time, in our busy lives in the modern world are over-stimulated. Stress – noise, crowds, carrying heavy bags, working on computers, being in cars, having to rush to get places, all tax our nervous systems. Kids are not different!
Second, yoga is non-competitive. Unlike sports, learning an instrument, or playing video games, yoga does not encourage competition; nor does it put pressure on children to do more, do better, or go faster. During yoga, kids notice how their own bodies move. It’s fun as they try different poses, developing self-awareness and recognition of the their strengths and where they can improve – without self-judgment or comparison. Yoga is one of the best ways to build children’s confidence.
Finally, yoga gives children a chance to be mindful, get perspective and rest. All of us, all the time, in our busy lives in the modern world are over-stimulated. Stress – noise, crowds, carrying heavy bags, working on computers, being in cars, having to rush to get places, all tax our nervous systems. Kids are not different!
So, in class, after your daughter or son practices poses, laughs and discovers new things about their bodies, there is relaxation. A time of lying down gives an experience of goodness and relief of quiet restfulness, stimulating the calming parasympathetic nervous system. It teaches children the value of quietly breathing and to focus on what is going on with them versus what the world asks them to focus on. Believe it or not – kids, even super-active ones, love this!
What should you tell your children about yoga? That class starts with sitting in a circle, maybe a name game, listening to a bell, breathing or singing, then we’ll do stretches and poses to warm-up, a series of poses around a theme (like rainforest, circus, strength and courage). At the end is a nice relaxation.