By Amruta Kulkarni, CYT 500
Adults from all walks of life and varying physical
abilities are discovering the many benefits of practicing yoga and they're not
alone. Children as young as three can do simple yoga exercises; in addition to
helping a child improve balance, coordination, and body strength, yoga
exercises are something that parents and children can do together. In addition
to a calming, pleasant exercise, yoga provides opportunities for parents to
provide instruction and build trust and communication bonds with their
children. And yoga is not just appropriate for small child/parent groups within
the home. Larger groups of children respond well to yoga in both classroom and
studio settings.
What Children Get From Yoga
In addition to improvements in general body handling and
strength, children have responded well to yoga exercises as both a form of
physical and occupational therapy. The props often used in yoga seem to be especially
appealing to children and yoga's efforts to bring balance and tranquility to
both body and mind is helpful to children as well. In the aftermath of the
tragic 2012 elementary school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, one yoga
instructor mother taught what she thought would be a one time class at the
targeted school. Children and instructors there were so pleased (especially
with breathing and meditation exercises), it's now a weekly event for the
entire school, with plans to expand these classes to upper grades, as well.
Cautions About Yoga And Children
Although the benefits from yoga are similar for adults
and children, parents and instructors should be aware that these two groups
require different instructional approaches. Small children have shorter
attention spans, and get frustrated (and upset) more easily than older children
and adults. While children are more flexible than adults, they
lack an adult's body strength, balance, and coordination, all of which can
potentially lead to injury if exercises aren't properly done. To avoid issues,
instructors should offer age appropriate classes. Toddlers shouldn't be mixed
in with kindergarteners, for example. Always start with very basic poses for
all levels, and communicate to children that bodies should never hurt while
practicing yoga moves, and that modifications or adjustments can be made to avoid this.
Good Yoga Strength Exercises For Children
1. Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward-facing dog): This is a
great stability exercise for kids. Have children start from a hands and knees
position on the mat, then lift up. Have them keep feet flat on the mat to avoid
falls. Bending knees in order to do this is perfectly acceptable.
2. Vrkasana (tree): After finding a good stance on the
mat, children slowly raise one leg and rest their ankle against the opposite
inner ankle. More experienced children can raise the opposite leg higher, but
don't let them rest the foot against the knee joint.
3. Ardha Chandrasana (crescent moon): This exercise provides
balanced flexibility on both sides of the torso, but younger children will need
help both with appropriate arm extensions and breathing.
© Copyright – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
See our selection of Online Yoga teacher training courses.
See our testimonials to find out what our graduates have to say about our selection of online yoga teacher certification courses.
Please feel free to share our posts with your friends, colleagues, and favorite social media networks.
1 comment:
To helping a child improve balance, coordination, and body strength, yoga exercises are something that parents and children can do together. Thank you Amruta Kulkarni for writing this nice article.
Post a Comment