Children are under a great deal of stress in modern times. Endless after-school activities, homework, pressure to compete with other children to succeed and an overbooked schedule all add up quickly. Kids these days, just as their parents, are also turning to yoga as a way to relax and deal with stress.
Identification
Yoga poses for children include many animal postures, such as cat and downward dog pose, eagle pose, lion pose, crow pose, fish pose, cobra pose, butterfly pose and others. There are also poses like tree pose, mountain pose and the warrior poses that help ground children. Children's yoga classes always emphasize nature and elements of it with which kids can connect.
Features
Yoga poses for children also include an emphasis on deep breathing. Breathing is introduced to children before they start practicing the physical postures of yoga, and teachers are then easily able to encourage them to continue breathing well throughout the different poses. This helps calm down hyperactive children in particular.
Benefits
Practicing yoga poses helps children physically by enhancing their strength, flexibility, body awareness and coordination. Yoga also helps improve children's sense of relaxation and calmness, as well as their concentration, which is helpful for their studies in school. While children can derive these same benefits from doing other types of activities, yoga is particularly enjoyable for children due to the fact that it can inspire their imagination and ability to imitate animals and other aspects of nature. Tree pose and warrior poses in particular help children feel grounded and confident in their bodies.
Types
While most yoga classes for children include animal and nature poses, there is also some variety in the way these poses are presented. Some yoga classes integrate playing instruments, drawing pictures of animals the poses replicate and telling stories to the classes to further engage children and help create an interdisciplinary approach to learning. This also makes yoga poses more enjoyable for children.
Warning
It is important for parents and yoga teachers to not push young children in particular (those under age 12) to do poses like shoulderstand and headstand, as these can harm the undeveloped spinal structure of these children. It is also a good idea to let kids know that they should not try to push themselves too hard to do poses that feel uncomfortable for them.
References
- Yoga Journal: Yoga for Kids
- Yoga Education for Children; Swami Satyananda Saraswati; 1990
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