Yoga

we all know about yoga, it comes to us from India and represents a spiritual skill and tradition more than 3 5000 years old. Yoga is a way of life for some …. a whole signpost for a healthy lifestyle. They say that it helps to overcome everyday difficulties, and to gain a better understanding of the meaning of life.

And what about yoga for children?

Today we have a lot of extracurricular physical activities, activities for moving the body, for exercising, etc. for children. It is considered unusual, and sometimes as a form of neglect, if we do not provide children with some extracurricular activities. Today’s children “necessarily” attend basketball, gymnastics, dance, football or some other physical and activities to “wake up” the body. However, more often we hear about yoga for children, and there have been many questions of whether yoga can be adequate for children and from what age? How to explain to children what yoga is? What benefits can I get from yoga?

Let’s go…

Yoga postures, or asanas, are practiced by people of all ages and in different health conditions. The benefits of yoga practice are primarily in reducing stress and relieving pain, improving circulation and digestion, achieving better body alignment and posture, increasing concentration, developing deeper and more relaxed breathing and, most importantly, gaining a sense of well-being and inner peace.

Yoga is a fun way for children to develop a range of important skills in a nurturing, non-competitive environment. From an early age, children are pressured to perform academic and social activities. To this, we as parents add the pressure of competitive, organized sport activities that can lead to self-criticism and a decrease in self-confidence and self-confidence. During this time, yoga can be a great remedy for tension that is associated with daily stressors and an important driver of healthy physical, mental and spiritual development.

Yoga for children contains songs and games; a multi-sensory environment is created for adequate and as diverse as possible the development and learning of the child. So yoga for children is adapted and just as it is called, all activities are targeted and created primarily for enhancing of their mental and physical abilities and needs.  

Yoga for children is a new concept, but for children it is something natural, because activities such as running and jumping, squeezing and balancing by imitating nature is the most natural way for children to explore their body and their world. Through yoga adapted to them, children become aware of their body, begin to understand and respect it. Yoga for children is opposed to yoga for adults – it involves interaction.

What is interesting about Yoga for children is that it can be adapted in such a way that knowledge from biology, geography and history is adopted through it as a certain tool.

The importance of yoga for children is also in the fact that children today spend a lot of time together with adults in a sitting position and with a minimum of movement (school, homework, joint family evenings, etc.)

What are the benefits for children?

By their very nature, children cannot understand their feelings and react to them adequately. They know the feeling, but do not know how to adequately respond to it and therefore their reaction is absent. There are several very important benefits of yoga for the mental, physical and spiritual development of children. The first in a series of benefits is MEMORY IMPROVEMENT. By learning how to breathe and focus on a particular voice, activity, or work, children must develop the skill of focusing. By learning to breathe, they learn to concentrate and in that way open their possibility of memory development. Another benefit is the IMPROVEMENT OF SOCIAL RELATIONS. Although we all know that yoga is something that can be done individually, with children it is usually delivered as a group yoga for children. The goal is to socialize children and develop self-confidence. Group activities are very useful for children, and paying attention to their own needs (focusing, breathing) creates trust in the group. Here it is important to note the contribution to the development of self-confidence. Group work develops positive relations and certainly the development of (positive) attitudes towards others. Another benefit of yoga for children is that it IMPROVES SLEEP, even just by the fact that children have a planned body movement, warming up and jumping time. Every physical activity leads to a reduction of stress, and in combination with yoga for children where proper breathing is one of the most important components, stress is certainly reduced. Also, one should not forget the importance of physical activity on the health of the nervous system of children. Next they use is SELF-REGULATION OF BODY AND SPIRIT, more accurately recognizing and correcting bad behavior. If the child has guidelines on how to recognize his bad behavior and realizes that he can only influence his behavior, he will certainly work on correcting it. Children in their yoga learn how to set goals for themselves, how to accept challenges, reflect on their condition and behavior, and ultimately respond properly. One of the more important benefits of yoga for children is also the DEVELOPMENT OF INDEPENDENCE  AND RESOURCEFULNESS in children. These two abilities are of great importance for children especially during puberty where peer pressure is quite pronounced. With these skills properly developed, children develop independence and a desire to succeed and to achieve a goal. Another benefit is that yoga for children IMPROVES THE MOOD of children. These physical movements enhance the work of hormones and in this way lead to the secretion of more hormones of happiness and love.

How to explain to a child what yoga is?

Simple: we tell them that yoga is fun! Yoga is a fun way to learn about what your body and mind can do. If we insert some games into the yoga we offer children, we give children individuality and a way of expression, and then comes the calming of mind and body.

Is yoga suitable for all ages?

Yoga benefits children over 7 years of age. Yoga is recommended for all ages and can benefit everyone if used and performed properly.

In summary …

Practicing yoga is important for children for many reasons that are also important for adults. Yoga helps children relax, relieve stress and anxiety, sleep better, improve emotional regulation, increase empathy and improve mood.

So to reiterate, yoga can improve children’s strength, coordination and flexibility, while boosting body awareness and self-esteem. It can reduce your child’s anxiety and stress and encourage a sense of calm.

It is important for children to teach them a balance between negative and positive emotions. When we are ready to let go of all that negativity, practicing yoga helps reduce stress and anxiety by releasing tension throughout the body, literally releasing the built-in negativity that children store in their body.

Yoga is much more than a pose; it is a way to discover our bodies and inner world. As a human being, we experience the universe with our mind and our heart, so being able to consciously relax, elevate, and focus on ourselves are vital abilities. It is never too early (or too late) to embark on this journey of self-discovery!

Let’s do yoga, it’s fun !!!

WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU THIS FANTASTIC YOGA FOR KIDS PROGRAM ON YOUTUBE CHANNEL. It is interactive, occupies kids’ attention for 30 or more minutes (even our 3 year old loves it) and they can dance, stretch, learn to breathe and enjoy fully. Enjoy with them Cosmic Kids Youtube Channel: