Children derive massive advantages from yoga. Physically, it enhances their flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness. Additionally, their concentration and sense of calmness and relaxation improves. Doing yoga, children exercise and increase their tolerance levels.
Yoga has become quite mainstream for adults in recent years, but have we ever considered sharing the practice with our children? Yoga can benefit children significantly, and in some ways, possibly even more so than it nourishes adults. Here are just some of these benefits:
- Yoga is non-competitive.
- There is no one better or worse at yoga than anyone else; we are all just exploring our bodies and learning from them in our own way. Yoga is truly for every body.
- Yoga teaches self-acceptance.
- With society sending so many messages of inadequacy, yoga teaches children to love themselves.
- Yoga teaches accepting others.
- Yoga teaches acceptance and tolerance of others. In practicing yoga, children learn early in life that all living beings are to be cherished and respected as they are, thus helping to create more peaceful local communities and a more peaceful world in our future.
- Yoga encourages healthy habits.
- Any exercise program begun in childhood helps children to remain physically active and healthy as a lifestyle.
- Focus.
- We live in a world of distractions. More and more these days, children seem unable to focus on anything for any decent length of time. Yoga can help with that. It teaches children to be present, and to concentrate and focus on their breathing.
- Yoga teaches calming techniques.
- Young children deal with frustration most typically by crying and throwing tantrums. By learning healthy breathing techniques and tools to focus the mind, they begin to learn how to apply those tools in their everyday lives and to react appropriately to any situation.
- Children learn self-awareness through yoga.
- Again, in guiding their bodies through the poses, children learn more about their bodies and what they are capable of.
- Yoga supports positive mental health in children.
- Maybe most importantly, yoga teaches children that relaxation is not only allowed; it is encouraged. Relaxing is not easy and learning to relax takes practice. Yoga provides space for the mind to slow down and settle.