Yoga indeed has become a popular, mainstream alternative for exercise and fitness. Here in Los Angeles, hardly a day goes by that I don’t see people walking by with their Yoga Mats rolled up underneath their arms coming from or going to their Yoga class.
Most stay-home moms have picked Yoga up as well as their method of keeping fit and maintaining physical, mental and emotional balance. Upon seeing the apparent results most naturally wonder how their children might be able to benefit form using Yoga for kids. Well, it is my hope that as a Yoga enthusiast myself, you will find this article much helpful in choosing the yoga poses that could be incorporated into your child’s recreational endeavors.
YOGA FOR KIDS:RECOMMENDED POSES
1. Sun Salutations:
These are a group of poses that serve as a warm up to a yoga session or class. For staying fit, keeping obesity at bay and fun (especially when performed at a high speed), the Sun Salutations will be an immense source of enjoyment for kids getting introduced to Yoga. Do you know in India, they actually hold contests of how many rounds of Sun Salutations kids can do in one go? Yeah, they are that much fun.
2. The Shoulder Stand:
Trust me, behind your back, kids already try this pose. You probably did as a kid without knowing you were actually doing Yoga. So in your use of yoga for kids, make sure the inclusion of this pose is of priority. Executed with the bridge pose and fish-poses as counter poses, for kids doing yoga, the shoulder-stand will reap many benefits.
3.The Forward Bend Pose:
This teaches your kids self-dependence and aids immensely at curbing digestive disturbances as an added bonus. I’ll have you know, some authorities of Yoga have said that these three poses mentioned thus far are enough for humans-although this may be slightly erroneous or incomplete as the execution of their counter-poses for a specified amount of time is also of great importance as well.
4.The Wheel Pose
Okay, I was walking through the park the other day and saw a kid who couldn’t have been more than 8 years of age executing this pose for literally 90 seconds. Yes, I counted this out of amazement and intrigue. It’s been hailed as the “forever young pose”, consequently when using yoga for kids; this has got to be included. Co-incidentally it is the counter-pose to the third pose above.
5.The Relaxation Pose
Of course this is a must-do for everyone. When introducing your kids to yoga, this will be a good time to show them how to relax with its use as a secret for relief from school stress and the little challenges they may face in their young lives. Yes, they do have some demands placed on them parents. Moreover showing this to them now will go a long way with laying the foundation on how to deal with the daily demands of life.
Other great poses to consider are the Bow, Triangle, Spinal-Twist, Inclined and Diamond Poses. Kids should also be shown proper breathing exercises with emphasis on Abdominal Breathing.
Other factors to be included when using yoga for kids are the use of a proper, nourishing diets, Fresh Fruits and vegetables-(emphasis on leafy ones) and positive thinking techniques. On the subject of diets, you can add some celery juice to their fresh fruit juices if you have one of those popular juicers such as the juiceman. This is one way of sneaking in a good source of powerful minerals into their bodies, tastefully.
Yoga for kids is best begun around the age of seven, however, kids-being-kids, they of course will emulate what they see you doing, so as long as you know they are not in harm’s way, it’s okay to let them dabble a bit into Yoga.
Indeed using Yoga is both fun for kids and beneficial for as the book of Prov. 22. 6 states, it is one effective method of “Training your child in the way he should go” as the discipline and confidence that comes from Yoga may only be attainable from this ancient form of physical culture.
So Moms and Dads, go on and get your kids started on yoga. You’ll be glad you did.
