Top 10 Reasons Kids Need Yoga Just as Much as We Do
Raise your hand if you wish that you found yoga earlier than you did? Is your hand up nice and high?! For me, I didn’t begin my practice until I was well into my 30’s, just a few months after giving birth to my third child. Yoga was a game changer for me. If I’m being fully honest, it was a life changer. And I know that I’m not alone. Trusting my path, deep down I know I found yoga exactly when I needed to, but still, I can’t help but wonder what if I had found it much sooner in life?
Growing up, more often than not, we are taught how to accomplish, how to strive, how to achieve. We are praised for winning, for performing, for doing. Rarely are we taught how to BE. We are not taught how to simply sit with ourselves, to be still with our thoughts and feelings, in our bodies. We certainly are not praised for these successes. In a world where we are constantly being told what to look at, what to look like, what to buy, who to watch, who to be like, it is critical than ever that our children learn to get comfortable in their own skin, learn to be present and cultivate healthy strategies to navigate the demands and stresses of the world we live in. There are countless research-based benefits to yoga and mindfulness for children, both physically, emotionally and socially. These are my top 10.
1. Improved physical fitness, including boosting their immune systems and keeping muscles and organs functioning at optimal levels.
2. Cultivates core strength to maintain and improve posture, as well as increases balance and flexibility.
3. When children practice yoga and mindfulness they are empowered to manage and regulate their emotions.
4. Yoga improves their ability to be less reactive and more mindful in their thoughts, words and actions.
5. Yoga and mindfulness are a effective ways to promote healthy brain development and function.
6. Practicing mindfulness allows children to cultivate focus, concentration and mindful awareness, which leads to being more successful in school and in life.
7. Increased awareness of themselves and their place in the world. Kids learn how to listen to their bodies and their minds. They learn to trust their inner voice.
8. By learning to trust their inner voice and become strong in their bodies, this increases their overall confidence in themselves and their ability to overcome obstacles.
9. Children build stress resilience. In yoga they develop strategies like using the breath to help calm the mind and body when stressed. These strategies are then applied in life when they step off their mats.
10.Yoga teaches children to be present, compassionate and accepting of themselves, as they are. When they are able to practice this loving-kindness towards themselves, they are better equipped to offer that same presence, compassion and acceptance of others. Thus allowing for better conflict resolution and willingness to understand other viewpoints and get along with others.