Yoga For Children
Sourced From The Island,
We often think that children cannot possibly go through stress. Think again. Typical childhood is ions away from those idyllic years that we spent growing up. Just open a book that your child studies and you will understand how much these kids need to study and learn. If that doesn’t do it, a typical chat will express what a lot is going through their little minds. Yes, there’s a lot that kids go through nowadays. Factor in other complex feelings such as sibling rivalry, academic competition (no I don’t endorse it, nevertheless, it seems to be such a common occurrence), bullying, peer pressure etc. All these rather ensure that at a given time, our children have a lot to deal with.
In addition to stress, take a look at our current eating habits. Sadly, it’s quite frequent to see children who are not looking so healthy. Obesity is becoming a fairly common occurrence and though we definitely should not let our kids be conscious of their image, we must promote an understanding of leading a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Physical exercise is very important for kids. However, parents need to encourage their children to practice a form of physical exercise that is holistic and devoid of competition.
Yoga is fun at all ages and has amazing powers to bring the best in all of us no matter what age you are. People are often surprised when I say my youngest yoga student is two and half years.
Their first question is – Can they do yoga? Yes! They can! And they love it. They love the movements and they appreciate the fact that they can do something and achieve something by themselves.
The beauty of learning Hatha Yoga is that children are able maintain their inherent flexibility by a continuous practice of hatha yoga. Remember your little one who was so flexible that he could put his toe in his mouth? Fast forward a few more years and you’ll find him being unable to even bend down and touch his toes. Infact, there are many forms of exercise that children can practice, be it running, swimming, football and various other sports, but none can help a child continue to be flexible and flexinilty means suppleness that is important in maintaining health. See more…