Benefits of yoga for children
Yoga is one of the best disciplines when it comes to combining body and mind. A sensory as well as physical balance, because during a yoga class, a whole range of our capacities are put to use: flexibility, stretching, cardio, all of which are essential to get the most out of the benefits of yoga!
And this success is not to be denied, since according to a private study, more and more people are practicing yoga every year. Especially for the well-being, for breathing, and for yoga postures in general.
This craze is also more and more present among the youngest, since yoga for children is experiencing a growing boom. The reason? The benefits provided during a session, between meditation, relaxation and playful physical exercises. But in concrete terms, what can yoga bring to a child?
Between breathing and self-confidence, a little overview of all that a yoga session can bring to children!
Yoga for children: getting to know your body
Of course, one of the first benefits of yoga for a child is to learn to understand his or her body. His body, it is its movements, its points of support, but also the flexibility of its limbs, or its resistance to repetition.
All of this is done in a gentle manner, but the yoga teacher may ask for a series of movements, which will involve the child knowing how to use his body as a tool, between stretching and physical strength. For yes, the body can be a real tool, which we can use in any way we want!
Moreover, it is important to remember that doing yoga is like doing sports. Physical sport, of course, but also cerebral sport, hence the learning of what is physical strength, and the body in general. Practicing a sequence with your arms and grasping your limbs is already yoga!
In any case, for a child, getting to know his or her body is equivalent to developing self-confidence, since the very idea of doing sports is a challenge to oneself. But we'll come back to this at greater length!
In the meantime, we must never forget that a yoga class, if it allows a young audience to be initiated to the joys of sport, and to learn how to apprehend its movements, is also a place of leisure. Because unlike (although!) classes for adults, a yoga workshop for children will be more focused on the playful side of the different postures.
Yoga for children: developing self-confidence
It was mentioned earlier, but the practice of yoga has many benefits, starting with the development of self-confidence. For a child, this is as important as it is for the parents. Indeed, by trusting his teacher, the budding yogi will succeed in deploying his physical capacities towards horizons that he may not have known.
Just imagine: holding a difficult position for 30 seconds can seem a real challenge for a young audience. And yet, by reaching his goal, the child will gain confidence in himself and his body, which remains the greatest gift for a yoga teacher! To be tested!
Thus, at each session, a panel of activities and positions will be proposed, so that little by little, he will become aware of his body, of his capacities and, as a result, will develop a better self-confidence. Because self-knowledge and confidence are only one step away!
Yoga for children: learning to channel oneself
For a child, a regular practice of yoga will also allow him to channel his energy, to calm down according to the posture practiced. For if there are more playful moments of others, the fact remains that yoga, like mindfulness, is an introspective discipline.
We will then seek to reach Zen, the moment when we find ourselves with ourselves. Generally, all this takes effect at the end of the class, when the teacher proposes a moment of decompression, of immediate well-being.
As with adults, this involves a series of breaths, relaxation and, why not, meditation. Enough to return home Zen and healthy! In any case, this is what is at stake in a yoga workshop, which will make you see the world in a more introspective and gentle light!
Children: discovering the value of yoga
One of the most important things to remember when playing sports is to feel in tune with the values of the sport. And when you're a child, the values of yoga are a great playground!
And yes, we tend to praise the merits of introspection, self-knowledge, physical fitness, and all this is well and truly validated in the practice of yoga, yes yes!
A yoga session allows everyone to work on his or her physical, mental, and spiritual health, all in a dynamic that allows one to relax, while educating one's mind. Because yes, each posture corresponds to a very precise way of thinking, which yoga develops in each session.
Quietly on his yoga mat, the child will then be able to understand why we put the head down, why the hands meet towards the sky at such and such a moment, or why the hips are important in a sequence.
A moment of complicity with oneself, but also with the discipline, which highlights its richness, even for the very youngest! Enough to make you want to take a class!
Children's Yoga: Setting Barriers
But yoga, when you are a child, remains and will remain a sporting discipline which, in fact, has codes, even rules. During a class, it is impossible to do what we want to do, and it is essential to respect certain instructions that the teacher reveals during yoga workshops.
Practicing yoga is therefore a process, whether you are an adult or a child or teenager. There are various things to respect, starting, of course, with the class schedule, which constitutes a base for the child. But that's not all!
The outfit is also a not so accessory, since it is part of the material starting from the little yogi. Coming in jeans is of course forbidden, and a teacher will not fail to remind a child who dares to come dressed like this.
These rules, if they are explained by safety or hygiene, are nevertheless limits that the child will not be able to cross. The same applies to the teacher, who is an authority figure, just like a teacher at school.
Enough to get used to enjoying yoga without wanting to overdo it!
Yoga for kids: having fun
Yoga does have some basic rules, but it is no exception to the rule of fun! And yes, with a young audience, the teacher does not hesitate to adapt his class, and to propose postures that are as much fun as they are effective.
If we often find breathing exercises to relax at the end of the yoga sessions, the content of a class is to be dynamic with a young, or even very young, audience. Here, no posture too boring, everything must lend itself to discovery, challenge, even play, without ever hurting oneself of course!
Children's yoga is therefore a discipline full of benefits, whether physical, spiritual or mental. A healthy mind in a healthy body, such could be the motto of this sport, practiced by all, at any age, in the respect of a tradition that is anchored in contemporary reality.
So, tempted by children's classes? Know that family yoga is also a good alternative, if you still have some doubts. Namaste!
