Exercises for Children

by Kevin Pederson

It has been found that more and more children these days are obese. This is mostly due to wrong diet such as eating too much of fried, greasy or over-processed foods and also due to lack of exercise. If care is not taken to reduce this weight, these children could end up as overweight adults.

This would then put them at risk of contracting certain lifestyle diseases and medical problems such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and sleep apnea. It also has a negative effect on their self esteem. Exercises for children are therefore essential.

Benefits of exercises: Exercises for children have numerous benefits. They make children stronger and more agile and flexible. They help strengthen bones and muscles and improve posture. Exercise helps in better circulation, increased intake of oxygen and better elimination of toxic wastes, which in turn helps in better skin, better digestion, and improved memory. Exercise makes them more active and helps to boost their self esteem.

Types of exercises: Exercise for children can take the form of extracurricular sports or participating in physical education classes in the community or at school. Sports help to inculcate in them a sense of team spirit, besides being an enjoyable way to lose weight.

Yoga: When deciding upon exercises for children, you might want to also consider yoga. Yoga exercises could range from the simple to the intricate. Yoga can be adapted for all ages, and could help children of different ages in various ways. In pre-school children yoga is taught by moving, singing, playing and imitating. It helps to develop powers of observation, good listening skills, co-operation, discipline and body awareness.

For school-aged children, yoga exercises are often taught in a playful way, which helps them to learn the names of body parts, along with the qualities of the different animals on which the postures are based. Yoga also provides a quiet break from the more active and boisterous games.

Yoga exercises are beneficial for teenagers because they massage the various endocrine glands and thus help to balance hormones. They also enhance the working of the nervous system and thus help to release tension and calm their minds. Yoga is also beneficial for special children since they help to increase basic cognitive, communication and motor skills. They also improve co-ordination, balance and concentration.

Yoga exercises for children start with the very simple poses like Mountain Pose (Tadasana), Tree Pose (Vrikshasana), Triangle Pose (Trikonasana) and the Hand to Foot Pose (Uttansana). They can then go on to the Plough Pose (Halasana), Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) and the Inverted Leg Stretch Pose (Viparitakarani). Some of the animal poses include Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana), Camel Pose (Ushtrasana) and Fish Pose (Matsyasana).