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Today it is terribly upsetting to see how many kids are suffering from psychosomatic disorders like sleep disturbances, eating problems, headaches and oftentimes wrong posture such as drooping shoulders plus as stress related to pressure, competition and aggression in school. To help kids manage we have to find a way of exercise that involves their whole body, the unity of body, soul and mind. Yoga is the way to return to this unity, to return to perfect balance. Yoga is dynamics together with right breathing and meditation. With Yoga you learn to discover your spirit once more, through your mind and body. Yoga makes kids alert, flexible (mentally and physically), stronger healthier and more confident. It very much helps them manage day to day pressures. Yoga for kids is taught differently from the way you teach adults. Some of the asanas aren’t taught at all, particularly to kids going through puberty.
Techniques of Yoga for kids
In Yoga for kids you normally begin by sitting in a circle and chanting OM. All children love chanting as one and to feel the strong vibrations OM generates when chanted as a group. If the kids are exceptionally young, you may package the lesson with a story. Stories often take the mind to far away places and in order to get there you have to fly. So you first board a plane and all children to 'fly' around and land on their mats. Children love spreading their 'wings'.
Since most of the asanas bear names of animals you can easily meet them in the place you visit. It's remarkable how many new asanas are developed (once a session even had a dog that peed – that is Adho Mukha Svanasana with a leg lifted). Now and then you can create famous monuments through Tadasana, Trikonasana etc. When you kids teach you should use loads of affirmations, such as, 'I am as strong as a warrior' in Virabhadrasana or 'I am vigilant like an eagle' in Garudasana etc. Kids love to do Bhujangasana as they become dangerous cobras, they love to do Natarajasana since they are poised and beautiful dancers. To wind up the session, do sitting poses. For instance, you can close a chapter in Paschimottanasana. Also avoid teaching Sirsasana to kids younger than 16 years, since their necks are delicate and also because of the strong effect on their glands. However, you can teach them Adho Mukha Vrksasana with yourself as a wall or the real wall. Through relaxation you can tell them stories that deal with discovering bravery, releasing tension etc. There is so much you can do with Yoga lessons with kids, the instructions can easily fill an epic.
Benefits of Yoga for kids
- It boosts their concentration, focus and attention.
- It increases their self-esteem and confidence.
- It enhances their creativity and imagination.
- It develops strong, flexible and healthy bodies.
- It gives them an experience of a relaxed state of body and mind.
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