Can children also take up yoga?
Children can practice yoga too, in fact, it is taught in many schools. ‘Yoga for Children’ as it is called is extremely beneficial for kids and more so for those suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder and hyperactivity. It may not always be easy for you to locate a yoga centre with sessions meant specifically for children in your area, but there are a lot of resources on the subject that you should find. Keep in mind that children have smaller attention spans so plan the sessions accordingly. Preschoolers shouldn’t have to endure a yoga session for more than fifteen to twenty minutes, around twenty to thirty minutes for children in elementary school and half an hour or more for preteens. At the end of each practice session include some time for relaxation.
Although for many kids a yoga session may be something that they have to ‘endure’, this feeling will not last long and they can grow to love and appreciate the time they spend on yoga. For this reason it’s important to make the sessions of yoga a fun activity or a game to spike the child’s interest. If you are already familiar with yoga yourself, you would be aware yoga consists of numerous asanas or physical poses and breathing techniques called pranayams. Yoga sessions generally include a combination of these poses and breath control, with the poses or asanas being practiced in a specific order that is predetermined. The sequence is planned to maximize the benefits of the session. Many of the poses were derived from or arrived at from the observations of sages on nature. To be more specific, their observations of the world around us formed a large part of the knowledge bank and inspiration for various poses. For example, the Tree Pose, The Cat Stretch or the Cow Pose. When dealing with kids you can make these activities fun by imitating the animals and allowing them to do likewise, while also getting them to learn the pose.
Children have a lot of growing to do and yoga will help them grow with increased strength and flexibility. It will also help improve their coordination and balance. It can also help stimulate creativity in children. An important benefit is that it also makes kids a lot more confident and self aware. One of the other big benefits is that it helps improve their concentration. Older kids can also deal with stress a lot more effectively with yoga.
