Introducing Kids into Yoga: Benefits & Tips
Many adults are rolling out their yoga mats these days to stretch out those tight hamstrings, heal their aching shoulders, and ease their anxious minds. As yoga has become more mainstream, people have learned and experienced the benefits of the yoga practice. But is yoga just for adults? Can kids practice yoga, too? They certainly can. Yoga offers many great benefits to kids of all ages. Here are a few tips that parents, teachers, and caregivers can use to introduce yoga to children.
Yoga for kids is a wonderful source of physical exercise and body awareness. It also is developmentally positive for enhancing creativity, socialization, and mindfulness.
Physical Exercise & Body Awareness
Just as adults enjoy yoga for the physical practice and the positive effects it has on the body, the same can go for children. Engaging in movement of any sort, like a yoga practice, keeps kids physically fit. In addition to that, they grow to appreciate their own bodies and develop a respect for others' physicality and abilities.
Enhance Creativity
Yoga for kids is a lot of fun, too. Kids Yoga instructors do not worry so much about having their young students get the poses right. It is more about allowing the kids to be free and expressive with their bodies. In cases where children have a tough time expressing themselves verbally, using their bodies as a communication tool can be very helpful. The yoga poses can help a child express their feelings; they can use the postures to say if they are sad, angry, or happy.
Another way to have fun with kids’ yoga is to allow children to make up their own yoga postures.
