If your little tot is too rambunctious, suffering from low self-esteem, or stressed out, she could benefit from yoga.
Today, yoga has become so widespread that children as young as 3 are enjoying the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of yoga — whether in group sessions at a local training center or in their very own gym class.
Some adults, however, are somewhat wary: isn’t the idea of a group of kindergartners in the lotus position a bit precocious? Isn’t a practice as complex and profoundly spiritual as yoga a little … advanced for wee ones?
Not at all, say some experts. The modern world is filled with pressures and constraints on children: the nightly grind of homework, a never-ending roster of after-school activities, endlessly chirping electronic devices and overextended parents all add up to stressed out young people. More and more, even the littlest kids are turning to yoga as a way to relax and look inward. With one of the main tenets of yoga being “let it go,” children gradually learn, both by focusing on various poses and concentrating on their breathing, they can remain calm and centered in difficult situations throughout the day. Yoga allows children to be radiant beings in a hurry-up world.
Yoga has also been shown to slow down the hyperactive and attention-deficit child. By satisfying their craving for movement, yoga helps children burn through their excess energy in a positive way. Yoga classes for any child do not tend to revolve exclusively around sitting still and breathing deeply.
“Kids’ yoga is totally different from a traditional yoga class,” says Kaity Moreira, co-owner of Bamboomoves, a yoga center for children and adults in Forest Hills, Queens. “Sometimes we don’t even stay on our yoga mats!”
Most yoga teachers for this age group mix the venerable practice of yoga with a combination of games and songs that teach kids about the natural world around them.
“We are always in a circle and we’ll do multiple activities in the time we are together,” says Moreira. “Sometimes we go on a yoga adventure traveling all over the world using our imaginations and poses to express different places, animals, or ideas.”
Yoga does not try to squash children’s silly side: little yogis are encouraged to hiss while in the cobra pose, and moo and meow in the cow and cat poses. Moreira also sometimes has her students try to balance peacock feathers on their fingers and noses in order to develop focus — with varying degrees of success.
Yoga does, however, breed some stillness. Instructors report that certain poses cause children to feel empowered and in control — the tree and warrior poses, in particular, build a child’s confidence when instructors remind children of what the poses mean: “still and strong like a tree” or “open and fearless like a warrior.”
“To be honest, we were not sure that kids could really have the attention span.,” said Andrew Tanner, co-owner of Bamboomoves. “Our youngest students quickly proved us wrong.”
Of course, yoga helps improve strength and flexibility. Children become more aware of their own bodies, have better self-control, and develop coordination through yoga, and many instructors have witnessed first-hand that children’s motor skills, balance, posture and concentration improved as they practiced yoga.
One mother noticed her young son doing the downward facing dog position around their house after taking classes at a local center. Both his flexibility and self-esteem had improved.
Teachers report that students get most excited when they finally master a difficult pose, noting that the kids will run out of class to tell their parents that they did their first headstand.
Best of all, this newfound sense of strength and coordination comes from a non-stressful, non-competitive physical activity.
With some encouragement and patience on the part of instructors, yoga can help children to trust in their inner-selves, and bring their inner light to the surface.
