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Health Benefits of Yoga for Kids

Health Benefits of Yoga for Kids

Posted Date : 2022-01-30

Yoga (meaning union or yoke) is the practice of accessing and integrating all aspects of our true nature- body, mind, and spirit in the pursuit of inner harmony. Yoga is beneficial to kids in many ways.By practicing yoga poses, children can learn how to exercise, develop confidence, and concentrate better. Children encounter emotional, social, and physical challenges or conflicts, a dedicated and intentional yoga practice that includes breathing techniques, behavioral guidelines, and physical postures can be incredibly valuable for them. It is also believed that yoga is something children can practice anywhere and that through the breathing, the concentration, the poses kids learn to act or react to situations. It will lead to constant self-discovery and inquisitiveness. Plus, yoga is portable. No mat, special clothing, or special pillow is even necessary to do the yoga. There are five key areas where kids benefit from the practice of yoga, and each of them improves their overall well-being.

  • Enhances Physical Flexibility
Yoga promotes physical strength because kids learn to use all of their muscles in new ways. Whether a pose is done standing, sitting, or lying down, each one can challenge various muscle groups while helping a child become aware of his body and how it efficiently functions.
  • Refines Balance and Coordination

Balance is a key element of yoga. Balancing poses were created to promote mental and physical poise, as mental clarity and stability emerge from the effort of trying the poses. Even if a child has difficulty standing on one foot, she learns mental and physical balance. If she can stay calm when she falls and gets up to try again, she will learn to improve their physical balance. Coordination is also closely tied to balance and promotes overall dexterity. Some yoga teachers and occupational therapists use finger yoga and other specialized techniques to help children with gross and fine motor coordination.

  • Develops Focus and Concentration

The act of practicing poses encourages children to clear their mind and focus on the effort. As a result of this single focus to achieve a particular pose or stay balanced, yoga helps children to focus and concentrate in school and get better grades, several studies note.

  • Boosts Self-Esteem and Confidence

Yoga helps to instill confidence and to bring learning to children on an experiential level. It helps to provide building blocks for the future. It is our responsibility to develop our children’s sense of wonder and to give them a
strong sense of self so they know where they belong in this world and can contribute to making their community a better place.”Yoga teaches them to persevere, be patient, and work toward their goals. A yoga teacher can only offer guidance; it is the child who has to work to succeed. Therefore, when a child masters a pose, it gives him confidence and self-esteem. Kids yoga is like " prehabilitation” a proactive action to ward off instability or sickness; yoga also provides tools for practicing compassion, mindfulness, generosity, focus, strength, and flexibility.

  • Strengthens the Mind-Body Connection

Yoga helps kids achieve a sound mind in a sound body by exercising the physical body and calming the mental spirit. As parents we want our children to act and behave with mindfulness and with compassion, to be brave, to know love and happiness, and to find inner peace. Since the modern world moves very, very fast for children, it’s not long before they feel all kinds of pressure (personal, parental, social) to keep up with everyone around them. Yoga functions as a release valve that alleviates pressure and as a foundation to nurture and develop a resilient and resourceful body, mind, and spirit.

  • Yoga Improves Happiness

Your kids will be happy when they are in yoga class. Yoga also improves overall happiness. Or more correctly, it has been proven to decrease depressive tendencies.

Yoga is beneficial to children of all ages, but it has been found to be particularly so for kids with special needs. Studies have shown that yoga benefits children with autism and ADHD.Yoga is effective because it reduces stress.

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