Modern yoga has become wildly popular among everyone from expectant mothers to
senior citizens. This is no surprise to the seasoned yogi; all
the known benefits of regular yoga practice make it well worth a try,
and just one class will have you hooked. As yoga continues to
grow in the twenty-first century, it is time to share its invaluable
rewards with the next generation of yogis: our children.
Among the growing ranks of childhood epidemics in this country
are the all too familiar attention deficit and behavioral disorders. More and more kids each year are diagnosed and prescribed expensive
medications to facilitate that coveted calm and focused classroom demeanor.
Between television, video games, and the internet, kids are exposed to constant on-screen stimulation. It is no wonder why a child does not know how to act
when this stream of visual entertainment is interrupted, as is the case
during school and at the dinner table.
Enter yoga. One of the discipline's
most celebrated benefits is that it promotes a state of centering and total calmness.
Yoga practitioners of all ages boast unparalleled placidity with
regular asana, or yoga poses. The Mayo Clinic even reports that yoga breathing, known as pranayama, can help you "control your body and quiet your mind." Just a few hours a week of yoga offers kids an
escape from the fast-paced digital world, just like it does for adults.
Yoga practice can teach children that while there is
a time for TV and NintendoDS, there is also a time to turn them off.
As a little yogi learns to find his calmness without digital stimulation, this calmness will come more easily to him in the classroom
as well - it just takes practice.
Even the simplest postures can yield measurable
results in coordination and self-control. A yoga routine tailored to the needs and developmental capabilities
of young yogis is a safe and effective way to exercise their minds and
bodies together. Kids yoga class makes for
good old-fashioned unplugged fun!
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