Children's Yoga

Benefits of Children's Yoga...

Saturdays, 10:30 am Soul Flow Yoga

Respect

• Namaste:  Honoring the light in you as you honor the light in me.  How we say hey and goodbye. Teaches consistent respect in a fun way-singing.  (said in every class)

• Increasing feelings of autonomy
• Improving capacity for contact with others
• Learning to develop and maintain good physical health in childhood will set great patterns for later in life
• Getting in touch with nature within us helps to harmonize the soul and cultivate respect for nature, animals and other humans.
• Yoga teaches boys (and men) to respect life and see things with a broader and more compassionate perspective.  It isn’t girly, it’s maturity.   

• Yoga means yolk:  bringing together mind, body & soul through the breath.
• Yoga is about awareness.  Letting your children find out who they are not who everyone thinks they should be. What we are looking for is connectivity through everything.  Om (AUM) – the voice the connects everything.
• Mudras – “Seals” to bring everything together, constant connection in the body.  What we are looking for is to bring kids back into their bodies growing up connected adults or as whole a person focusing on what is right about the child instead of looking for a standard perception of social acceptance. 
• To teach everyone it is ok to be still and it is ok to be who you are.
• All aspects of yoga practice encourage development of awareness of the relationship between the nervous system and somatic (movement) activity and thoughts and feelings.
• Kids, especially those with autism, learn best with visual aids.  Show a picture of the pose, or the animal or thing, you are about to do before you do it so they can correlate and predict.
• Nature is full of indomitable creatures and impressive objects, and yoga doesn’t just copy them.  Through yoga, you can in a way become those things and know you are a part of something greater.  And when your practice is over for the day you can take some of the strength, confidence, power, and tranquil spirit away with you.
  
  

Focus

Calm

• Our mood is also affected by how we feel physically.  Postures (asanas) help to keep our muscles, joints and fascia strong and flexible.  It also helps reduce blood pressure, stimulate the immune and glandular systems, reduce insomnia and heal the body in innumerable ways. 
• There is a very direct connection between our mental, emotional and psychological states and the pace and depth of our breath.
• When you relax and slow the pace of breath (pranayama), the pace of the mind is similarly calmed and quieted. 
• By finishing every practice with shavasana, students learn that they can take time out and rest in response to somatic sensations.  Initially kids will not like the thought of resting but further in they will ask for it.  This indicates that they are not only aware that they feel tired or agitated, but also that they know what might make them feel better. 
• Better handling of emotional reactions.
• Greater tolerance for frustration.
• Inversions have the added benefit of curbing hyperactivity by calming the nervous system.
• The quality of breath reflects the quality of mind!
• The rhythm of breath has a positive impact on both heart rate and respiration.
• Breath work gives children the ability to calm the mind on their own and to balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain. 
• One of the amazing things about the link between the body and the mind is that moving the body actually helps to release mental energy too, helping the mind to slow down, cease its chatter and relax.
• Because yoga teaches non-competitiveness and nonviolence, it can help boys to control the sense of competition and aggression that contemporary society sometimes nurtures in its young men.

• By asking what do you feel or where do you feel this, constantly bringing them back to their bodies.
• Always ask “where do you feel strong” “where do you feel the stretch” – constantly trying to pull their awareness back to their body.
  
• Learning to be themselves.
• Creativity and connectivity takes children out of their anxious minds and to the root of who they are.
• Yoga is not about measuring improvement, it’s about today and how your body responds in this moment.
• Reinforcing the ego (developing a greater sense of self acceptance).
•  Children learn self regulation through development of awareness.  

Patience/Non-judgment

• There is no right or wrong.
• The child is successful every time because the practice is about him/her and what feels right for them on that particular day.
• Children frustrated with competitive sports enjoy yoga because it is easier to learn and not orient towards being better than another person or winning a game. 
• It’s not about setting a goal, it’s about little steps that make them notice they feel better.
• Because yoga is noncompetitive and personally tailored to you, during your yoga practice comparison isn’t relevant.
• Yoga is noncompetitive to the core.  No mirrors, no contests, no losers, no trophies, no titles.

 Balance

• Vestibular System is related to the regulation of muscle tone, balance, motor control, postural control, visual space perception, visual-motor control, auditory language skills and attention.
• Practicing and holding poses helps children develop muscle strength, stamina and concentration.
• Patterns/poses crossing the midline stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, or the calming part of the nervous system, enhancing brain integration and balance.
• Extreme deficits in attention/concentration and sensory integration are able to slow and calm their breath with direct instruction. 
• Poses stretching the spine and neck affect a child’s nervous system, inducing relaxation and increased attention. 
• Use Beanie Babies for focus and balance.
• Pairing physical movement with language learning appears to enhance recall abilities and stimulate appropriate language.
• Balancing postures give the body instant feedback letting you know the mind affects the body.
• Yoga rebalances the body biologically with cross hemisphere movement
•  Kids who practice yoga have before them surmountable challenges.  They learn to practice poses and do exercises they’ve never tried before, things they never imagined they could do.  When they see they can finally balance upside down, they feel good about themselves.

 Strength & Flexibility

• Intense weight bearing on the arms can strengthen the shoulders, biceps, triceps and muscles of the forearm and hand.
• The inverted positions are significant in that they stimulate the vestibular and proprioceptive systems and also have a significant effect on the child’s self-confidence by increasing strength, coordination and courage while encouraging appropriate risk taking behaviors.
• Once the shoulder muscles have more stability and strength, the smaller muscles of the hand can work more efficiently to hold a pencil or smaller items which in turn can improve handwriting. 
• Many poses strengthen the muscles in the neck, back and abdominals.  This increase can improve posture which will positively affect outlook on life.
• Laughing strengthens the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, improves circulation and makes positive chemical changes in the brain.  Dopamine and serotonin levels are affected by laughter. 
• Kids who are flexible but haven’t yet developed muscle tone get stronger.
• Kids with strength but not much flexibility get more limber.
• Most people’s lungs can hold about 8 times the air that they breathe.
• Holding your own:  holding yoga poses builds strength because the muscles must work to maintain the body’s position in the pose.  It builds flexibility because the body holds itself in ways that stretch and elongate muscles and tendons.
• Mental strength is built by imparting a sense of power and strength.

 Proprioception

• Kids in general are trying to find their bodies in space, specifically children with Autism, Sensory Integration issues and ADD/ADDHD.
• Yoga helps sustained attention, behavioral regulation and open body awareness.
• Yoga helps to bring connectivity to the earth on a physical, social and emotional level. 
• As children try to hold different poses, they are learning where their bodies are in space and how their body parts relate to one another.
• It broadens thinking and brings it to a more conceptual process, “When you were a tree…”
• Joint compressions with eye bags/sandbags give proprioceptive input with sense of awareness to body.
• Prone weight bearing activities are helpful for tactile tolerance, general strength, postural control, proprioception/vestibular input. 
• Hand Postures (Mudras) help with fine tuning.
• Always ask “where do you feel strong” “where do you feel the stretch” – constantly trying to pull their awareness back to their body. 
• When a child is standing in Tadasana (mountain pose) instruct them to “look down at their feet” “are they standing the same?” “now look up at your arms” “are they reaching up just the same?”
• Compression
• Teach self massage: firm deep touch is calming, organizing, grounding and connecting.  Since the child is in control of how much pressure is applied, great for children who exhibit tactile defensiveness.  
• Use eye bags and/or sandbags on the body to instill all of the above.

What To Expect In a Children’s Yoga Class

• Mantra (Yoga Sounds/Affirmations): Use of vibration and vocalization is calming and helps to focus attention.  Encourages development of language and the physical ability to speak.  Helps establish eye contact and interactions.
•  Pranayama (Breath Awareness): Deep breathing has a calming effect.  Children are able to learn to use their breath to self calm.  Practicing breathing encourages the development of breath support for speech and postural stability.  Children with hyperactivity or unstable activity levels respond beautifully to breath work and singing to calm and stabilize their activity levels. 
• Asana (Postures & Exercises): Help with all developmental aspects of gross motor skills, including general body awareness and position in space.
• Savasana (Deep Relaxation): Even a few brief moments of quiet stillness can have beneficial effects for children who rarely stop moving.  Use visualization techniques.  Try rolling a foamy ball up and down the body slowly and with moderate pressure.
• Meditation (Quiet/Alert Time):  Improves attention span, the ability to sit still and concentrate. Helps remove anxiety and frees the mind from clutter so that it is more available for learning new things.  Yoga songs and affirmations are a good way to start. 
• Environment

 - The rules of the ‘yoga studio’ the physical boundary created by the mat, the routine of taking off shoes and the creation of a schedule all provide sameness and structure that build both confidence and competence. 

 - The yoga space should provide a calm peaceful setting unlike any the child has experienced before, creating a space in which the child senses an atmosphere of serenity, but also a space in which making typical responses less fitting.

 - Creates a safe space for the children to explore.  Ask them to bring something they want on their mat to further secure the area.

 - Dim lights and eye pillows help block out visual distractions allowing imagination and calm.

Struggles of Some Children (Especially ADD/ADHD/Sensory Integration)

• Inattention
• Hyperactivity/Impulsivity
• Overly or under responsive to sensations
• Struggle to figure out where their bodies are in space
• Find themselves in extremes of attentiveness
• Have poor control of precise and coordinated body movements
• May appear clumsy
• Tend to fidget
• Display unusual behaviors such as self biting, throwing themselves on the floor, chewing on inappropriate items. 
• More interest in objects than people
•  Inability to plan a sequence of complex movements
• Loss of spontaneity in interacting with others
• Inability to focus on a task
• Inability to express language
• Inability to ‘play by the rules’
• Inability to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level. 

Yoga Inherently Designed To



• Touch all of the senses which will better teach the child because you are reaching so many more parts of the brain.
• Move.  Kids are kinetic learners. 
• Create/Improve Body Awareness which is crucial for development of social skills
• Establish Structur
• Cultivate Coordination and Physical Fitness
• Be purposeful and multi-sensory based
• Reduce autonomic nervous system tone, provide proprioceptive input and engage relaxation response through the neuromuscular and limbic systems.
• Increase strength, endurance, and flexibility
• Teach patience for one’s abilities and inabilities as well as tolerance in challenging situations.
• Teach respect
• Allow for exploration of bodies and gain a sense of physical self confidence, shedding awkwardness.

 Most of the benefits listed here for Children apply equally to adults - to anyone's practice.  If you have a yoga practice, we're sure you share our "wish" that we'd found yoga at 20, at 15, at 8, because of the profound impact it has on our lives.

Join us for children's yoga or for any of our classes.  We look forward to seeing you at the studio.

Namaste