Showing posts with label yoga for kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga for kids. Show all posts

Monday, January 19, 2009

What is Kid and Teens Yoga?


Kids yoga is challenging, energetic, and fun. Kids yoga when done well is truly a fun and creative approach to yoga. Using animal poses and basic stretching exercises, the classes promotes strength, flexibility, coordination and body awareness in children. It can be very helpful for children whose bodies are still developing. The poses help to instill confidence and concentration and a sense of calm.
Kids Yoga is for ages 5 and up, and it's a great way to get kids off the couch and get them involved in a regular exercise program. The yoga club should provide facilities which are well maintained, clean, and have a warm, friendly atmosphere.
Teen and older children's yoga is a blend of traditional yoga postures, and this tends to be delivered with a blend of popular music and philosophy. These types of classes are geared towards teenagers, and are open to both males and females ages 13 to 18. One teen yoga class is offered at YogaAylum as an ongoing, drop-in class, designed for any student with or without previous experience. Students will practice physical postures (asanas) that can be a great support for the maturation of the inner organs as well as the long bones of the teen-aged body. There are an increasing number of courses like this being offered.
Practiced dynamically and regularly in combination with your other daily activities, a school of yoga such as vinyasas will keep you lean and toned, and your resulting high metabolic rate will burn excess calories.
The pursuit of yoga is good for all ages, but recently it has also been used for those in pregnancy.
Practicing Yoga in pregnancy helps to strengthen and stretch muscles, release tension and maintain good posture.
Any article answering the question of what is kids yoga, would be unfinished though if it did not explain a little about the origins and nature of the art. Yoga is more than just a form of exercise; it is part of a well-rounded philosophy that dates back over 5,000 years.
Balancing of the five basic Elements and Chakras are the main keys to remove disorders through various yogic ways. There are many different schools of yoga which exist in India. For example, Patanjali's Yoga has essentially to do with the mind and its modifications. It deals with the training of the mind to achieve oneness with the universe. Patanjali students follow the tradition of Upanishads.
Hatha yoga is probably the best known around the world. Students will be oriented to meaning and practices of hatha yoga through short readings/explanations and yoga poses. Surrounded by a supportive environment focused on fitness, teen girls will be able to relax, have fun, be physically active and make new friends. Students are encouraged to respect the studio, the props, the decorations, and each other.
Some yoga courses include music making. At these courses you can feel the joy of making music in a community setting that allows you to express yourself. Remember, there is no medicine more therapeutic than self-expression. Feeling relaxed in Savasana, the power of Virabhadrasana, the exhilaration of standing upside down in Sirsasana, and even the subtlety of Kapalabhati breath work their own magic. The magic is in the direct experience.

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Yoga For Children - Antidote to Stressed Families

Yoga for Children is a wonderful antidote to the hectic lives that our children lead. Yoga can be relaxing, stimulating, and promotes well being. It provides closely controlled exercise and is enormous fun for children at the same time.
A number of Yoga for Children programmes have been created by Yoga teachers to introduce the benefits of yoga and relaxation at an early age in a playful, simple and fun way. The combination of special yoga moves, breathing exercises and relaxations will energize, strengthen, loosen and balance little bodies, while helping to calm and control and relax little minds.
Kids yoga is a wonderful opportunity for the child to learn life skills that can be implemented into their daily routine. Whether it's breathing and relaxation techniques that will help them, focus, concentrate or be calm; or postures that will help their endurance, flexibility, balance and coordination these are all very naturally a strong part of yoga.
Yoga for children is most successful if the children are encouraged to use their imagination. A dynamic, creative and stimulating approach grabs the children's attention.
Yoga for children is practiced in the United Kingdom. It is not new to Britain, with after-school clubs and classes gaining popularity in recent years as parents realize its wide-ranging benefits. What is new to the UK, however, is the method of Research on Yoga in Education (RYE), an international non-profit making organization which blends the standard school curriculum with exercises on concentration, attention and relaxation, drawn mainly from traditional yoga.
What is also claimed is that Yoga for children gives the benefit that the children may be protected from injuries and at the same time they get all the benefits of exercising the system. This is not to suggest that the other exercise including outdoor forms of exercises and sports and games are not beneficial.
Parents have expressed appreciation for the presentation of yoga in a playful manner with its presentation of actively moving exercises balanced with those that require stillness and inner concentration, all in a child-friendly way. Parents may be practicing yoga themselves, and kids are always interested in what their parents are up to.
When assessing yoga trainers for children, parents should also inquire as to the spiritual nature of the classes; some instructors take a strong religious stance, while others offer no particular religious slant, instead focusing simply on the movements and breathing.
In the best classes the kids learn balance with dozens of yoga poses, develop strength, improve coordination and enhance their flexibility all with these children's yoga exercises. Furthermore, kids develop an overall sense of strength, flexibility and well-being, while they get hold of their active lives and sometimes overactive minds. Kids get to prowl, growl and wiggle through yoga animal poses from Alligator to Zebra! Certified children's yoga instructors will introduce stretching, breathing, standing poses and simple meditation.
Kids yoga provides an answer to children who we might described as being are little bit harder to reach, although we stand firm with our belief that every child has an angel deep down inside them.
We have said that children's Yoga allows a child to deal with daily stress. What do we mean by that?
The answer is that each time a child enters a Yoga class for kids, he or she can "close the door" on negative feelings that stress overload brings. They can simply put that behind them throughout the lesson and afterward doing that tend to take a more mature perspective. Kids need a way to manage all of their stress and anxiety. It is not healthy for a child to feel so much anxiety over any given situation.
There you have it! Kids and yoga seem like a natural match. It can be immensely therapeutic for those who need it.
However, yoga can be presented well and insensitively. The best trainers recognize that kids need a practice that suits their physical and emotional needs. Luckily, many yoga schools across the nation are responding to the growing interest in yoga for the younger set in a very well managed and sensitive way.
It is a fact that to provide kids yoga a specialized training might be needed, and is in some places being made available, but patience is a key quality needed for Yoga instructors who want to embark on this path. I teach children myself, and a Kids Yoga class has to be well devised, be fun, and include games.
So, we hope that we have shown you how yoga is such a great way to relax and de-stress equally for the child and the adult.
However, did you know that there are even now some yoga practitioners who are providing training to parents in yoga from soon after birth?
By using yoga with babies, parents confidence grows in handling, playing and having fun with their babies. The classes are fun class in a system which also offers gentle post-natal yoga and tummy toning exercises for mummy!


Yoga For Kids Presents the Key to a Futuristically Brighter Society General

Yoga for kids is generally considered not an educational formula but rather a way of showing children ways to cope with stress. In Eastern countries such as India, children receive yoga classes at very small ages, but in the West, parents make the choice whether to train their kids or not. The very good part about it results from the possibility of the children to develop self-awareness and spirituality more quickly and better than a grown-up. Yoga for kids teaches body and mind control as well as it helps create good behavioral patterns. It can be shown that yoga training does effectively decrease bullying and increase anger management for 4th and 5th grade students with whom I have personally worked. The rationale for this hypothesis was based on the first vow of raja yoga, ahimsa, that one vows to be non-violent to self and others.
Presently, some schools include kids yoga as an additional curricular activities, but most of the time classes are independent. Just like dance and karate courses, kids yoga can be easily squeezed in the child's daily program. Therapeutic studies indicate that yoga has had very good results in the case of hyperactivity or deficit disorder cases. Since with these disorders, kids constantly crave movement, kids yoga helps to the channeling of these impulses in non-destructive ways. Self-confidence, balance and calm are the great benefits to result from yoga-for-kids programs. The children learn yoga philosophy, practice yoga postures, learn breathing and concentration techniques, as well as, traditional conflict resolution strategies and dialogues.
Moreover, since yoga classes involve working in a community, children develop team skills while working to get in the poses. The anatomical flexibility specific to young age makes postures a lot easier to perform; adults on the other hand have to work a lot more to reach the mobility level necessary to practice yoga. Although the physical part is not that challenging, a major obstacle comes from meditation and relaxation, particularly because kids enter such states more difficultly. Therefore, visualization proves the best way of helping young and grown up yoga trainees get into the relaxed state of mind.
The names of the postures in kids yoga classes allow children to learn them more easily. Thus, instead of performing asanas they will make a bridge, a mountain, a cat, a dog or a cobra, to name only a few. Moreover, trainers never push the practice of kids yoga to the limit of pain, as the activity wouldn't be that attractive with an extra pressure.
A comprehensive yoga program can greatly reduce violence and bullying, but, the long term lasting effects are still unclear but should be obvious at this point. The results of this intervention acknowledge yoga as an effective method for increasing anger management skills and decreasing physical outbursts of violence for upper elementary school age children during the time of implementation of a competently applied program.
This article was written to provide you with knowledge about the subject of why Yoga for Kids is so important in today's world. I appreciate you taking your time to read it. Visit my site to see focused kids and proven results.
Dee Marie has been a Master in the field of Yoga therapy for many years. Her focusted direction is to build a stronger world through early education of yoga for children. [http://www.calmingkidsyoga.org/DeeMarieBio.html]Yoga for kids
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Yoga For Kids

Life can be stressful and as adults we are quite aware of that, but most of us are not aware that our children can also feel quite stressed in their lives. As time progresses, life seems to travel at a much faster speed and as a result of this both adults and children seem to be under a great deal of pressure.
Yoga is a great way to relieve stress and to teach your children how to use yoga for stress relief can help them do deal with the pressures that they will face in life. Teaching your child at a young age will give them the stepping stones to cope with stress throughout their life as they grow and become adults.
Yoga can also help your child to develop high self esteem and also teach them how to relax so that they will not feel so overwhelmed when life throws something stressful their way. These skills will help them throughout their life and they will also learn to develop compassion and cooperation.
Yoga will help your child to improve their strength, coordination and flexibility. This will also help them to improve their concentration levels helping them to perform better at school and in sports. They will improve their sense of calmness which will enable them to deal with any situation in a more effective and efficient way.
As we get older we tend to lose our flexibility that we have as a child, and by teaching your children yoga it will help them to keep that flexibility which will benefit their health as they mature.
There are many benefits that yoga will offer your child and as well as the benefits it is also fun for them to do. Yoga instructors will often teach children the different yoga poses by playing and imitating different animals and plants. This also help to nourish the child's natural talents and it makes yoga classes fun and also very effective.
Many kids find it hard to sit still for long, they love to be on the move and love to chat rather than sit and listen. Instructors that can encourage children to have fun and make yoga exciting by allowing them to move and imitate animals are very successful at teaching children the art of yoga. The children can roar like a tiger and bark like a dog which is great fun for them and also helps to improve their self esteem and at the same time keeps them interesting and excited about attending their yoga class.
Yoga really is one of the most beneficial exercise programs for anyone, both young and old, and by teaching your children yoga from a young age they will enjoy the life long healthy benefits that yoga has to offer them.
Adults and children can both benefit from the amazing effects of Yoga. To learn more about Yoga visit http://yojo-yoga.com
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Fun Yoga For Children

Why is Yoga Important for Children?
Yoga is important for a child nowadays as there are more pressures for him/her. Yoga will gently calm the child down and let him/her stretch their muscles.
Fun Yoga Moves for Children
Make yoga fun to keep your child interested. You both can do the moves together. Your child can follow you and you both can enjoy each other's company.
- First take a deep breath while sitting on a mat or carpet.
- Count to ten with your eyes closed.
- Slowly stand up and stretch your arms high to the sky for ten seconds.
- Now you are ready to yoga "work."
- Pretend you are shoveling snow outside together. Slowly move your arms in a shovel movement and throwing the snow in a pile.
- Stomp off your feet as if getting the snow off. Walk a few steps as if you are coming inside.
- Stir some hot chocolate for pretend for ten seconds with your right hand.
- Next pretend you are stirring spaghetti for dinner.
- Now take a broom and sweep the floor as you spilled a lot of noodles on the ground.
- Sit down on the floor and take a deep breath while you pretend to drink your hot chocolate slowly raising your hand to your mouth.
- Plop ten marshmallows into your hot chocolate.
- Slowly look to the left and look to the right. This will stretch the neck muscles.
- Lift hands in a praying motion and have your child close his/her eyes.
- Have child think of something happy. Sit for one to two minutes.
- Time to bake cookies in the kitchen. Burn a favorite scented candle if you would like. Pretend to be kneading the dough while sitting on the carpeted floor or mat. Next, take a rolling pin and roll out your dough. You two can quietly discuss what kind of cookies you are making together.
- Slowly stand up and pretend you are putting the flour away high in the cupboard. Next put the sugar away in a lower cupboard. Any other supplies put to the left and to the right. Now wash the countertop using slow circular motions. Switch hands and move in circular motions.
- Sit on mat and inhale for ten seconds releasing your cares away.
Summary
Spend quality time each day with your child doing fun yoga for children. You both will look forward to the quiet time spent together. By using your imaginations together you will keep your child engaged in yoga much longer.

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