Hi Everyone!
Hope you all had a fantastic week, and here’s to the beginning of the next one!
Now we all know how yoga can benefit you personally, but do we know how yoga can benefit our children??
It’s pretty simple, really…If you know that yoga has the magnificent power to de-stress you, put you in a better mood, flex your body & lose all those daily tensions…Why wouldn’t it do the same for your kids?
A lot of people might think that children equals naivety, candour, energy and being able to be worry-free (something we all would love to go back to, am I right?) and that they wouldn’t require yoga like adults do. But in fact, yoga can be amazingly beneficial to children with ADHD, Downs Syndrome, Autism, Anger Issues or just your every-day happy child in need of educating.
Children with ADHD need to find a way to calm themselves down. Meditation is one of the most common advice friends & doctors might give to their parents. And this is a good thing. Meditation and yoga helps children with motor skills disorder to improve their breathing patterns, which are at the root of all muscle tightness. A meditative practice at night before going to sleep can help the child concentrate on a single thing at a single moment in time, calming themselves and letting go of the unnecessary baggage they’ve been holding during the day. With practice, they will learn how to let go and this will allow to perform an activity with better accuracy for a longer period of time, thus improving their self confidence!
You’ll find that if you yourself practice yoga: your children will want to join in, as it is a fun activity and can enhance the connection between you and your child! This will not only keep your fitness level up, but also encourage them to carry out exercise and you will pat yourself on the back when it’s bed time for them and they are tired enough to go to sleep within minutes due to having well-spent their energy during the day! They will also benefit from a better sleep this way, thus rejuvenating the body properly and getting it ready for another run the next day.
For teenagers who are coming to grips with their personalities, change in hormones, school stress and other sources of anxiety, Yoga helps them to learn how to control their breathing, thus flushing out toxins within the body, and help resource themselves for better studies. You will definitely notice the difference between a child who practices yoga on a regular basis compared to one who doesn’t: their levels of work and inner control will reflect in their ways of life & will benefit them immensely on a future aspect and in adulthood.
In the mean time, enjoy your children & don’t forget to enhance your spiritual bond with them by practicing yoga on a regular basis. You will notice the difference, in the short-run because you are all having fun, and in the long-run because your children will have learnt how to control their breathing, emotions, tensions, flexibility and stamina – and this will show in their personalities, which will shine through them, and you can be proud of that!
Yogi Hugs from Yogamasti
