Yoga Is Good For Kids

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By Lela Davidson

Did you know your kids are stressed out? They need relaxation just like you. Homework, sports, and after school activities can overwhelm little minds and bodies. Yoga is a great way to get them relaxed and focused. Yoga can help children with self-control, flexibility and coordination. If your child suffers from hyperactivity or attention-deficit, yoga is a great way to center.

What if we all learned how to breathe properly when we were kids? I imagine the world might be a much calmer place.

Kids Are Naturals

Kids do yoga naturally and with a little instruction they master poses in no time. They love tipping upside down, balancing on one leg and crawling around imitating various animals. By encouraging their natural inclination to move their bodies, you are giving a valuable gift that could last a lifetime. Kids also naturally understand that they don't need to do something perfectly for it to be fun.

Yoga Helps the Body in So Many Ways

It's easy to see how yoga can help a child's strength and flexibility, but yoga poses also help to boost the immune system. The poses gently stimulate internal organs and flush toxins from the body. That means all that fun and goofing around is building healthy bodies.

The mindfulness aspect of yoga is so centering and calming that kids will benefit in all areas of their lives by learning to concentrate fully on one thing at a time.

Yoga at Home

There are tons of books and videos on the market. A good video to try at home is the YogaKidsTM video. The children get into different animal poses to music. A good book for babies and moms is Baby Yoga by Francoise Barbira Freedman.

A classic book for older children is Babar's Yoga for Elephants by Laurent De Brunhoff. Kids will love to see the different poses performed by Babar himself. As they copy him - voila, they're doing yoga! The book includes a poster of Babar's yoga poses. Another great book is the Yoga Parade of Animals by Pauline Mainland.

Yoga Classes For Kids

Yoga classes with kids or for kids can be a great addition if your schedule is not already full. Check the yellow pages or your local recreation center. If you can't find a children's yoga class in your community maybe you ought to start one!

The following offer yoga classes for children:

YogaKids International

Fitness Beginnings

Buddhaful Kids Yoga

Budding Yogis

Storyland Yoga: Yoga for Kids and Families (ages 3 to 8)
Amazon Price: $14.73
Yoga Kids: For Ages 3-6
Amazon Price: $4.93
List Price: $9.98
YogaKids: Educating The Whole Child Through Yoga
Amazon Price: $10.42
List Price: $19.95
Yoga Kids, Vol. 2: ABC's for Ages 3-6
Amazon Price: $4.61
List Price: $14.98
Yoga Motion - Yoga for Kids Ages 2.5+ | Kids Yoga DVD by Namaste Kid
Amazon Price: $15.49
Yoga Kids (2010)
Amazon Price: $9.98

Comments

Karen Blake 18 months ago

YOGA for kids promotes mental and physical health and a positive attitude toward exercise.

yoga business 24 months ago

Kids love yoga and they are great fun to teach too!

Ntathu Allen 3 years ago

Go Yoga!! Definitely agree. I teach yoga to children and teens - so rewarding. i recommend the Pretzels Cards (you mention them above) they are great for working with young peolpe.

anton55 profile image

anton55 3 years ago

There are so many benefits to yoga. I have been working on beginner yoga workouts at http://www.squidoo.com/beginneryogaexercises

anton55 profile image

anton55 3 years ago

There are so many advantages of staying in shape and having a good diet. The diet is the most important part of the equation. You are what you eat!

Jennifer Chait profile image

Jennifer Chait 4 years ago

Nice. Yoga is a great way for kids to hang out with parents. It's different from so many of the usual kid sports and activities; all the kids I've known to do it love it. Cool post.

Dalene Entenmann 4 years ago

Very informative article! for parents interested in introducing their children to life tools that will benefit them mentally, emotionally and physically for the rest of their lives. Your parenting columns are a wonderful resource, I enjoy reading them.

Maddie Ruud profile image

Maddie Ruud Level 5 Commenter 4 years ago

Yoga is good for everyone!  It is a great activity for children, if you're worried about their exercise levels, without setting up disordered thinking... in fact, it's perfect for improving body image and awareness!

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