Our children are exposed to a lot of stresses these days.
There is homework every day, competition from other children, extracurricular activities...
And just like us adults, children need something relaxing to channel and to be able to transform that stress.
Yoga for children helps them develop better body awareness, it also provides them with full autonomy, flexibility and coordination. All this can not only give better results in the classroom, but also give benefits in their daily routine.
Yoga for children has been shown to help hyperactive children to reduce attention deficits.
Children today need movement and sensory motor stimuli that can then help regulate their inner soul energy.
Yoga for children helps channel their impulses in a positive way
The best yoga poses for children are the warrior pose and the tree pose. These two yoga poses help instil calmness, confidence and inner and outer balance.
The trick to getting them to do yoga, is to go beyond just practicing the appropriate postures.
You can get them to think about what the posture initially represents.
Let them think they really are what the poses symbolize, let them be the poses - strong and confident as a warrior.
Yoga for your children with your partner is also a good way to gain the trust of your children.
It develops their skills as part of a group and promotes greater closeness with both parents.
When it comes to relaxation, some children find it very difficult to close their eyes and concentrate on their exercises. One thing that encourages a child to relax is visualization.
Let them think about something they really like and let them imagine being like these things.
You can also ask them to focus on abdominal breathing first and have them listen to some soothing sounds and relaxing music.
Then, ask them to imagine their favorite place in the house or to imagine that they are floating in space.
You can also ask them to imagine that they are at the beach, playing their favorite game in the sand or one that they particularly enjoy.
Yoga: for better control and greater self-confidence
Sometimes boys let themselves think of a girlfriend they like, which helps them to relax, but sometimes it is difficult to do so because they become shy and intolerable when these kinds of things are discussed.
Just stick to visualization if this technique gets complicated for you.
Each day at the end of each relaxation exercise, encourage the children to share their own experiences. Ask them to tell the group what it was like to be in their visualized environment.
Also ask them to share the place where they imagined that they were.
Another approach is to create a guided imagination by telling them a story with a calming theme.
As you know, children have the most active imaginations, they imagine all kinds of things.
In this configuration, the imagination gives them the feeling of being calm.
So, when you do yoga with your kids, let them think they are walking in a green pasture. You can even make them think they are butterflies in a beautiful garden.
The main idea here is to bring about a feeling of peace and oneness with nature.
Yoga for children should be taught more often and in different places. It is important to teach children the meaning of the union of body and mind.
There is such a wealth of knowledge that we can offer our children with the practice of yoga.