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The Benefits of Yoga for Kids: Why They Make Better Yogis

Writer's picture: ruvikapoorster9ruvikapoorster9

Yoga for Kids

Firstly, let me start by saying that I love working with kids. They are almost always thrilled, love to experiment, and are never afraid to try an Asana because they think it might hurt. They are not scared to try! They will try and try until they can scream out loud, "Hey, look, I got it!" The more complicated it looks, the more they want to try it.

When I first started my practice, it was hard for me, just like any other person. It took solid diligence and commitment to even begin to see, if not feel, the difference it was making. Like many others, I was drawn to it because of the fancy physical postures.


Someone once asked me, "Why Ashtanga?" Honestly, I did not have an answer to that, and I still don't! I hardly knew what the practice was all about. I just knew that one thing led to another, and there were some loud and clear signs that I could not ignore. It was as if a path was laid out in front of me, and I had to make the tough choice of walking away from everything I knew or was planning to do and take one step at a time, not knowing what the destination was. I still walk that path every day.


Backbend

But coming back to the topic, just because it was my choice to do it didn't make the practice any easier. It was hard work, sweat (lots of it), and a few tears too. One day, I was trying to show my son how much further I had come in my journey of Asana practice. He just got up, jumped onto the mat, and did exactly the same posture in the blink of an eye. I was shocked (and a bit embarrassed) that something that took me so long to achieve came so naturally to him! There was no warm-up, no detailed description; for that matter, he could smile while doing it.


I started discussing it with my friends, and most of them felt it was because kids are more flexible and stuff like that. But I knew from my personal experience during my practice that physical flexibility and shape and form have very little to do with it. They play an important role, of course, but they are not game changers.


Cartwheel

That's when I came across the "Bhaavas" or feelings associated with particular kinds of Asanas. I encountered multiple experiences and books documenting how, for instance, forward folding Asanas help you in surrendering and accepting your past (Vairagya Bhaav) and how backbends can help your self-esteem (Aishwarya Bhaav). This answered it for me-Children are free spirits! They have no baggage from their past weighing down their shoulders. They make decisions free of perceptions based on physical, psychological, or sociological norms. It's a different thing that they are sometimes quite capable of making the wrong statement at the wrong time and place. But they can even distract themselves from something as real as pain, no matter how bad it hurts.


All the Mommies who have kissed the booboos away, please raise your hand. Isn't it amazing how your kiss on that finger that got pinched between the door crack can make a kid howling in pain settle down? How many adults do you know who can choose to walk away from pain with that kind of bravery? They know their mothers are there for them and that they are safe if Mommy is around. They feel secure in their family where everyone loves and cares for them.


Headstand

As parents, it is our duty now, more than ever, to help them retain this Yogi-like attitude. The world they are going to enter is harsh, rough, and competitive. Being able to deal with stress is going to be a self-preservation skill very soon! We can help our kids by acknowledging, accepting, and nurturing these traits in them. These little seeds of personality can be a strong support system for our kids to lean on during tough times in their lives when we may or may not be around to help them out.


The good thing is that, owing to the psychosomatic connection, just as the mind controls the body, the body can control the mind too. Of course, that takes some practice, and Yoga is the best way to learn it. But truly speaking, any physical activity that kids enjoy and get engrossed in can have a Yoga-like effect on them because kids approach them as yogis. Also, don't get too attached to one activity. Kids like to flow, so they might want to experiment with a little bit of everything before they find that one thing that brings a glow to their faces and warmth to their hearts. As parents, it's our job to help them explore so they can remain the Yogis they started off as.


Playful Yoga with Kids

Of course, the best way to teach is by example, so it's imperative that you, as parents, take out time to cherish your passion or interest too. Something that doesn't seem like punishment but gets your heart beating faster, improves your blood circulation, makes you acknowledge how hard learning new things can be, and more than anything else, lets you connect back with the child within—the Younger Yogi—YOU.

Bye for now... :)


Featured here (apart from my son):

Arav Chowdhury: a budding gymnast, Tae-kwondo champ, and wave board expert.

Aaliyah Bist: who loves to debate, cycle, and skateboard, to name a few.

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