Yoga Ideas for Kids

Yoga has been a popular relaxation method used by adults as a way to relieve stress and find peace. It is now being used as a way of helping children relieve their stress, which can come from peer pressure, academic stress and pressure from sports competitions. Though the poses vary slightly from adult poses, they are just as effective.

Benefits

• Yoga can help your child gain confidence and balance in her life. As the poses are explained to her and she thinks about what each one means, she gains a greater respect for what she is doing. Knowing that doing the warrior pose will give her strength and confidence will give her a desire to do the pose properly. Participating in partner poses enables her to develop trust in others, while children with ADD who suffer from hyperactivity are given a channel through which their need for constant movement is met and managed.

Create a Pose

• The purpose of create-a-pose is for children to make their own version of a basic yoga pose while still incorporating the basic principles of the stretch. It also keeps a child's interest, builds confidence and makes him aware of his body. By teaching a standard pose like the mountain pose, he learns balance while stretching his torso.

  Your child begins by standing straight up in the mountain pose. Tell him his legs are the base of the mountain and to feel them reaching down as though his feet were under the ground. Tell him to \\ stretch his spine and feel how his feet being grounded allows this to happen. As he is pressing himself down, he also raises himself up. He must imagine his head and neck being raised up into the clouds, as if they are on the tip of the mountain.

Time-In

• This yoga pose is the opposite of an infamous form of punishment, a time-out. It helps promote self-control with the child while giving her confidence and respect for others' feelings. This is an especially good exercise for children who have difficulty concentrating and helps them re-focus after concentration has been lost.

  Have the child sit or stand in a comfortable position while paying attention to the pattern of his breathing and how it makes him feel. Tell him to notice how his arms, head, neck and legs feel--this self-awareness will help him relax. He can stay in this position as long as he needs to; when he feels ready to join in the activities again, he is welcome.

Partner Poses

• As each person sits up straight, back-to-back, holding herself up yet supporting each other simultaneously, each child takes the time to feel his own breath and the breath of his partner. As both children relax, one leans forward while the other leans back, providing restful back bends. Both children take turns until each is relaxed and chooses to stop. This exercise helps build cooperation and confidence, promotes healthy communication and may aid in problem-solving abilities.