How Yoga Can Help Our Youth
In today's fast-paced world, mental health problems such as anxiety, stress and depression among children are on the rise. Faced with high academic pressure, technology and social media, children are often left feeling overwhelmed and anxious. Coupling all of this with the effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians and health experts are finding that children’s health is suffering. Fortunately, yoga is gaining popularity among children and is being recognized as a tool to help alleviate these issues.
As many of us already know, yoga has been proven to be an effective tool for stress reduction. And these benefits apply to children as well. A consistent yoga practice can help children relax and stay calm, promoting a sense of inner peace. The gentle and slow yoga movements can help to lower cortisol levels, which are the hormones responsible for stress. In fact, one study of a group of children ages 7-9 years old, showed statistically significant cortisol concentration changes, and improved social interaction, attention span, stress coping, confidence, time on task, academic performance, and mood after ten weeks of regular practice. (Butzer et al. (2015) ) As a result, yoga can help children to feel better and more relaxed, even in the midst of a stressful situation. In addition, yoga offers many other benefits including improved balance, strength, endurance and self-esteem, as many of us can attest!
Yoga also provides children an opportunity to focus their attention and practice mindfulness. “Allowing children to bring their attention to one breath, one pose, or one sound at a time provides terrific practice for sustaining attention as well as developing diligence, discipline, and working memory,” adds Razz teacher, Beth Snow MacMullan. With regular practice, children develop body awareness and mental concentration, increasing their capacity to pay attention and stay rooted in the present. This mindfulness training can be extremely beneficial in helping children to reduce anxiety, as they learn to identify their thoughts and feelings without getting overwhelmed by them.
In a children’s yoga class there are a variety of tools that will be incorporated based on the ages and interests of the group. Breathing exercises are a powerful tool that can help to calm anxious minds. Nicole Bauer, one of our Razz children’s yoga teachers, shares, “ As a special educator and an early childhood educator I have seen first hand the benefits of yoga in the classroom. Yoga helps to significantly decrease stress and anxiety in children of all ages. Besides the physical benefits I have also seen yoga help greatly with self-regulation. It is a wonderful tool that every child should have in his or her toolbox.”
Adds Nicole, “My favorite breathing technique for this time of year is “flower breath”. I have the children visualize that they are in a beautiful garden full of flowers. We use our hand to “pick” a flower from the garden. We then bring the flower up to our nose, take in a deep breath in, and “smell” the flower. After we “smell” our flower we take a big breath out/sigh it out because the flower smells so good. The children enjoy telling me all about the color of their flower and what it looks like. “
Meditation is an important aspect of yoga that can help children gain mental clarity and focus. One simple meditation technique for children is to sit comfortably and focus on their breath. This practice helps to clear the mind and promote a sense of inner peace. Meditation also helps to improve sleep patterns, allowing children to have quality sleep and be well-rested for their daily activities.
The physical postures, or asanas, are a key component of a children’s yoga class. Encouraging children to move in linear and non-linear ways helps calm their minds, and brings flexibility, strength and confidence to their bodies. It also gives them a bit of space and freedom to get the wiggles out and explore moving in a way that feels grounding and nourishing.
Practicing yoga can also help children foster a sense of contentment, disconnecting from the pressure to perform, and instead helping them to focus on their personal growth and development. With no competition or comparison to others in yoga, the focus is purely on self-awareness and improvement. Children are encouraged to accept and respect their bodies, learn from their strengths and limitations and appreciate themselves for who they are.
Yoga is a powerful tool that can help children improve their mental health by reducing stress, anxiety and increasing self-awareness. Parents, educators and yoga teachers can benefit children by introducing positive mental health strategies early on. It is also important to reinforce these strategies beyond the mat, encouraging children to integrate yoga tools such as breathing exercises, meditation, and mindfulness in their daily activities.
Curious to learn more about yoga for children? Educators and teachers can join our upcoming Radiant Child Teacher Training this August. This foundational 20-hour course prepares you to start teaching yoga to children right away. Ideal for teachers, therapists, parents, caregivers, and everyone who wishes to rediscover the child within and share the benefits of yoga with children. Learn tools for children and tools for you, including techniques to calm, center, and empower.