Benefits of Yoga for children

(Pic courtesy: proeduconsulting.com)

Childhood is regarded as the most crucial time period of a person’s life, as this is the time period when an individual lays the foundation of his/her way to shape the career and future. The circumstances and the activities practiced by a child play a vital role in developing the character of the person in the adult stage.

In today’s competitive world, the young children are also suffering from the problem of tension and stress due to changing life style and habits. Whether a school student or college student, they face problems in studies due to extreme competition which results in stress and sometimes many of them commit suicide also. So it becomes necessary that children must be kept away from stress and tension at such tender age.

(Pic courtesy: completewellbeing.com)

Yoga is the best way to maintain mental equilibrium and keep brain calm, which are inevitable for focusing on the tasks. Especially, children and students must practice Yoga for sound mind and healthy body. Below are listed some of the advantages of Yoga if practiced by children:

    

      ·       Yoga helps in maintaining flexibility and strengthens growing bodies:

Practicing Yoga by children helps in the process of strengthening the body muscles as children are born with innate flexibility. With increased strength and flexibility, the injuries become less severe especially when kids are engaged in sports and playground activities.

·       Yoga helps in enhancing concentration:

By practicing certain Yoga asanas and mediation, the concentration level in kids can be increased. Some poses of Yoga are fast moving while others are slow paced. If such poses are practiced by kids, they can learn how to self-control, which will enhance their focus and awareness. By practicing Yoga from Flying Bird Pose (Warrior Three) to balancing in Tree Pose, great attention is required, which develops the skill of concentration.

·       Yoga teaches about present moment awareness:

 According to the philosophy of Yoga, the main focus must be on present moment awareness while practicing Yoga and meditation, because it’s extremely essential to focus on self and if our mind is thinking about the past or future, we are missing the most valuable now. Children’s mind is quite active and by practicing Yoga & meditation, children can be taught to concentrate in the present moment which will help them in concentrating in their academic work and it will also help them throughout their life.

·       Practicing Yoga helps in cultivating a peaceful, relaxed state of body and mind:

Yoga focuses on the mental equilibrium also along with physical strength. If children practice the Deep Relaxation, known as the “Do Nothing Pose” lying on their backs in quiet, peaceful stillness, sometimes with music and a guided visualization, foot massage, or an herbal eye pillow, children can learn the importance of silence and peace which is required for focusing on the task.

·       Stress Management by Yoga:

Yoga is the best remedy for relaxing and reducing stress. Children many times face tension of studies and career. So by practicing deep breathing and meditation they can relax and calm their mental status as breathing exercises slows down the heart rate and meditation relaxes mind and body. Moreover, Yoga teaches non-judgment and non-competition toward oneself and one another.

·       Yoga encourages kind peer and social interactions:

Yoga along with physical fitness lays stress on connecting with the self. By practicing Yoga, children learn that we are all the same inside, despite our outward appearance, race, and religion. By practicing Yoga, children are inspired to be kind, patient, accepting, and emphatic with themselves and their peers.

·       Body awareness enhanced through Yoga:

Children learn about their body by performing Yoga poses which vary in terms of balancing, strengthening, twisting, back bending and inverting. By practicing Yoga, children learn the skill of listening to where in their bodies they feel a movement and express how it makes them feel when they are complete. This skill of body awareness will help the children throughout their life.

·       Yoga teaches discipline and responsibility

Yoga is a discipline; it is a way to live the life. Ideals learned at an early age continue for life time as a committed practice. If children start practicing Yoga at an early stage, it will help them to develop discipline, self esteem and a sense of responsibility at a young stage, which will help them in all their endeavors throughout their life. 

For more information visit the official website of ministry of Ayush: http://www.indianmedicine.nic.in/.

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