Why Yoga is a good activity for Children? By Megan Thorne

  Yoga is an activity typically associated with adults but can it be suitable for children too?

People who actively take part in a number of different forms of exercise on a regular basis will have their own beliefs and ideas on what works best for them. Yoga is something that tends to be favoured by all those who give it a try and the benefits are most certainly vast. It is a fantastic activity for the body and the mind but it is undoubtedly most closely associated with adults. However, yoga is also ideal for children to take part in and there are some very clear reasons why this is the case.

Improving focus

Children develop at very different levels and although the genetics have a huge impact on this so too does the learning that they are exposed to. In terms of helping them to focus their mind there is not an activity quite as suitable for them as yoga. Kids can be very excitable and although it is very important that they have the opportunity to use this energy to play and have fun it could also be of much benefit for them to learn how to improve their concentration. There are lots of examples of activities that are designed to encourage an improved level of focus and they tend to share the characteristic of giving the participants a set of rules to keep in mind and as yoga involves following and learning techniques this too is an example.

Relaxation

Yoga is excellent at promoting the ideal way to relax and to switch off from certain worries that may be dominating our thoughts. Although it is important to acknowledge that a lot of children are unlikely to be worrying about too many mentally taxing details it is still wonderful practice for them to learn how to find this peace within themselves. It is far from easy to simply get the children to just switch off, as any parent will testify, but if you use some of the yoga techniques to achieve it (via music for example) then it is a distinct possibility.

Awareness

It is vital to recognise how adults and children are extremely different in the way they think but there are certainly a lot of techniques in yoga that can be used to benefit people of all ages. With regard to children, yoga has been used as a way of increasing the awareness that they have because they are taught how to fully engage their mind and body at the same time.

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