Making Kids Yoga Routine Fun and Useful

Yoga for kids is basically any form of yoga adapted or designed specifically for children of all ages – from toddlers to teenagers. When creating a kids yoga routine there are a few things you should know: Yoga can be done by children of any age, and there are no restrictions or limitations placed on children like there would be if they were taking up most any other physical activity or sport. However certain yoga practices can hardly be taught to children under 12 simply because of their psychomotor peculiarities.

Children, however, are active by nature; they are not given to sitting still for long periods of time. The greatest difficulty you will find is holding their attention: This is true while doing the poses and doubly true when teaching the other aspects of yoga. For example, activities such as meditation will most likely be impossible. This does not mean, however, that children cannot learn techniques to achieve a degree of inner peace and control their minds from wandering. Children are quite able to benefit from modest forms of meditation, and they should be included in any routine.

Along with learning to be calm and still, proper breathing should also be taught. The technique for children is known as diaphragmatic breathing: a slow, deep breathing that causes the belly to rise and fall. For a kid’s yoga routine, it is best you avoid all but the most basic of breaths, as improper breathing can be quite dangerous. The West is catching on to the extraordinary benefits of proper breathing. You will find very informative articles on the internet.

Poses in a kids yoga routine are performed in much the same way that they are for adults. The difference you will encounter is the child’s natural inability to sit still. To counter this, make yoga fun. Though yoga is usually very quiet, for children it is acceptable to make a little noise, liven things up a bit, and loosen the atmosphere. You can hold a child’s attention by making a game out of exercise.

Most poses have names, and these names usually reflect what a person looks like while they are doing them. Poses like the Lion Pose, for example, can be great for children. Kids love it when they can roar like a lion while performing this pose. But don’t limit yourself: be creative. One way you can hold their attention is to mix stretching with aerobic exercise. You can give all the poses animal names and mix them in with bunny hopping or turtle walking.

Yoga ultimately is about a lifestyle and any routine you create, whether for children or adults, should keep this in mind. So kids yoga routine should teach the fundamental values of respect for life, and respect for life is a result of self-respect. When a life is transformed by self-empowerment, it radiates to the world around it. When teaching children’s yoga, this is the greatest gift we can give.