12 reasons yoga is great for kids Active For Life
Do you want to know the 12 reasons why yoga is great for kids? Dina Kulik, wife, mother, pediatrician and emergency medicine doctor shares her own family’s story and the scientific evidence about why yoga is a great exercise for kids.
Active for Life is a Canadian not-for-profit social initiative founded by B2ten. They are a national initiative created to help parents give their children the right start in life through the development of physical literacy.
12 reasons yoga is great for kids
- Yoga teaches a child how to take a moment to his or herself, and breathe. It promotes mental clarity. We don’t teach this in many other disciplines, and a calm breathing moment can be invaluable to a wound up, irritable child — trust me.
- You don’t need much to practice yoga. A mat is really all you need. Though you are paying a teacher to demonstrate, there is no other equipment to purchase.
- Yoga, much like martial arts, can build self-esteem and self-respect. It’s an opportunity to practice focused play without worrying about getting the pose perfectly. The point of yoga is to slowly improve upon a pose, not get it perfect the very first time.
- Yoga is great for a shy child who may withdraw from group activity.
- Yoga enhances flexibility, challenging muscles that may not be used routinely.
- Yoga enhances coordination and promotes balance.
- There is a sense of accomplishment in achieving a new pose or improving on it.
- Yoga refines gross and fine motor skills.
- Concentration and focus are paramount in yoga, a great skill for children and adults of all ages.
- Yoga fosters patience. Improving on a pose takes time and determination.
- Yoga encourages mindfulness and a mind-body connection that most of us ignore during our daily lives.
- Multiple studies of children with behavioural and physical challenges demonstrate large benefits. Yoga practice can decrease aggressive behaviour, hyperactivity, and social withdrawal in children with autism and attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder. These same children shared more and communicated more effectively after practicing yoga for an hour.
