AD| Four Reasons why you Should Teach Your Kids Yoga

Teaching yoga to children can help them feel less stressed about their daily challenges. Along with the physical benefits, yoga can improve their mental well-being at home and at school. Here’s why many parents choose to teach kids yoga:

A nationwide survey conducted by the NIH (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) revealed a notable increase in the number of four to seventeen year olds who used yoga between 2012 and 2017. In some schools, yoga has been incorporated into the physical education syllabus, which is great news because yoga can be an effective educational tool. Twenty-first century children live busy lives. During the week they study hard at school, have after-school activities and do homework. And on a weekend, they do more extracurriculars and spend time with their families. Yoga for kids offers a respite from these pressures and can facilitate their development into well-adjusted adults. Here are four key ways that yoga can make a difference:

1) It Increases Brain Power

Studies indicate that practicing yoga regularly helps to boost the memory. You have to concentrate hard during a yoga session, to coordinate your breathing with your physical movements. Some balancing yoga poses demand a particularly high level of focus. Children who do yoga hone their abilities to concentrate on current tasks. In their daily lives this enhances their academic performance, because they can process information better during school lessons.

2) It Builds Flexibility and Strength

Children these days spend a lot of time doing course work and staring at computer screens. Yoga is an excellent way to make them more physically active. During a yoga session, movements are performed that open the body’s energy channels. This strengthens bones and makes the spine more flexible, activating the immune and circulatory systems. Many children are either supple or strong, but rarely both. Yoga can develop their flexibility and strength simultaneously, which is a unique advantage. Combined with the correct breathing patterns, yoga movements also ease stress and center the mind.

3) It Improves Self-Confidence

Yoga is a non-competitive physical activity. Nobody wins or loses at Yoga. This means that kids can practice the movements without the fear of failing. Poses are matched to the abilities of each child, so they can explore movement while feeling perfectly comfortable. Kids get a sense of achievement when they become more coordinated and master new poses. By doing yoga, children learn how to be at one with their bodies. Once they increase their physical capabilities, they inevitably become more confident and self-assured. This results in better relationships with their peers, because they project their positive outlook onto others.

4) It Fortifies the Immune System

In spite of the best efforts of their parents to prevent it, children frequently catch colds and germs. Research shows that yoga makes the endocrine, nervous and digestive systems function more efficiently. Moreover, yoga can prevent obesity in children by regulating their metabolism so they maintain a healthy weight. Practicing yoga frequently is thought to stop heart disease and diabetes as well. Simple poses like the plank, the dog pose and the cobra pose – along with straightforward breathing exercises – can protect your kids from picking up bugs and coughs.

The Benefits of tea for Yoga

Like yoga, tea drinking is a centuries-old practice, which has been shown to relieve ailments, calm the mind and stimulate the body. Oolong, white, black and green teas have natural caffeine in them, which reduces inflammation. Also, these types of tea strengthen the immune system, increase metabolism and contain antioxidants. Oolong tea, or fine black tea, is a great energy booster before you begin a yoga class. Caffeinated tea with no sugar or milk keeps you alert, while you transition smoothly from one pose to the next. Oolong tea is thought to facilitate fat loss, while other studies reveal it contains compounds that counteract high cholesterol and protect the heart. Once your yoga class is finished, a nice cup of tea will reward your efforts, replenish your body and help you ease into the day. You can buy tea accessories and tea bags online from an online tea and coffee shop. After a morning yoga session, some ginger tea, green tea or chai tea will invigorate you. Following an evening class, tea bags like lavender, chamomile or mint have a soothing effect. These tea bags offer all the health advantages mentioned above, and they also help you to sleep better.

Why Teach Yoga to Kids – Final Thoughts

There’s no denying that yoga improves the spiritual, physical and mental well-being of children. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that increasing numbers of schools are including it in their curriculums. Kids who master yoga at a young age are more likely to live healthy lives. This is more important than ever in a hectic, high-pressured world. By being more aware of their internal experiences, both physically and mentally, and of their external environment, kids will benefit emotionally and psychologically. These techniques are easy for children to master, and when mastered young, they become tools for life.