Yoga is an activity we generally start practicing as adults. However, taking up yoga as a child can have many benefits. Yoga is a gentle discipline that’s perfect for children.
It’s best to start practicing yoga and meditation at an early age to reap the full benefits.
Regular yoga sessions for young children can help lay the foundations for a healthy, balanced life.
Yoga for children: there’s no age limit for starting!
In fact, even newborns can make small movements! Of course, it’s completely different from adult yoga.
The same goes for the youngest, pre-schoolers, who are offered simple postures, where everything is done through play.
Then, from the age of 6, children begin to practice “real”, more structured classes.
Yoga for children aged 0 to 3 :
Even before they come into the world, babies are constantly on the move…
From the very first months of life, the child unconsciously applies yoga postures to stretch or regain balance. Babies are constantly playing and discovering their flexibility.
Yoga for toddlers involves guiding them through postures to help them stay supple, become aware of their bodies and relax!
Yoga for children aged 3 to 7:
Based on simple postures that revolve around play and performance, yoga for children aged 3 to 7 is designed to be playful, so they can have fun, relax and explore.
Yoga for children aged 8 and over:
For children over 8, yoga can be more structured.
We make sure that children do the postures correctly and understand the benefits of each one.
However, yoga for children over 8 remains playful, so that they continue to learn while having fun and exploring.
The practice evolves over time. Children and teenagers who practice regularly feel the benefits, both on the mat and in their everyday lives!
Yoga for kids: how does it work?
Yoga for kids is a great activity, because it’s playful and a lot of fun. It’s all about play and the body… That’s how you bring about serenity.
To make it work, you wrap it all up in a nice story. You can do it in the evening, to regain your composure, just like after a shower.
Children are always ready to imitate, whether it’s rivers, trees, mountains or animals… Through play, they’ll become interested in and aware of their bodies and motor skills.
Of course, imitating an animal can excite them and make them laugh, but calm is quickly restored with a relaxation exercise.
After a moment of play, where we teach them poses in a playful way, we work on the return to calm, with a moment of relaxation, to learn how to breathe well.
This has nothing to do with yoga for adults: we laugh, we dance, we play – it’s very interactive!
Through games, we gradually teach them the notion of balance, well-being, conscious breathing and relaxation.
The 5 important elements of a complete yoga session:
Yoga is not a series of unrelated exercises… The practice unites body and mind, but also connects us to the world around us.
Man, like the world, is made up of 5 elements that balance each other: water, fire, earth, air and space. Yoga associates these 5 elements with the 5 fingers of the hand.
This correspondence between fingers and elements is a mnemonic device that makes it possible to perform a complete yoga session.
In this way, nothing is left out of the relationship between body, mind and world. Children memorize more easily, as the fingers of the hand become a common thread:
- The thumb, associated with fire, is the warm-up for any physical activity.
- The index finger, associated with air, stands for breath. Good breathing helps to boost energy, concentrate and relax.
- The middle finger, associated with space, symbolizes emptiness. This is when we enter meditation, to calm our minds.
- The ring finger, associated with earth, refers to the search for balance, which is a constant in yoga practice.
- The little finger, associated with water, represents relaxation, allowing the body and mind to become lighter. Every yoga session ends with this moment of relaxation.
What are the benefits of children’s yoga?
Above all, yoga helps children channel their energy and develop a sense of balance (mental and physical). They become aware of their bodies in space.
And an undeniable advantage with children is that, unlike us, they’re always in the present moment.
Yoga for children has many benefits, some of which include :
- Helps regulate emotions.
Yoga and meditation enable children to deal with their emotions and feelings in a healthy, positive way.
- Can reduce stress and anxiety.
Yoga modifies the body’s response to stress. Children gain valuable knowledge and understanding of the link between body, mind and breath, to better manage anxiety. It’s a powerful concept for children to grasp.
- Helps improve interpersonal relationships.
Yoga helps children cultivate compassion for themselves and their peers. It enables them to improve their relationships with others, by increasing self-awareness.
- Promotes concentration and attention.
Slow, conscious movements improve young children’s attention span. By using the concentration and balance needed to maintain posture elsewhere in their lives, yoga gives them valuable tools to focus on the tasks at hand.
Are there any contraindications to the practice of yoga for children?
Children beginning their first yoga sessions must first undergo a full medical check-up.
If they suffer from a specific pathology or have just undergone an operation, the practice of yoga is not recommended.
Here are a few basic rules for children’s yoga practice:
- dress children in comfortable, warm clothing in winter;
- no exercise immediately after a meal;
- no sessions just before bedtime: practice can give them energy and prevent them from falling asleep;
- teach them that badly executed postures can hurt their backs: it’s important to listen to the teacher’s advice.
3 books to get children off to a good start in yoga:
There are lots of fun books that teach yoga. They are usually well illustrated and accompanied by a music CD. They provide a very good basis for facilitating children’s learning and helping them to relax.