9 Ways Yoga Is Beneficial To Children

The new-gen kids are busy with heavy school curriculum and several activities. They are occupied even on the weekends. Also, there is too much peer pressure and expectation that puts pressure on children. How can kids be helped out of the situation? You can neither ask them to skip any of their extracurricular activities or homework nor can you ask them to stay behind other kids. The only way to strike the balance is to eliminate stress and keep them healthy is by practising yoga.

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KIDS – Inborn Yogis

Yoga has become necessary for kids as well these days. It helps them to be balanced, have a healthy emotional quotient, improve their mood, and helps them to grow into compassionate beings. There are various other benefits that yoga brings to kids. Here’s more:

1.    Yoga promotes sleep:

A sound sleep is very important for children as it promotes the healthy growth of their body and mind. You might think that kids can fall asleep in a jiffy, but that’s not always true. Children might not have to deal with the pressures of office or finances, but they do have the pressure of being told that they need to be good, well-behaved, do well at school, and the constant peer pressure. But did you know that kids doing yoga can calm their mind and get rid of negativity? Deep breathing helps them to sleep longer and faster.
Getting the body moving before bedtime is an excellent way to improve sleep. When we are stressed or overwhelmed, our bodies are tense and our minds are full, reducing our ability to sleep well. This is also true for kids.

2.    Yoga controls obesity:

With the kinds of foods that children like to indulge in these days, you cannot rule out the chances of obesity. Kids are easily drawn towards the commercials on fast-foods and find it hard not to demand junk foods. Beginning simple yoga for kids at a very young age curbs obesity at the early stages. Children remain agile and maintain a healthy body weight through yoga.

3.    Yoga promotes cognitive function:

As young students, children need focus and a good memory to perform well at school. By the following yoga, children achieve the ability to concentrate better. With rhythmic breathing also comes better concentration. As the child learns to pay attention to his movements while doing yoga, especially when in balancing yoga asanas for kids, they learn to concentrate. This along with deep breathing helps in clearing the mind of all confusion, makes the body flexible, and builds the upper body. Balancing helps in their ability to focus on daily activities as well and promotes cognitive abilities.

4.    Yoga builds confidence and self-esteem:

With a healthy body and mind also comes self-confidence in children. Yoga helps children in being enthusiastic about various tasks and activities. It also wards of depression and develops holistic well-being in the child.

5.    Yoga promotes inter-personal skills in children:

Children find taking yoga classes fun for one particular reason. They make friends along the way. Besides learning yoga, they also like to share stories with their friends and learn from one another.

6.    Yoga helps children to take challenges:

When you introduce your child to a new yoga pose, at first they might think that it is not possible for them. But when encouraged, kids begin to take it as a challenge and prove that they can. Introduce various yoga positions for kids and they begin to practice until they reach perfection. And lo! Kids just want to show-off to their friends what new they learned off late.

7.    Yoga helps in addressing behavioural issues:

Through yoga, children learn to solve problems. They learn to keep a check on their thoughts and can control their emotional outbursts which greatly helps them in their classes as they can concentrate in the class and put aside any thoughts or emotions that might disturb them.

8.    Yoga curbs anxiety in children:

Children can respond to stress negatively if their endorphin levels are low. Holding negative emotions can affect one physically as well. Negative emotions can get held in our necks or throat (often as cough) and lower back. With yoga, not only do their endorphin levels go up thereby help them feel good but also they get over anxiety issues with ease and without professional counseling as yoga proves to be a great relaxation technique for children.

9.    Yoga helps children grow independent:

The more you teach children to work on their yoga on their own, the more children learn to be on their own. It is always good that they get their guidance, but they don’t cling too much to you for simple yoga postures for kids.

Being independent also enables them to deal with different situations all by themselves without complaining much.
You can see how beneficial yoga can prove to be for kids. So, when you go for your classes, make sure you carry your children and their yoga mats with you!


 

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written by
Dr. Anuj Rastogi

Dr. Anuj Rastogi is a prominent childcare specialist who comes with 26+ years of experience as a Sen...