Kids Yoga Relaxation Techniques

Although many people may not think of Yoga as child-friendly, most studios offer classes for youth; especially since scientific studies have concluded that Yoga practice leads to improved grades in school and decreased behavioral problems in children.

One reason for these positive results of Yoga practice, in children, is that the Yoga practice improves the physical body and it also contributes to better overall mental and emotional health. With the exploding numbers of children who are diagnosed each year with ADHD, or other anxiety and behavior disorders, Yoga offers a safe, healthy alternative to siphon off excess energy while providing practitioners with coping and anxiety-blocking tools that improve mental health.

Yoga can benefit healthy children, too, especially very active and creative young people. A typical Yoga session for kids includes a faster-paced warm-up that is usually flow-based to begin the series, and this slowly transitions into a quieter, more meditative pose series to allow deeper, physical stretching and increased mental focus.

Relaxation Techniques for Children

As the session begins to wind down, some children have a difficult time transitioning from a fun and fast style of Yoga into a slower, quieter style. The importance of this cool-down series cannot be underestimated. Children should leave their Yoga practice more relaxed, physically and mentally, and this cannot be accomplished if the class is unable to settle down.

Techniques, to help kids relax in Yoga, include storytelling, which can be adapted in many ways to the slower pace necessary for relaxation. Stories can be read at a more leisurely tempo, with an altered or hushed tone of voice. This method can even serve as a subconscious signal to the children that it is time to slow and quiet down.

Another excellent suggestion for better relaxation is to engage the children's imaginations. A Yoga session, that consistently ends with a trip into an imaginary or solitary place that kids imagine, under an Yoga teacher's direction, can help them release stress or worry. Some Yoga instructors direct children to think about putting each of their problems into an imagined hiding place, like a cookie jar in their grandparents' home. A method like this, allows young people a feeling of control over troubling situations in their lives.

The best way an instructor can help kids relax in a Yoga class is to direct the energies of their bodies by engaging their minds. Once children make the transition from the faster-paced Yoga, that usually leads off their session, they can leave their practice relaxed and ready for anything.

© Copyright 2012 - Aura Wellness Center - Publications Division

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/

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Teaching Yoga to Young Athletes

Yoga can be of great benefit to young athletes, particularly for its ability to connect mind and body. Athletes, especially those in high school and college, tend to use and often to abuse their bodies. They do not realize that their bodies are absorbing the entire trauma of sports and lifting and conditioning, yet yoga helps connect athletes to their bodies in a way, which enhances appreciation and relaxation. Yoga also increases flexibility, which aids in injury prevention, and improves static strength, which complements an athlete's training routine. The deep stretching of muscles and joints an athlete will practice in a yoga session can also ease pain associated with physically challenging practices.

Five Tips for Teaching Yoga to Young Athletes

1. The first thing instructors must emphasize is that yoga is not a competition, but rather it is an opportunity to heal and strengthen the mind-body relationship. Athletes' competitive nature might push them to try poses before they are ready to, so yoga teachers should encourage athletes to focus on pose and technique mastery before advancing.

2. Yoga instructors should also expect athletes to achieve correct form, where flexibility allows, faster than an average student. Athletes, especially those who are young, have a strong kinesthetic intelligence and so are naturally better balanced with better hand-eye control than non-athletes. Their relationship to sports has also prepared them for the need to practice good technique in order to receive maximum benefits of practice.

3. Flexibility, especially in knees and lower back, will be an issue in athletes. Teachers must be willing to adapt yoga poses and encourage students to continue pushing to touch toes despite tight hamstrings and inflexible hips.

4. Yoga teachers should also be prepared to teach deep breathing techniques, working with athletes closely until their breathing synchronizes with their movements. This can be a difficult process for the students, especially given the fact that they have been taught to breathe differently while lifting weights or doing activities related to their respective sports.

5. Relaxation will be a new experience for athletes, and it may be one they resist. Athletes are required to push their bodies until the end of practice or conditioning or strength training. It is very common for them to ignore the needs of their body once out of the gym or off the field. Their cool-down stretches might be minimal, especially if their pain is limited that day. Teachers will want to emphasize the necessity of relaxation poses to encourage in young athletes the balance and mind-body awareness that yoga offers.

© Copyright 2012 - Aura Wellness Center - Publications Division

Faye Martins, is a Yoga teacher and a graduate of the Yoga teacher training program at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/

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