Yoga - What do kids really learn?

Today’s society seems to grow faster, and crazier, by the minute. Exposure to an ongoing barrage of images, sounds and movement can leave the body, and mind, feeling over-stimulated and exhausted.  And that’s on a good day!

Today’s kids are no exception to this sensory overload, especially when the pressures of family and schooling are added into the mix. There is no doubt that stress and anxiety are on the rise, particularly so for our young people.  Additionally, many children are now living a lifestyle that is highly sedentary in nature, contributing to health issues, poor self-concept and anti-social behaviours. Yoga provides an opportunity to bring kids back into their bodies and minds.

How can yoga help?

Yoga has a major impact upon kids’ bodies, physically, mentally and emotionally. It has been shown to improve many aspects of health and well-being, including:

•         Oxygen flow (assisting concentration and learning)
•         Strength and flexibility
•         Fine and gross motor skills
•         Muscle tone and length
•         Balance and co-ordination
•         Social confidence and awareness
•         Self-regulation through breathing, relaxation and self-calming techniques
•         Self-belief and assertiveness
•         Sleep patterns
•         General confidence and positive state of mind

A kids’ yoga class looks very different to an adults’ class. If you looked inside the door, you would see a whole range of things going on:

 
·      Physical postures (asanas)
·      Breath awareness
·      Storytelling
·      Games 
·      Music
·      Colouring and drawing
·      Circle time
·      Yoga dance sequences
·      Visualisation
·      Partner poses

       You might also see a variety of props, including feathers, drums, bells and mandalas, to

    name just a few.

As you peer inside that doorway, you might wonder to yourself, “What are the children really learning?” The depth of  the response may well surprise you.

What do kids really learn in a yoga class?

When children share yoga:

They learn how to feel inside their bodies, what parts tighten and what parts release;

They learn how to use their bodies to self-calm and regulate their emotions, and how to use their breath to complement this process;

They learn how to stay healthy as their muscles lengthen and tone, their bones grow strong and they develop their sense of balance and co-ordination;

They learn important social skills, how to interact with others in a way that is positive and affirming;

They learn how to listen, both to instructions and to each other, before taking action;

They learn to motor plan and problem-solve as they think about how they are going to move their bodies into the next physical posture;

They learn to take risks and have a go, knowing that it is safe to do so;

They learn to believe in themselves and to know that they are worthwhile;

Finally, they learn that they are just one piece in a massive puzzle of human connection, and that when they unite together with another human being they feel a sense of solidarity and begin to feel compassion.

Ultimately, when children share yoga, they learn about life.

xx Tracey xx

Falling into Trust

“None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith.”

― Paulo Coelho, Brida

As my young niece prepares to launch herself from the bench, she is brimming with excitement. The anticipation builds. We count “One, two, three!” And she throws herself off, giggling with delight. In absolute joy. In absolute trust. She knows I will catch her. She does not know ‘doubt’.

I find myself wondering at what point in our lives do we start to doubt? For some of us, perhaps we are born skeptical, carrying on the imprints of generations past. For others, perhaps it is early conditioning and life experiences that teach us to trust means to be vulnerable, not an easy place to be.

Throughout my life, I have been a seeker of knowledge, always looking for more information to justify the choices I have made. I was not aware of my motive. I simply described myself as having a thirst for knowledge, believing it was part of my make-up. Before taking the recent step to start my own business, I found myself, once again, searching for a training course that would give me the next piece of knowledge I needed before embarking on my new journey.

At the time, my husband told me that I needed to stop looking outward. He told me I possessed enough knowledge and skills to support myself in taking the next step. He has often referred to my ongoing pursuit of knowledge in this way; he has been observant of my patterning. However, it has taken me awhile to assimilate this observation. After all, it was just my thirst for knowledge that was making me seek. What I now realise, is that the real reason I was holding back was due to a lack of trust in myself. I can now acknowledge that by constantly studying under the guidance of others, it gave me reassurance. It kept me safe, and allowed me to avoid vulnerability. I am not saying that we should not pursue knowledge, I am simply saying that we should not allow its pursuit to stop us from believing in ourselves.

How many times do you second-guess yourself, or procrastinate over your life choices? How many times do you look for reassurance from others, rather than seeking within yourself? How many times do you feel like you don’t have enough, or that you are simply not enough?

Our base chakra, the home of trust:

http://www.chakras.org.uk/chakra_yoga_health_
holistic_base_symbolism.htm

Our ability to trust is housed in our base chakra, the muladhara (root), located in the base of our spine. The body parts associated with this chakra include our tailbone, coccyx, back, legs, feet, bones, anus, large intestine and adrenal glands. Our muladhara chakra is connected to our feelings of stability, grounding, family, security, boundaries and new beginnings. If our base chakra is imbalanced, we can feel anxious, indecisive, helpless, angry or fearful.Physically, the body manifests this imbalance through lower back issues, gut problems, obesity, anemia, fatigue, blood disorders, impotency and low blood pressure.

How can yoga help to restore balance?

Yoga can help to restore balance in the base chakra, both through physical asanas and meditation. Within physical asanas, it is beneficial to focus on those postures that work through the feet and legs, such as:

•        Tadasana (mountain)
•        Uttanasana (standing forward bend)
•        Janu Sirsanana (head-to-knee pose)
•        Baddha Konasana (bound angle pose)
•        Salabhasana (locust)
•        Virabhadrasana II (warrior II)
•        Utthita Parsvakonasana (side angle pose)
•        Setu bandha sarvangasana (bridge)

When meditating, it helps to focus upon a mantra that associates with the feelings housed in the base chakra. Some examples could be:

•        I am enough
•        I have enough
•         I am fully grounded and comfortable being me
•        I am safe inside my body
•        My base chakra is open and balanced
•        I need not fear
•        I am all that I can be
•        Life supports me
•        All that I have is all that I need

While meditating, it is also helpful to focus upon the colour red and visualize this colour flooding through all of the body housed within this chakra. It even helps to wear the colour red close to your base, thereby affirming confidence.

Through inviting balance into our lower body, we offer ourselves the gifts of grounding and stability. We find that in anchoring down to the earth, we are more confident in our own ability to make decisions. We find that we no longer need reassurance from others. We find that we can now fall into a position of trust within ourselves.

Suddenly, we realise, after all of this time preparing to launch, we can now take off and soar.

xxTraceyxx