1. Awareness of the breath
Breathing exercises can energize kids and encourage relaxation. Different games and techniques help kids connect to how their bodies feel as a result of deep breathing. Focus increases, as does their breathing and lung capacity. Stress is naturally reduced and healthy hormones are released.
2. Strengthening and energizing
Yoga is great for stretching and for building strength. Bodies that are strong digest food better, maintain a healthy weight and can support the stress of carrying heavy loads, like a backpack. Bodies will
also
breathe better
,
work
more efficiently and protect the more fragile joints.
3. Balancing
Balancing poses teach children that with increased focus, you can increase attention naturally, even in kids who struggle with different attention challenges. Focusing on balancing skills, develops an intrinsic strength, evokes a meditative feeling, and promotes stillness and a quieting of the mind.
4. Stretching and lengthening
Yoga poses stretch muscles and through integrating breathing and movement, muscles become warm and become more flexible. They can yield when they need to, and support tender joints in a more functional way.
5. Awareness and focus
Yoga helps create awareness in the body through deep breathing and movement. Children that have healthy body awareness are more confident and strong, have better posture, breathe better and have a sense of quiet strength.
6. Flowing, connecting and integrating
When we string poses together, we give kids a taste of what it means to move with ease. It also helps them build the awareness that all our movements are a series of coordinated efforts between muscles, bones, joints and nerves. These things together increase a child's sense feeling integrated.
7. Meditation and relaxation
Yoga is meditative by nature; there is a calming, soothing quality.
