by Toni McKilligan

Created on: July 26, 2008

Until recently, not many people thought that children would benefit much from yoga and they were left out of an incredible life-changing form of practice. Yoga is often considered a means of stress reduction and relaxation. What child needs that?

Unfortunately, stress is as much a part of childhood these days as it is adult life and relaxation is not on most kids' daily agendas. A program of yoga can help young people to release stress and relax and that alone leads to an increase in overall health, mentally, physically and emotionally.

Yoga promotes balance on all levels. It raises awareness of the body, which in turn causes children to want to take better care of themselves. It raises energy levels, thus encouraging a desire to be more active. On the physical level, yoga builds strength and maintains flexibility. Yoga elevates self-esteem, which helps to develop a positive body image. This can reduce or eliminate a tendency toward eating disorders in adolescents who might otherwise succumb to the belief that they are too fat. Likewise, yoga helps to stave off obesity, which, in children, is reaching epidemic proportions.

A relaxed child will sleep better. Proper rest is intrinsic to concentration and mental clarity. Yoga helps improve memory and cognitive skills and studies are now showing that children who practice yoga on a regular basis are achieving higher grades in school. Martial arts also appear to have the same sort of effect and this is likely due to the discipline required to master the poses and moves. A student of yoga is more creative, more curious and more likely to want to expand his or her knowledge in a wider variety of subjects. Yoga students handle problems better, too. Children who practice yoga are able to deal with difficulties creatively, sensibly and without resorting to violence or rebellion.

It seems hard to believe that a bit of stretching, twisting and balancing can change a life. Yet yoga can and does do exactly that. Yoga teaches acceptance while providing opportunity to improve. It gives kids the ability to overcome their limitations. Off the mat, yoga kids achieve remarkable things because they learn that health is not just a matter of being physically fit. They grow to understand that being physically fit enhances emotional and mental fitness as well.

Being a holistic practice, yoga approaches health in subtle ways. It is not uncommon for a student of yoga to suddenly experience emotional releases or gain unexpected insight into difficult problems. A burst of laughter or of tears during a yoga workout may initially be alarming, but what it means is that through the practice something that needs to be expressed is finally being expressed. Or an aha' moment has occurred because a block has been removed. Suppressed emotions or obsessing over a dilemma can lead to physical ailments. Yoga helps to release these in healthy ways, preventing illnesses from manifesting over time.

The health benefits of yoga for children are myriad in number. They also follow young yogis throughout life. Give a kid a yoga mat and you will be giving him or her a gift of better health for life!

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