Children often deal with emotional and social conflict, distractions and overstimulation in our world today.
Yoga is a tool that can help kids re-center themselves. Yoga uses breathing exercises which can energize kids or encourage relaxation. Different breathing techniques/games help kids connect to how their bodies feel as a result of deep breathing. Focus increases, stress is reduced and healthy hormones are released.
Here are some of the many benefits of teaching yoga to kids:
Yoga helps kids to:
- Develop body awareness
- Manage stress through breathing, awareness, meditation and healthy movement
- Develops focus and concentration
- Build strength and enhances flexibility
- Refines balance and coordination
- Boosts self-esteem and confidence
“Yoga is beneficial to children of all ages, but it has been found to be particularly so for kids with special needs. Studies have shown that yoga benefits children with autism and ADHD. NPR has reported that researchers surveyed teachers at a Bronx public school that had a daily yoga program and found that the program reduced kids’ aggressive behavior, social withdrawal, and hyperactivity, compared with a control group of kids with autism who did not practice yoga. Kristie Patten Koenig, Ph.D., an associate professor of occupational therapy at New York University who led the study, says that yoga was effective because it seemed to play to the strengths of kids with autism while also reducing stress. Autism Key, an autism support website, says that yoga helps address kids’ heightened anxiety, poor motor coordination, and weak self-regulation, something that otherwise is very difficult to do”. – an excerpt from “the benefits of yoga for kids” by Visi Tilak in Parents magazine found on https://www.parents.com/fun/sports/exercise/the-benefits-of-yoga-for-kids/
Kids Place Therapy Services offers yoga classes throughout the year. Enroll your child so that they may be able to experience the many benefits of yoga.
