Does your child have hard time to get into sleep at night? Yoga relieves your kids from the stress and helps to deal with the competition they encounter in studies, sports. You will see the best yoga poses for the kids in this article.
Yoga is a kind of meditation which involves various physical exercises and breathing techniques. It helps to harmonize the body, mind and breathe. It is very important for the kids theses days to cope up with the stress and stay healthy.
This article discusses the importance of yoga. It presents the 12 best yoga poses for the kids at home which helps for their physical fitness, health and stress relief and their benefits.
How to Introduce Yoga For Kids?
Join your kid in a yoga class or if do not find the best nearest yoga class, no worries. Make it a part of your daily routine.
You need to connect with yourself before teaching yoga to your kids. It helps cultivate calm and kindness.
Here are the few tips that you need to follow to become the best yoga teacher for your kid. These tips will help in enhancing the bond with your kid.
Tip 1: Prepare a Flexible Lesson Plan
Kids yoga classes may not go as well as planned. Because kids are not focused and quiet all the time. If you are out of your schedule, It’s Okay!. As your ultimate goal is to provide the children what they need and not what you have planned.
Tip 2: Create a Playful environment
Make the yoga class space for fun and playful activities by involving elements like drama, art, dance, etc. Don’t behave very seriously and make yourself ready for the creative funny expressions.
Tip 3: Be Curious
While practicing yoga with your children be curious about the intentions that drive you towards yoga. For example, if you are hoping to free your kid from the stress and anxiety, then focus more on the breathing techniques. If your goal is to make them fit, then make more yoga poses.
Tip 4: Make yourself clear
Before teaching the yoga poses to your kid, start with the ones which you feel easier to remember and you love the most. This way helps to create enthusiasm in your kids while practicing them yoga.
Tip 5: Give them the positive experience
Your initial goal should be to make your kid aware and feel comfortable with all the asanas. So, instead of starting with the difficult asanas, make it simple and fun.
Tip 6: Give Kids Friendly Positive Feedback
When your kids succeed in doing the pose which they find difficult in the beginning,
Praise them with friendly, positive phrases like “Great job, you did it!”
Tip 7: Set the time limit for the kids as per their age:
Plan the duration of yoga sessions matching their age and ability.
For the kids of 5 years or younger, make sure that the time spent on each pose should not be greater than 60 seconds and overall yoga session should be no more than 15 minutes
For the kids of 6 years and older, time spent on each pose and entire yoga session duration should be 90 seconds and 25 minutes respectively.
You can start teaching your kids yoga when they are ready to understand the instructions. 4 years is the best age to start yoga.
Is Yoga For Kids A Good Idea?
Yoga helps to make the kids healthy and active, both physically and mentally. Here are the 3 reasons to say that yoga is a Good Idea.
1. Increases Child’s esteem:
Each yoga pose makes them feel comfortable as they are tailored to fit their abilities. The purpose of yoga is to make kids listen and connect to the body. This helps to improve their self-confidence.
2. Awareness:
Yoga teaches kids how to take deep breaths. It helps them to overcome stressful situations and gain control over their body.
3. Stretching:
Yoga involves stretching of the muscles accompanied by deep breaths, which helps in imparting the flexibility to the muscles.
Best Yoga Poses For Kids At Home:
Here are the few kids yoga poses at home.
1. Tree Pose:
1. Begin this posture by standing straight, with the hands at the side, back and legs straight, and thigh muscles firm.
2. Lift the right foot and place it on the left inner thigh with the knee out.
3. Raise the hands over the head and press them.
4. Hold the position for about 60 seconds.
5. Return the hands to the chest and lower the feet.
6. Repeat the same procedure with the left foot.
Benefits:
Enhances balance and concentration
Improves thigh muscles fitness
Precautions:
If your kid gets unsteady while trying to hold this posture. Make them lean against the wall for support.
2. Bow Pose:
How To Do:
1. Lie on your tummy
2. Raise chest and bend the knees to bring them back.
3. Take your hands back to hold the outer ankles.
4. Keep your chin parallel to the ground and gaze at a point ahead of you.
Benefits:
- Involves the entire body by strengthening the muscles in the back, abdomen, arms and legs.
- Improves blood circulation
- Cures constipation and asthma.
Precautions:
- People with heart problems and high blood pressure should avoid it.
- Make sure to maintain the width of the knees according to the width op the shoulders.
- Ensure to maintain thighs and chest at equal height when they are raised up.
3. Easy Pose:
This is the easiest post that kids can try.
How To Do:
1. Sit straight with the legs crossed.
2. Rest the hand palms on the knee facing them up.
3. Elongate the spine and feet, thigh should be relaxed.
4. Close your eyes and take deep, slow breaths.
5. Hold the position for a minute. Then release and change the cross legged position
Benefits:
- Helps in balancing anxiety and stress.
- Helps in maintaining body stiffness
- Works as preliminary pose for many difficult meditative poses.
Precautions:
This pose should be avoided in case of severe knee pain, lower back ache.
4. Bridge Pose:
How To Do:
1. Lie on your back.
2. Bend your knees in such a way that your feet should be parallel to the ground
3. Rest your alongside your body on the floor
4. Push your chin towards your chest.
5. Now lift your back and buttocks to form the bridge.
Benefits:
- Improves digestion
- Relieves from the symptoms of asthma and high blood pressure.
- Reduces backache, headache, fatigue, anxiety, and insomnia.
Precautions:
People suffering from neck/knee pain should avoid this.
Avoid turning your head left or right as long as you are in this position
5.The Dog Pose:
How to Do:
1. From the standing position, bend slowly and place your palms parallel to the ground.
2. Step your feet backward in order to create a upside V shape with your buttocks raised.
3. Relax head, neck and straighten the legs. Gaze in between the legs.
Benefits:
- Helps to treat high blood pressure, asthma, sinusitis.
- Helps to relieve stress and depression
- Strengthens arms and legs.
Precautions:
Those with stiff or weak back muscles have to practice this pose gently.
6. Hero Pose
This pose is known as Virasana in Sanskrit.
How To Do:
1. Sit on your heels with the heels touching the hip.
2. Place the hands on the knees with the palms facing up.
3. Relax and take deep breaths.
Benefits:
1. Improves blood circulation and digestion
2. Relieves tiredness of legs
3. Boosts the memory
Precautions:
1. Persons with knee or ankle injuries should avoid this pose.
7. Mountain Pose:
This is a preliminary pose for all standing asanas
How To Do:
1. Stand straight and tall.
2. Keep your arms alongside your body.
3. Lift the inner ankles and raise the arms over the head.
4. Hold this position 1 minute.
Benefits:
Increases energy and enthusiasm by expelling the depression and dullness.
Improves blood circulation and relieves aches and pains through out the body.
Precautions:
1. People with headache, insomnia, and low blood pressure should not hold this pose for longer time
8. Butterfly Pose:
Start the pose by sitting on the ground, with back, legs straight.
With the exhalation, fold the knees and bring them close to the pelvic region.
Make the soles of the feet touch together and hold the ankles.
Benefits:
It regulates the digestive and bowel movements.
Eliminates fatigue resulting from the long hours of standing or walking.
Precautions:
1. Make sure that you don not exert any kind of force on the knees while practising this pose
9. Happy Baby Pose:
How To Do:
1. Lie on the back.
2. Pull the both legs towards chest.
3. Hold the feet with hands.
4. Try to get the back and spine parallel to the floor.
5. Slightly stretch the arms and feet.
6. Hold this position for 1 minute and take deep and slow breaths.
Benefits:
- Relieves lower back pain.
- It relieves the stress and stimulates the digestion
Precautions:
- A pregnant woman should not perform this pose to demonstrate it to the kids.
- In case of any neck injury, use the blanket to support the neck.
- Make sure to maintain the spine straight while in this pose
10. Airplane Pose:
Kids love to practise this pose. As it gives them a feel of flying.
How To Do:
1. Balance the entire body on a single leg and lift the another leg behind you.
2. Stretch the both arms like wings.
3. Repeat the same procedure with another leg.
Benefits:
Reduces the excess fat all over the body.
Helps in strengthening the leg muscles, arms, shoulders and hip.
Precautions:
If your kid is unlikely to balance on single leg, make them to take support of wall until they gain balance.
11. Seated Forward Bend:
1. Sit on your buttocks with the legs stretched in front of you.
2. Bend your torso forward while maintaining your spine straight.
3. Dangle your arms in front of you like octopus.
Benefits:
Relieves headache, stress, mild depression and anxiety
Stretches spine, shoulders and hamstrings.
Enhances digestion
Precautions:
People with asthma, diarrhoea, back injury should not practice this pose.
12. Cat Pose
How To Do:
1. Begin on your hands and knees.
2. Make sure to keep the knees directly below the hip.
3. Wrists, shoulders, and elbow are in line perpendicular to the floor.
4. Round up the spine towards ceiling, as you exhale with shoulders and knees in position.
5. Come back to the normal position while inhaling.
Benefits:
Relieves stress and maintains posture
Vitalizes the organs in the belly.
Keeps your kid emotionally balanced
Precautions:
Do not stretch the body beyond the limits causing strain to the muscles.
Kids with any kind of head or knee injury should avoid this pose
Encourage healthy habits and positive health both physically and mentally by introducing yoga in your kid’s daily routine. 12 simple and best yoga poses at home are presented in this article which helps you to spend quality time with your kids.
