Classroom Yoga that lasts a lifetime

There's a new trend in classrooms nowadays – Classroom Yoga! It's healthy for children because they're getting the breathing right and getting the stretching right. And when done in a creative manner, it can be so much fun! Yoga drills help children to concentrate and feel calm, relaxed. It also gets all the stress out of their system.

The numerous school activities, peer-pressure and homework can cause kids to feel some stress. Teaching Yoga to children can help them develop better body awareness, self-control, flexibility, and coordination. Such skills can even be carried beyond class and into their daily routines. Aside from incorporating yoga into their lesson plans, physical education classes can incorporate the practice throughout the day to instill discipline.

Deep breathing and basic Yoga when taught to the students at their desks, from kindergarten through fifth grade, is a holistic and healthy mechanism to cope with stress and anxiety that may occur before taking tests. Yoga also helps to improve concentration. There will be a measurable difference among the students, such as an improvement in test scores and test-taking skills due to a decrease in stress level after yoga routines. When such practices are introduced at an early age, they become a part of a child’s life and can have a huge impact on their lifestyle as teenagers. Starting a good habit early has innumerable benefits all the way through adulthood.

Just like adults, even children can be under a lot of stress. Anxiety and stress are some of the biggest reasons why young students get sick at the start of the fall semester. Yoga develops immunity to cope against viral infections.

I think parents underestimate how stressful going to school can be for some kids. Stressed out children regularly complain of stomach pain, headaches and watery eyes or poor vision and can even begin to shut themselves in a protective (but ultimately destructive) shell. Training children to do simple deep-breathing techniques can help a great deal with stress management, emotional balance and thus in improving their overall health.

I have published a set of yoga books for children that uses rhymes and age-appropriate poses to teach yoga in a fun and interactive way! Currently 2 out of 6 are LIVE on amazon.com

• Riverside Yogis

• Oasis Yogis

These books are a great way to teach kids yoga. It can be used as an interactive tool in a classroom, to conduct a yoga class or to practice together as a family. Transport your little yogi to another realm using the imaginative style of these books. The rhymes and visualization using nature as inspiration make this book fun and the poses easy to remember. Enjoy the bonus feature of a calming meditation at the end of your practice for a truly holistic and relaxing experience!