Are you interested in building your child’s self-esteem, confidence, focus & discipline?
Would you like to develop your child physically, mentally, and emotionally?
Or are you dealing with challenges such as tantrums, emotional upsets, stress and worries, bullying, behavioral issues, and sleepless nights.
Yoga for adults has long been known to help release stress and anxiety, to calm our minds, soothe our emotions and relieve physical aches and pains. It is time to bring these long-lasting benefits to the children in our lives. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or work with children in any capacity, here are some practices that are practical and easy to do in the comfort of your own home.
Knowing how to use yoga to help children deal with emotional upsets, calm overactive little minds and get better sleeps, develop confidence and self-esteem are gifts that you can use daily.
Rest, Relax and Read on as we support you in raising healthy, happy, and confident children in an ever-increasingly fast-paced world.
1. No more Sleepless Nights.
Sleepless nights are one of the most common complaints I hear from parents when they bring their children to yoga classes.
Because of today’s fast-paced life, children’s bodies and minds get very little rest or downtime, so when bedtime comes, it is difficult for their bodies and minds to shut off. Yoga re-educates children how to self-calm and regulate their minds and emotions and best of all, can lead to a deep sleep where they get the rejuvenation they need. In fact, by the end of yoga, parents notice how calm the children are and how soundly they sleep that night.
Here is a great exercise to do before bedtime which will channel excess energy and calm those little minds and bodies. The breathing exercise below can also be used when the kids are tucked up in bed if they are still restless.
Bedtime Child’s Pose:
Child’s Pose: Tell your little one to, “Curl up into a little ball. Tuck your chin in and nustle your forehead into the floor. Bring your arms down by your sides.”
Have them, “Imagine you are a little seed planted deep into the earth. It’s warm and snug and you feel safe and secure. Feel the softness of the earth, the warmth against your skin and the rich smell of the soil around you. Get very comfortable as if you are settling in for winter, staying very quiet and very still.”
2. Calming Over-Active Minds:
Building our children’s mental and emotional health from a young age, will equip them to face the many challenges and opportunities that life presents. This begins by giving them tools to quieten and still their minds.
Belly breathing is a simple yogic exercise that you can use anytime children need some much-needed quiet, calm, and relaxation time.
Belly Breathing:
Start by instructing your child to, “Lie down on your back, with your feet apart and your hands on your belly.”
Ask them to, “Take a big breath in and a big breath out. Take another big breath in and a big breath out.”
Maybe they can feel some movement underneath their hands when they breathe in and movement when they breathe out.
Tell them to, “Notice how your belly rises as you breathe in and falls as you breathe out.
Watching the belly rise as you breathe in and falling as you breathe out.
As you breathe in, feel the belly rising like a balloon filling with air and as you breathe out, feel the belly sinking down like a balloon deflating. Breathing in, belly rises like a balloon filling with air and as you breathe out, all the air going back out.”
Lastly, have them notice how they feel at the end and if their mind is quieter?
3. Building confident, empowered kids.
The Superman Pose is a favourite because it, builds back strength and helps spinal alignment, which results in a children feeling powerful, strong and in control.
Superman Pose.
Tell your little one to lie down on their belly and take their arms and legs wide into a star-fish. Perhaps tell them to imagine they are a very powerful superhero who is about to set out to make the world a better place. “You are about to set out on a journey using your special and unique gifts to make the world a better place. Think about 3 things that you do to make this world a better place. Maybe you give great hugs, look after friends, tell bullies to stop, give the best smiles.” Ask them to tell you 3 of their special qualities. Then tell them to get ready to take off. “Take a big breath in and as you breathe out, lift everything off the floor and FLY!” They lift up 4-6 times and each time, hold long enough to spread their gift to the world and share with people who need it.
After the last time, tell them to lie down, turn their head to the side and rest, feeling their heart fill with joy and happiness, saying, “You are such a gift to the world and make it a brighter place.”
Have fun trying out these exercises with your kids and if you do them at the same time, you might also just have the best night’s sleep in a long time. Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Loraine X
PS If you want to learn more about sharing yoga with kids and teens, click here to learn more
