Is my child too young for Yoga? and other questions you always wanted to ask…

Find the answers in a Q n A session with yoga practitioner Sarita Choudhary

Days meant to play outdoors, chasing friends, climbing bars and doing nothing have been replaced by packed schedules and frantic lifestyle. Children are busier than ever before. Besides school, they have multiple extra and co-curricular activities. With home-schooling there is a significant increase in screen time for all children. The physical activities, running , jumping and inherent joy of childhood is shadowed by digital lifestyle.

What does it mean for the kids? Does it takes a toll on their playful demeanor?

Definitely yes, the digital lifestyle and lack of regular physical exercise can have a big impact on kids and their health.

According to a recent study, there has been a rise in chronic childhood problems such as obesity, asthma, learning and behavior problems. The cases of such lifestyle diseases and behavior issues have doubled in last 12 years.

Sarita Chaudhary, is a certified expert yoga practitioner and coach. She has been conducting Yoga classes in Delhi NCR, India for last 7 years. She has Diploma in Yoga and a Masters Degree in teaching Yoga from specialised institutes in India.

Read on if you also have similar unanswered questions about Yoga for children. For amazing content on diverse topics in your parenting journey subscribe to this blog:

Type your email…

Subscribe

What is the best age to start practicing yoga? How old are your youngest and oldest students in the kid’s category?

Yoga means to unite. I believe that babies are born yogis. Have you seen a small baby and how flexible he/she is? Babies can perform all the Asanas with ease. As the time progresses children start forgetting their true self and their bodies become inflexible.

Yoga combines asanas, meditation and pranayama. Yoga training can be started when the child can understand and follow instructions. The best time to start yoga training for Asanas is 6-8 years. At this age children can follow instructions and can focus well. For meditation the ideal age to begin is 12-14 years. My youngest student is 6 years old while the oldest is 16.

How does the practice of Yoga benefit kids?

Modern lifestyle has led to children facing health issues at a very tender age due to a fast-paced life. Increase in the consumption of junk food, adulterated milk and poultry products all contribute to physiological changes. The age of puberty has come down to 8 – 10 years. I recently met a 15-year-old girl suffering from PCOD which was unheard of a few years ago. Yoga can help combat all these ill effects and provide the strength and fitness to the young generation.

It helps build a child’s confidence. Yoga nourishes not just the body but also builds a fit mind. It boosts a child’s confidence in dealing with the obstacles of life. For example Singha Asana is good for thyroid gland. Thyroid gland helps in secretion of hormones and maintaining ideal balance. This asana helps children in overcoming stage freight, being more self-aware.

It helps children build muscle strength and better bone density. One can understand the strength that a yogi develops by observing him/her performing Parvatasana. In Parvatasana one has to come up on one’s wrist. One requires tremendous strength to bring one’s whole body on your wrist.

Is yoga too boring for children?

Children need a trainer who can come down to a child’s level, empathize and make the session more engaging so that it becomes fun for children. Making children engage in any sort of physical activity becomes easy when the children do it on a routine basis every day. Try making yoga a part of their schedule and within a few weeks it will seamlessly blend into their life.

Children learn by imitation. To get your child to do any fitness regime regularly, set an example by doing it yourself. One cannot expect children to take interest in yoga when one is not doing it herself !

How can kids do safe Yoga and avoid any sprain or injuries?

In any sport or physical activity, there are chances of injury. So whenever you start any form of physical exercise with your kids, take precautions. I always recommend to start yoga with a practitioner who is certified and experienced. I will rate the experience more crucial.Learning yoga or for that matter any form of sport or fitness should never be done by watching videos on YouTube.

An experience Yoga instructor anticipates and prevents injuries. For instance, for every asana we make children do a Counter Asana to balance out the stretching effect on the muscles. If you do a backward bend, it is to be followed by a forward bend.

Watching videos and self-learning can make you miss out on such details and can lead to injury.

Which are the 5 best Yoga Asanas for children?

That would be Tadasana, Vrikshasana, Triconasana, Purnabhujangasana and Setubandasana

Sarita Chaudhary is an expert yoga practitioner, ashtang practitioner and coach. She has a Masters degree in yoga, YCB certified by Ayush Ministry of India, Pranic healer and TTC from THE YOGA INSTITUTE,

She conducts online yoga classes for all ages and can be found at http://www.yogmansa.com