Whether incorporating yoga in the classroom or at home, there are a ton of kids yoga benefits that you can start taking advantage of TODAY! Weaving in even 5-15 minutes of yoga with kids a few times a week can go a long way. So, what exactly are these kids yoga benefits I’m talking about? Well, let’s chat and find out!
1. Yoga for Focus
By nature, yoga improves focus and concentration by encouraging us to be present, focus on our breathing, and pay attention to our bodies. We all know that kids can get a little distracted at times (okay, maybe a LOT!), but can we really blame them? We live in a crazy, fast-paced world that WE can barely keep up with! So, using yoga for focus can be a great strategy to teach kids, whether in the classroom or at home. Plus, it’s super easy to implement.
Start with 5 minutes a day, and gradually increase the time to build stamina. This should also transfer over nicely to other activities that require attention and focus. When your little ones start getting antsy or fidgety, use yoga to focus their attention on the breath, mind and body.
If you plan on doing yoga in the classroom, it can be easily used as a brain break, as a transition activity, a daily exercise routine, or an indoor recess activity. However you choose to weave it in, yoga can break up the day nicely and give your little ones a chance to focus on nurturing their minds and bodies.
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2. Yoga for Calming
As we all know, learning to emotionally regulate is something that takes time. When kids get angry, frustrated, nervous or anxious, it is up to us as their parents and educators to teach them how to calm themselves down effectively. We need to give them the tools they need so they can confidently apply them in their lives. Using yoga for calming down can be a great tool for our little ones – a tool they can apply across many platforms in their lives. Again, thinking about the breathing techniques involved with yoga, along with focus techniques and various physical benefits, your kiddos can use yoga for calming their minds and bodies during times of heightened emotional arousal.
Looking for an awesome set of printable yoga poses for kids to use with your little ones? Look no further! Click the pic 🙂
3. Yoga for Balance
Hands down, balance is one of yoga’s key pillars – surely, one of the most important kids yoga benefits of all time. It’s a perfect combination of mental and physical strength and endurance. The poses themselves train your body to be strong and grounded, greatly improving balance and coordination. This can be particularly helpful for kids who are struggling with their motor coordination. At the same time, yoga helps strengthen mental endurance through focus and persistence. Clearly, using yoga for balance – both physical and emotional – can be extremely beneficial for our little ones in more ways than one.
4. Yoga for Core Strength
On top of the many kids yoga benefits mentioned above, doing yoga for core strength goes a long way. Why is core strength important? It sets the stage for good posture, balance and stability, making you more agile and less susceptible to injury. We all know that kids can be a little clumsy at times (so can a lot of us adults!), but practicing yoga can help them become more physically grounded and stable. Like many of the other kids yoga benefits, using yoga for core strength transfers over to many aspects or our lives, including simple daily activities and other sports we might take part in.
5. Yoga for Confidence
You know that high you get when you accomplish a goal? That proud feeling that makes your eyes light up and cheeks hurt from smiling? Well, we can get that same feeling from tackling our challenges in yoga – completing new poses that encourage our bodies to do things we never knew they could do.
We talked about how yoga requires focus and concentration, how it improves our physical strength and coordination, and how it restores balance in our lives. All of these elements merge together to boost our confidence and self-esteem. After you walked out of that gym (which you literally had to drag yourself to), didn’t you feel AMAZING? Well, that’s how our little ones feel when they learn a new yoga pose and complete it successfully! That’s how they feel when they realize how flexible they’ve become through practice and persistence. And when they can easily stand on one foot in tree pose, without a single wiggle or wobble.
And you know what else boosts their confidence? The fact that they can learn to focus and stay in control of their emotions during an activity like this, and apply it to other situations in their lives. That they are able to persevere, even when things are challenging. Using yoga for confidence and self-esteem is simply another incredible benefit of this practice.
Let’s Re-cap!
What are the 5 Amazing Kids Yoga Benefits we can use with our little ones?
1. Yoga for Focus
2. Yoga for Calming
3. Yoga for Balance
4. Yoga for Core Strength
and
5. Yoga for Confidence.
So don’t wait to get started doing yoga with your kiddos! Like I said, you can do this in the classroom, or at home. Just start with 5 minutes and work your way up. I promise you, you won’t regret it!
Here’s a set of Printable Yoga Poses for Kids so you can start TODAY!! Click the pic 🙂
Looking for more fun things to do in your classroom?
Check out this blog post: Charades for Kids Ideas: Charades in the Classroom.
Trying to figure out how to manage your chatty class?
Check this out: Classroom Management Plan for Volume Control
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Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you found something you like here today, and I hope to see you again!
Jessica at Savvy Apple
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Yoga offers such great benefits for adults and kids. Thank you for highlighting the benefits of yoga for kids!