Belly Breathing
What if I told you that ALL children can benefit from yoga? I’ve seen it happen in the preschool where I run 30 minute yoga classes, once per week for children aged 2.5 to 5 years old. The classrooms consist of up to 12 children, half of which receive special services while at school such as speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Often when a parent comes to watch a class they will comment on how difficult it is to tell these children from the so-called “typically developing” children. Here are some of the ways that yoga helps ALL of the children in these classrooms:
Improved Self Confidence
Improved Body Awareness
Improved Breath Control
Improved Self-Regulation
Improved Strength
Improved Endurance
Improved Social Interaction with Peers
Improved Attention Span
Through the complete yoga practice that includes breath control, poses, relaxation and focused attention activities (mindfulness) the children learn to recognize their feelings and ways to regulate so they can better participate in the classroom work. A calm brain is a receptive brain. So, in the ever-increasing stress of school life for our children at an earlier age why not give them the tools to calm themselves so that learning can be fun again?