The Benefits of Yoga for Children
Age is no barrier to yoga participation. In fact, kids of all ages benefit from yoga's emphasis on physical and mental health. Wondering how yoga can help your child? Take a look at these important benefits:
Yoga Keeps Kids Active
Only one-third of children throughout the world are sufficiently physically active, according to a 2023 research study from the University of Wollongong Australia. Worried that your kids are becoming couch potatoes? Yoga offers a fun way to stay active and build strong bones and muscles.
Playful poses like the butterfly and cat poses are ideally suited for kids. During yoga classes, children practice balancing on one leg while pretending to be trees or act like their favorite animals while performing the cat-cow pose. In addition to improving flexibility and strength, yoga enhances balance and coordination and boosts endurance and stamina.
Yoga Helps Relieve Your Child's Stress
Although childhood is often portrayed as a carefree time, juggling schoolwork, friends, activities, and sports can lead to stress and anxiety. During yoga classes, children learn mindfulness and breathing techniques that help them slow down, relax, and focus on the present.
According to a literature review published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research in 2024, yoga can reduce anxiety and depression, relieve stress, improve behavior and self-control, and enhance relaxation in children and teens.
Yoga Improves Focus and Concentration
Does your child have trouble paying attention at school? Moving the body through a sequence of yoga poses requires good focus and concentration. Your child can apply skills learned during yoga class to schoolwork. After a few yoga classes, your son or daughter may discover that it's easier to focus, particularly on longer tasks that may have led to daydreaming in the past.
Yoga may be beneficial for kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Child Care Health and Development in 2015. The review noted that yoga could improve the core symptoms of ADHD, including inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and anxiety.
Yoga Strengthens Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence
Unlike sports, the focus in yoga is on personal growth, not competition. Mastering a new pose is bound to bolster self-confidence and self-esteem and give kids a sense of accomplishment. Through yoga, your child will learn self-acceptance and the importance of feeling good in his or her own body.
Yoga Could Help Your Child Sleep Better
After a long, exciting day, falling asleep can be hard for some kids. Performing a few poses before bedtime may be just what your child needs to fall asleep and stay asleep. Poses like the Savasana pose help your child relax and decompress.
During this pose, kids lie on a mat or the floor on their backs with their palms facing up and their legs slightly apart. As they breathe in and out deeply, they'll focus on relaxing their muscles from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet.
Is My Child Ready for Yoga?
Children can benefit from yoga at any age, although they'll get more out of formal yoga classes if they're old enough to pay attention and follow the instructor's lead. If you already practice yoga, your toddler or young child may enjoy imitating your movements. As your son or daughter gets a little older, consider formal yoga classes designed specifically for kids.
Have you been looking for a yoga class for your child? We'll be glad to help you pick the perfect class. Contact us for information about our classes and schedules.
Sources:
University of Wollongong Australia, Children and Teens Aren't Doing Enough Physical Activity, 1/30/2023
https://www.uow.edu.au/media/2023/children-and-teens-arent-doing-enough-physical-activity.php
Child Care Health and Development: The Effects of Physical Exercise in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactiity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials, 5/18/2015
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25988743/
ScienceDirect: Journal of Psychiatric Research: Yoga for Children and Adolescents: A Decade-Long Integrative Review on Feasibility and Efficacy in School-Based and Psychiatric Care Interventions, 12/2024
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395624006368
Cleveland Clinic: Yoga for Kids: Benefits and 17 Poses and Exercises To Get Started, 2/13/2024
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/yoga-for-kids
Parents: 11 Benefits of Yoga for Kids, 5/19/2023
https://www.parents.com/benefits-of-yoga-for-kids-7406600#citation-2
American Academy of Pediatrics: Permission to Unplug: The Health Benefits of Yoga for Kids, 8/25/2016