Yoga, naturally for children

I love seeing my kids moving. Especially of their own initiative. Getting our bodies moving is so good for our minds, bodies, and spirits. I must admit though that it is yoga I prefer for my girls. No intense pounding, jumping, stress, or beating up of our bodies as other workouts can bring or even some sports. It's not competitive at all and that's nice. They can feel good about where they are at the moment and know that yoga is a practice and each day brings new beginnings. In this, patience and acceptance is also being learned. My older girls love practicing yoga as well as my younger ones and I am of course the very encouraging mom! I love it myself. In fact, as of late I have been slowly giving up my more intense workouts and trading them in for yoga. (except for Jillian's new kickboxing workout. love it) I have been looking into yoga and the benefits of it more seriously lately than I have ever done and I am impressed with what I'm learning. Especially when it comes to yoga for children.

It helps relieve stress, increases energy, enhances concentration, (we really need that!) it builds strength and focuses on the overall body. We have found some really need yoga dvds at the library for kids and they are a hit. Children are naturally very flexible but in some things they might not be using correct positions which could in time result in structural imbalance. One of the dvds uses songs, stories, games and even animal poses to teach yoga to children. As children regularly practice yoga it gradually brings a respect and awareness of their bodies and encourage them to have the desire to take care of themselves which of course leads to healthier little bodies as they grow. I have seen it my own children since they began practicing. One thing I am hearing often when served a beverage or food is, "Is it all natural and good for me?" As a mom I love the awareness that they are getting and the desires to take care of their bodies and truly seeing them as the temple of God and actually wanting to take care of themselves.

For some folks, yoga is also a form of worship. For us, when it comes to yoga our girls are taught of the benefits that the practice of yoga can bring to their minds and bodies. Such as, endurance, relaxation, strength, flexibility, and focus. We are careful to choose dvds that do not go into the spiritual aspect that some practices of yoga bring. Because in the end, all things are brought back into one in the Lord and for that reason is why we do all that we do. To bring honor and glory to Him.

We found this really fun book at our library and the littler girls can be seen during the day lying on the floor, book open, mats out, and trying to imitate the poses. Yoga with stories.