Why teach yoga to kids?

I am often asked why I only teach yoga to kids. There are several reasons that I choose to work only with kids. One of those reasons is that many yoga studios exist so that adults can practice and reap the many benefits of yoga, but not many studios cater to kids. Kids need yoga and its many benefits as much as adults do. Today, kids and teens face several challenges, many if which can be stressful. There is a lot of pressure on kids to perform in school and a multitude of other activities. There is media pressure to have certain things or look a certain way in order to be accepted. Children are "plugged in" so much that they often lose sight of what it is like to just breath and be still. Many do not know how to be still or feel calm. When a child is given the tools to be still, to breath properly, to go inside themselves and learn who they are, the outcome is a healthier, happier, calm and focused child who knows that they are good enough and can handle themselves in tough situations. Many children come from broken homes or homes that are struggling in this economy. Children pick up on the stress of the adults in their lives. Yoga gives children the opportunity to be still, to breath, to be creative, to learn about themselves, to learn to focus and concentrate, to learn mindfulness, to affirm positive things about themselves, and so much more. Yoga with kids is approached differently than it is with adults, therefore I feel specializing in just kids yoga allows me the opportunity to focus solely on curriculum that will benefit kids and teens.

I am a certified elementary and special education teacher. I believe that children are the area in which I specialize, in part due to my education and also due to the results I have seen with my own children as a parent. I have four sons, one whom is on the autistic spectrum. I have seen the benefits of yoga for all of my children. I have also seen the benefits in the children I teach. I teach, both academics and yoga, to students with disabilities, as well as typical students. I have seen yoga benefit typical kids, kids with ADHD, kids on the spectrum, kids with Down Syndrome, kids with emotional issues, kids with sensory issues, and many others.

Children are wonderful to practice yoga with since they are so willing to try new things, without a care as to what they might look like. Children are not intimidated by the same things adults are and children tend to have more of an open mind, which makes practicing yoga with kids so much fun!

Kids often play sports and a yoga practice helps them become more flexible, which can prevent them for incurring more injuries, while playing sports. Yoga helps kids build strength, stamina, agility, and balance, all useful while playing sports. Yoga can improve the posture of children, as well as improve focus and concentration in children. Yoga gives kids useful tools, such as self-discipline, self-realization, self-recognition, self-esteem, and body awareness. Yoga is noncompetitive, making it more beneficial to children as they seek to explore these tools and benefits for themselves. Yoga can help improve social relations, motor planning (including gross and fine motor skills), speech and language skills, and unity and respect for all people.Yoga promotes fitness in kids, improves sleep patterns, and stimulates on all levels including physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Giving these tools to kids at a young age can help instill healthy lifelong habits. Just like teaching our kids in schools, teaching our kids these things is just as important! Now you know why I only teach kids.

For more information on Dragonfly Yoga for Kids and Teens, visit our website at

http://dragonflyyogakids.com

Other Yoga Benefits: Behavioral Self-Regulation, Social Skills, and Universal Awareness

Once a child learns how to modulate his/her performance by using a technique to quiet, focus and calm himself, he is on his way to improving his ability to interact and succeed in society. Yoga provides these skills! One of the first skills to develop with a regular yoga practice is breathing. A child will learn to breath more slowly and deeply when they become anxious. This act of breathing will help a child self-regulate. Children may also chant familiar mantras to ease anxiety while others will remove themselves from a stressful environment, if possible, and do yoga poses. To be able to self-regulate focus, mood, or general expression is a critical skill for children to obtain.

Yoga can improve many things in a child's life, including social skills. Learning respect for self and others is monumental in effectively engaging with another person. The ability to take turns, listen, observe body space and initiate kindness are mutual aspects of a yoga class. Another aspect is successful social interaction! Mixing children with differing needs can design a setting where one child's social strength can support another child's social weakness. Mixing children of different abilities can provide various experiences of nurturing one another and proving role models. The respectful and accepting nature of a yoga class can support and maintain friendships. The level of support provided to one another is truly heart opening.

Yoga means "union". Yoga is based on unity and respect of all. The principles of yoga honor all people and teach people to treat others as they would like to be treated. They stimulate the unity within oneself as well as unity with all. Harmonizing with chants until two voices become one is an excellent experience to support the power of connection among people. The world comes into focus for the child and he/she feels a stronger desire to know what is happening in the world. This concept is referred to as Universal Awareness.

Yoga is a non-competitive,creative, and fun way to engage children while addressing their physical, cognitive, social, sensory, and emotional needs. Dragonfly Yoga is a yoga based, creative arts, interactive storytelling program for children of all abilities. For more information go to our website:

• http://dragonflyyogakids.com

Your Mind on Meditation

Meditation comes in many different forms, including but not limited to mindfulness meditation, walking meditation, and transcendental meditation. All forms of meditation involve one thing: a heightened state of awareness. At any given time, thoughts bounce like Ping-Pong balls between the past and the future, stuck no what could have been or fixated on what might be. Rarely do they zero in on the here and now. Research shows that tuning out the world and tuning in to yourself can be a stealth health booster that can change your body and brain and overhaul your overall state of well-being. This can be done in as few as 12 minutes a day! Here's how meditation amps up your health.


Brain-Meditation can increase alpha and theta brainwave activity, which is linked to relaxation. Practicing meditation every day for two months can physically beef up some of your gray matter!


Mood-A meditative state can light up the areas of your brain that control complex thoughts and positive emotions. Some forms of meditation can also build mental muscle in the areas of the brain that control compassion, empathy, and fear. This will, in time, allow you greater mastery over your emotions and help you to feel closer to other people.


Lungs and Heart-Regular meditation can drop your blood pressure by up to four points which in turn can lower your risk for heart disease! Wondering how that is possible? Meditation increases activity in your parasympathetic nervous system which controls your rest-and-digest functions (this is the opposite of your fight-or-flight response) therefore allowing your lungs to begin to draw deeper breaths. As your lungs draw deeper breaths, your heart begins to beat more slowly, causing your blood vessels to relax.


Relaxation- During a meditative state, your adrenal glands dial back production of the stress hormone cortisol. Meditation increases blood flow to your brain, which in turn may help lower anxiety. As an added bonus, the additional blood flow may help improve your memory!)


Willpower- Practicing meditation can lower your blood sugar levels (thus lowering your chances having diabetes) and may cut cravings for salty foods.


Immune System-Meditation helps nix the mental negativity that may dampen the immune response. It can also prompt your body to step up its antibody production. Research shows mediators are more better able to fight off infections and may also have better pain control when injured.

The Aura in Children

The aura consists of five etheric layers or sheaths. The first layer, or body, is called the food body or physical body. The second layer is the breath body or energetic body. The mental body is the third layer. The wisdom body is the fourth layer. The fifth body is called the bliss body.

The food we eat and the exercise we engage in affect the physical body. If we overeat, the body becomes tired and lethargic, causing us to have difficulty concentrating. If we do not exercise regularly and take care of our physical bodies, we can create an imbalance. Yoga postures show children how to tone and strengthen their physical bodies to stay fit and supple.

Our brains require more oxygen that any other organ in our bodies to function well. If there is a blockage in our breath, such as shallow breathing, it affects the functioning of our mental and physical abilities. Yoga breathing exercises teach children the best way to breath and how to stay healthy by breathing deeply from the diaphragm.

The mental body, the third layer of the aura, comprises the conscious, subconscious, and instinctive parts of the mind. If your mind is unfocused and distracted, it makes it impossible to concentrate. It also affects your breathing so that the physical body suffers as well. In kids yoga classes, children practice concentration exercises to learn to focus their minds. Focusing your mind helps control your wellbeing. This also helps kids perform better at school. 

This wisdom body relates to out intuition and understanding as well as our emotions. If a child is upset or depressed, they may lack motivation or any inner drive. Yoga teachings and chanting can help a child learn to develop inner growth, balance their emotions, and keep them under control.

The bliss body, the fifth layer, is the subtlest layer. When all the other bodies are harmonized, the fifth body gives out joy, happiness, unconditional love, and fulfillment. This is the ideal state for a child!