Easy yoga poses and meditation tips to introduce the habit to your kids

Yoga and meditation have proven to have both physical and mental health benefits in kids. They enhance children’s mental toughness, self-esteem, academic performance, and classroom behaviour. The temptations, distractions, overstimulation, and peer pressure that children face are numerous. From improved focus and balance to a reduction in anxiety and stress, yoga and meditation are tools that can be used by everyone to overcome most situations and problems in life. (Also read: Yoga for immunity: 6 asanas to boost your child’s overall health )

Talking to HT Lifestyle, Nishtha Bijlani, Counselling Therapist at ThinkRight.me, says ” Kids have a very imaginative mind. Yoga asanas are inspired by nature and animals. Helping kids visualise a particular animal while doing the respective asana is a great way to make it fun for them. Some examples would be Vrikshasana or Tree pose. Mandukasana or the frog pose. Kids naturally tend to be more flexible because their minds and bodies haven’t hardened with layers of conditioning. The sooner they get introduced the better it is. Additionally, explaining yogic concepts in a storytelling narrative is a wonderful way to lodge ancient learnings in their subconscious. Yogic teachings of ahimsa, Satya, Karma, Santosha, and so on are very useful in building their character as they grow older.”

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Sabrina Merchant, Certified Yoga Teacher and Happiness Coach at ThinkRight.me, suggested easy yoga and meditation tips to introduce the habit to your kids.

Here are 3 yoga poses that you can practise along with your child and introduce yoga to them:

1. Butterfly Pose

Sit up tall and bring the bottoms of your feet together to form your butterfly wings. Breathing in lifts your knees. Breathing out lower your knees. Continue to breathe and flap your wings.

2. Downward Dog Pose

Start in an all-fours position, with your hips above your knees and shoulders above your wrists. Bring your hands slightly forwards of your shoulders, with your middle finger pointing forward, and spread your fingers. Tuck your toes under, lift your knees and push your hips up and. back into the air. Keep your arms straight, and your head and neck relaxed away from your shoulders. Press your hips back as you stretch your heels down toward the floor. Lower back down to the start pose by bringing your knees back on the ground and sitting back on your heels.

3. Cobra

Start by sleeping on your belly, forehead on the floor, legs stretched out and feet touching. Rest your forearms close to your body making sure your elbows are under your shoulders. Lift your head, upper body, and arms. Legs remain on the floor. Hold this pose. Come out of the pose by bringing your body back on the floor.

Mediation Tips:

Mediation is a complex term for kids to comprehend. However, it is advisable to introduce the concept of meditation to kids at an early age to help them connect with their true inner selves. It helps them understand themselves better and in turn, helps them lead a more content and grateful journey in life. Meditation can help kids read and respond to internal signals of stress before their developing brains and bodies give in to a full-blown tantrum. The key is intuiting what your child needs to come back into balance and giving him or her the tools to practise. So here are 3 practical mediation tips to help start your child’s mediation journey:

1. Sitting in silence: Start with sitting together, preferably at the same time every day in silence without moving, keeping your eyes shut. You can start with 1 minute, to begin with. Gradually increase the time. Remember, it’s very difficult for children to sit still. So, keep it easy and simple. You can use music or guided meditations to help kids with the practice.

2. Bringing focus to the present moment: “Spot the Colour” is a fun activity to bring your child’s attention to the present moment. Ask your child to pick any colour and then take turns to spot the colour in your surroundings. This activity can be done indoors as well as outdoors. It helps us stay in the present moment, just where we are.

3. Mandala art and colour: Most kids love to colour. Help them stay focused and enjoy their time off with some easy-to-do mandala artwork and colours.

Follow more stories on Facebook & Twitter