Scientific Studies that Support Kids Yoga

These 3 Studies Show how Yoga Improves Stress Management, Spatial Memory, and Body Control in Children

by Alex Bonari, guest blogger
www.collegescholarships.org

Yoga for children can seem unnecessary. After all, they’re young, so aren’t they already limber? They shouldn’t have any problems with stretching, their lives aren’t as stressful as those of adults, and it would probably be difficult to get children interested in a yoga routine.

As it turns out, scientific research has proven that logic wrong. No matter how healthy a child’s body may be, it can always benefit from yoga practice. Children’s lives are also becoming more stressful and they seem to welcome the novelty and relaxation that accompany yoga instruction. The following three articles discuss the results of scientific research that has documented the positive effects of yoga on children.

Enhances Stress Management and Relaxation (click here to link to study)

In this study, 48 fifth-graders who showed abnormal test anxiety were divided into a control group of 27 and an experimental group of 21. The experimental group received 60 minutes of yoga instruction on 15 different occasions, while the control group received none. The subjects were evaluated before the study, immediately after the yogic training, and 3 months after the conclusion of the study.

The students who received yoga instruction had an increased emotional balance in the long term and showed reductions in fear, feelings of helplessness, and aggression. This study also observed that students who received yoga instruction transferred what they had learned to situations outside of school to improve their well-being and to control negative feelings.

Improves Spatial Memory (click here to link to study)

This study compared before-and-after verbal and spatial test results for three groups of children: those attending a fine arts camp, those attending a yoga camp, and a control group.

The only group that showed any difference between its before-and-after test results was the yoga group, which demonstrated a 43% rate of improvement in the spatial category. This suggests that yoga practice, which included physical postures, yoga breathing, meditation, and guided relaxation in the study, improved the performance of children’s right-hemisphere brain activity.

Increases Static Motor Performance (click here to link to study)

In this study, children from ages 9 to 13 were divided into two groups. One group received yogic training (physical postures, voluntary regulation of breathing, maintenance of silence, visual focusing exercises, and games to improve the attention span and memory) while the other did not. Over a ten-day period, the children in each group were tested morning and night to observe their steadiness.

The yoga group showed a 17% increase in steadiness at the end of the period, while the control group showed no improvement. The study concludes that yogic instruction improves children’s ability to control their minds and bodies.

Guest Blogger Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She often can be found blogging about general education issues as well as information on college scholarships. In her spare time she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Kids Yoga Teacher Training

The Fall Schedule is here! Don’t miss out on these training courses or you’ll be missing an uplifting weekend that will nourish not only yourself, but all the children in your life.  Pass on the wisdom of yoga to the future generations!  Too see the upcoming courses in Ontario Canada click here.  To bring the Young Yoga Masters training to your area contact:  Aruna@YoungYogaMasters.com.  Registration is now open.  I’d love to meet you there for in-person training.

Character Development: Perseverance

In my city, Toronto (Canada), school teachers must guide kids on Character Development themes.  Today’s theme is Perseverance and is the last in the Character Development series.  Thank you to Donna Freeman, our guest blogger, for persevering to provide us with these Character Development and Yogic insights.  Donna Freeman is the author of Once Upon a Pose: A Guide to Yoga Adventure Stories for Children and blogger at Yoga In My School.

A Successful Handstand Requires Perseverance

Living with Perseverance: A Core Principle of Yoga

by Donna Freeman
www.YogaInMySchool.com

Fall seven times, stand up eight.
– Japanese Proverb

Watch an infant learn to walk and you have the definition of perseverance: that dogged determination to succeed despite setbacks or obstacles. As we get older we often lose this sense of will power or resolve and begin to take the easy road thinking this will lead to happiness. Temporarily it may make life painless. However, in the long term we end up lacking energy, drive, motivation, enthusiasm, and purpose for living, making life truly miserable.

One of the core principles of The Yoga Sutras is abhyasa or practice: having an attitude of persistent effort to attain and maintain a state of stable tranquility. Children need to be taught the value of consistently choosing actions, speech and thoughts which lead to personal harmony.

The yoga niyama tapas (self-discipline) addresses living with perseverance. Tapas involves making the most of yourself, setting goals and not giving up easily. As we do this we free energy and live with greater vitality and intention. Tapas also involves curbing addictive behaviours be they shopping, video gaming, watching TV, eating when not hungry, overindulging or other destructive habits which consciously or unconsciously become part of our lives.

A kids yoga class is a wonderful place to teach these skills. As each individual regularly practices the poses, breathing exercises and relaxation techniques they will see an improvement in their health, attitude and self understanding.

Children who doubt themselves become confident and sure after attempting and succeeding at a challenging pose. Very active children can learn to calm their body and mind and find peace in a hectic, confusing world. Those with emotional turmoil are encouraged to listen to their heart to find freedom from strife.

Yoga simply asks that you show up, that you begin where you are today, and strive through consistent effort to find your best self. Ralph Waldo Emerson explains the process in this way:

Sow a thought and reap an action.
Sow an action and reap a habit.
Sow a habit and reap our character.
Sow our character and reap our destiny.

Perseverance is the core of yoga. Coming to the mat, exploring and expanding your abilities, determining in some small way to take these skills into the world, and doing it all again the next day.

Persevere and all will come. This is living yoga.

Character Development: 3 Steps to Integrity

In my city, Toronto (Canada), school teachers must guide kids on  Character Development themes.  Today’s theme is Integrity.  Remember integers in math?  They are whole numbers.  Integrity comes from the same root meaning whole or complete.  Sounds perfect for yoga and today’s post by Yoga In My School specialist, Donna Freeman.  She gives Three Steps to Integrity for some Yogic insight on the theme of Integrity.

Integrity – The Heart of Yoga

By Donna Freeman
www.Yogainmyschool.com

Integrity is a moral imperative which demonstrates itself as consistency of actions according to personal values and principles.

Three Steps to Developing Integrity

1. Develop the ability to discern what is right and wrong
2. Act in accordance with these fundamental values
3. Stand behind individual actions in word and deed

These three steps define character.

Yoga helps to develop integrity by addressing the whole person: mental, physical, emotional, spiritual. A complete yoga practice allows introspection and self discovery. As individuals contemplate themselves, their lives, their joys and sorrows, their past, present and future, they develop self awareness and an internal consistency of character. They are able to determine their personal morality and motivation for actions.

Yoga also encourages honesty (satya). As we are honest with ourselves and others we become more trustworthy and genuine. We learn to speak and act from the heart lending authenticity to our daily lives. Both children and adults benefit from practicing satya as they can experience life as it truly is and experience the contentment of living truthfully.

Through practicing yoga we learn to respect others and live with an attitude of non-violence (ahimsa). The theme ‘do not harm’ is the keystone of yogic philosophy. Learning to live with peace, kindness and love toward self and others is vital to developing personal integrity and purity of life.

Truly developing integrity is the very essence of yoga. By spending time to know oneself, living honestly, and respecting self and others, we can determine our personal path and commit to living it whole heartedly. Yoga teaches us not only to talk the talk, but to walk the walk on and off the mat. This is integrity and integrity is the heart of yoga.

Contest: Win “Pure and Simple Yoga” DVD with Eoin Finn

“Saying you are too stiff to do yoga is like saying you are too dirty to take a shower.”

- Eoin Finn

Pure and Simple Yoga with Eoin Finn

Yoga with a Blissologist

Just in time for Father’s Day, the kind folks at Blissology.com sent me a free copy of this DVD to review and I’ll pick one random person who leaves a comment on this post by June 1, 2010 to receive a free copy from Eoin’s people (otherwise, I’m not affiliated with this group).

DVD Review:   Pure and Simple Yoga with Eoin Finn.

Today’s post isn’t about kids yoga but it’s good timing for Father’s Day, and a potential gift for the men in our lives.  You know, those great men who are often too busy to take time for exercise.  Pure and Simple Yoga with Eoin Finn could especially work for a beginner to intermediate man (or woman) who wants a powerful routine for home.

I unwrapped the DVD to review it on a typically busy morning when I wanted to do some yoga but had a lot on my schedule.  After  completing the yoga set on my living room floor and looking through the extras, here are some of the things I think DVD has going for it:

• The Length: It’s 40 minutes which is a great length for a busy day, and I felt like I had a work out,
• The scenery is gorgeous: I love seeing the waves rolling in the background,
• The menu functionality:  you can choose a beginner or advanced version of the set or you can watch both at the same time if you’re not sure what level you’re at. There are more menu choices and a booklet too.
• The Yoga Pose Description Menu: whenever I try a new type of yoga (you see I’m a Kundalini Yoga lover and this is a vinyasa style), it always takes me a while to process the phrasing each teacher uses to give directions. I was happy to see extra descriptions of each pose in the bonus features – very valuable for beginners and beginners of this style of yoga.
• Eoin just seems like a great guy:  I’ve never met him, but from the DVD he seems like a real person, not a straight faced, perfect model doing yoga.  This especially comes out in the extras.  Eoin’s obviously really fit, but also comes across as a fun teacher (see the quote at the top).  After all he is a Blissologist!

The Extra Bonus: Pure and Simple Yoga with Eoin Finn just might connect with those men who are interested in Yoga but (unfortunately) see it as a girl thing.   As a busy female yogini, I liked it too!

Please leave a comment to enter to win Pure and Simple Yoga with Eoin Finn from Blissology.com.  Tell me why you’d like to win and if you are going to keep it for yourself then let me know if you have any other Father’s Day gift ideas.

Contest: Win “Once Upon a Pose”

Once Upon a Pose

A Guide to Yoga Adventure Stories for Children
by Donna Freeman

For this kids yoga book review, Donna sent me two free copies of her new book: Once Upon a Pose: A Guide to Yoga Adventure Stories for Children.  One copy I’ve used for my kids yoga classes and one copy I’ll give away.  Leave a comment on this blog post between now and next Wednesday May 12, 2010 for your chance to win this book.

When I pulled Once Upon a Pose out of the envelope and took a look through it, I was amazed by how much guidance there is, especially for new kids yoga teachers.  There’s one page after another packed with information about kids yoga.   I e-mailed Donna to tell her this isn’t a book – this is more like a kids yoga course.  When Donna calls this a Guide, she isn’t holding anything back!

Here are a few highlights that make this book unique:

• Classroom Topics from pre-school to grade six that your yoga classes can support,
• 10 complete yoga adventure stories – with simple fun themes and scripts for teaching,
• Bilingual: the stories are in English and in French,
• Lots of Pictures: charming pictures of both boys and girls!

Donna Freeman is no stranger to Young Yoga Masters.  She has inspired us with a series on Character Development since last September.  In the interest of full disclosure – I think she is great!  However, Donna and I are not in business together (although I am an Amazon affiliate).  Investing in Once Upon a Pose (it’s under $20!) will provide a lot of time-saving guidance for those new to teaching yoga to kids.

For Any Parent or Teacher Who’s Ever Wondered: What Yoga Should I Teach Today?
Donna Freeman has poured her experience and passion into this guide.  Once Upon a Pose stands out  for any one who has ever thought:  What yoga should I teach the kids today?  With Once Upon a Pose you can open up to one of ten ready made classes and the fun can begin.

To win a copy of Once Upon a Pose: A Guide to Yoga Adventure Stories for Children
leave a comment on this post by Wednesday May 12, 2010. Good luck to everyone who enters.

Thanks again to Donna Freeman of Yoga in My School for providing the prize for this contest.

Character Development: Cooperation

( In my city, Toronto (Canada), school teachers guide kids on themes of Character Development. I went to the Yoga In My School specialist, Donna Freeman, for some yogic insight about them. Thank you to Donna for this monthly series.)

Cooperation is Necessary in Partner Yoga

Cooperation:  The Essence of Yoga

by Donna Freeman
www.YogaInMySchool.com

The essence of yoga is cooperation. Yoga, coming from the Sanskrit root yuj, means union, or joining, a coming together of the body, mind and breath to create greater harmony.

In a yoga class you may hear the instructor encourage participants to “not sacrifice the breath for the pose.” This means, to use all aspects of yourself in collaboration with one another in order to achieve your personal best, never allowing one part to suffer because you are too focused in another area.

We all have a tendency to do exactly that in our daily lives. It is all too easy to become un-balanced as we strive to meet goals, deadlines, and personal expectations, or the opposite, become complacent and unmotivated, even depressed, if there is a lack of symmetry and equilibrium in our bodies and lives.

A regular yoga practice will help to create greater communication between the body, mind and spirit, allowing each individual to access their intuition, their inner voice, their individuality. They become more genuine with themselves, and can then take that off the mat and into the world.

By discovering and respecting who you are, you also begin to appreciate and value others. Hopefully you will realize that the way you do things is not the only way in which they can be accomplished. There are many roads to perfection and each of us is engaged in our own personal journey. We can aid one another along the way. Helping, assisting, strengthening, lifting, providing the needed support to bring out the best in all.

While this is true in an individual yoga practice it is accentuated whenever partner and group poses are used.

Something incredible happens whenever two (or more) people work together doing yoga. From the basics of synchronized breathing to extreme acro-yoga postures, trust, connection and interdependence are prevalent.

When performing partner and group poses the participants must communicate with one another. They need to work together, to cooperate, to connect and feel supported while doing the same for others. Working at this level reinforces the need for one another as the poses cannot be complete without a partner.

Partner yoga increases feeling of acceptance as you relax into your partner’s support. You become more in touch with one another, physically, emotionally, and mentally. And there is always an element of playful fun and exploration as you discover new ways to work together.

The relationships and skills developed while doing partner and group poses can then be used in other tasks which require team work and interdependence.

Cooperation is an essential skill. It will lead to greater happiness, deeper, more meaningful relationships, and contentment. As we come to know ourselves and others through practicing yoga, we increase our ability to cooperate and are well on our way to achieving these aims.

Character Development: Honesty

( In my city, Toronto (Canada), school teachers guide kids on themes of Character Development. I went to the Yoga In My School specialist, Donna Freeman, for some yogic insight bout them. Thank you to Donna for this monthly series.)

Honesty requires Reflection on Personal and Universal Truth

Personal and Universal Honesty

by Donna Freeman
www.YogaInMySchool.com

Teaching children to be honest is a primary goal of their upbringing.  A common childhood tendency is to stretch the truth, exaggerate, or tell little lies that often lead to bigger ones.  It is essential that each child learn what truth is so that they may develop confidence, trustworthiness and integrity, and become honourable, dependable adults.

Truth can be divided into two categories: personal truth and universal truth.

Personal Truth
Personal truth is an individual account or understanding of events. For children this most often becomes important when resolving conflict. “Tell me your version of what happened,” is a common request whenever adults intervene and need to understand the actions that have transpired to cause the hurt, anger, and tears.

Each individual experiences life differently. Even identical twins will gain different knowledge and life experience from the same life events because they are unique individuals with their own view of the world.

Empathy is developed as children begin to understanding that personal truth is relative. By seeing life through another’s viewpoint, children expand their comprehension of life and compassion for others.

Universal Truth
In yoga, truthfulness is called Satya: deep, foundational truth regarding the world, love and purpose in life. This is more than just telling the truth.

Knowing that within oneself are all the skills and abilities needed to successfully navigate life’s journey is a core concept in yoga. These skills may still be in embryo. However, each individual has it within themselves to be happy, successful and confident.  As they learn to access their inner power and beauty, develop various skills and abilities, and trust themselves, they will reach their full potential.

Satya is also harmonizing the mind, heart and actions.  When individuals live with moral discipline and align their actions with their beliefs they are living honestly.  However, truth should never be used to hurt or destroy, and therefore needs to be tempered with kindness (ahimsa).

Parents, teachers and others who work with and care for children can assist them in learning to be honest with other individuals, society and themselves as they teach both personal and universal truth.  These are not quick lessons, taught once and easily integrated.  Instead continual review and application throughout the formative years is needed.

The result, however, is worth the effort.  Children who have learned these lessons become responsible adults known for their positive outlook on life, kindness to self and others, and integrity.  That’s a reality worth working towards.

Kids Yoga for Disabilities

First off, take a look at this fun video of two Canadians, Rick Mercer (comedian/host) and Rick Hanson (Man in Motion hero/educator) blowing away all ideas of what one can and cannot do when one has a disability:

Pretty Amazing, Eh!

This Friday marks the beginning of the Paralympic Games  in Vancouver.   It’s another event that shows how ABLE all people are.  The first Paralympics Games were held in 1976 in Sweden and this Paralympics has  five sports:

• alpine skiing
• biathlon
• cross-country skiing
• ice sledge hockey
• wheelchair curling

Here’s a link to a whole page of activities from Official Website of the Paralympic Movement. I’m looking forward to reading this worksheet in my kids classes:  A Fairytale:  A Class Discussion of Inclusion it’s a great story with discussion questions included.

I also want to try the Sitting Volleyball Skills Sheet with a soft volley ball for younger kids.

When it comes to yoga, are there any limitations that could prevent a child from joining a class?  Considering that kids yoga is already so imaginative I think kids yoga can be done by all.

The best tip for teaching yoga to someone with a disability:  talk to the person to  find out what works and what won’t work for their particular situation.  They’ll be able to tell you what they need to make it possible, what they want to try and what they can’t.  Don’t make assumptions!

If you’re stuck for ideas – a simple Google search of “wheelchair yoga” produces over 400,000 results!

Finally, this book  Susan Laughs by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross is recommended for discussing disabilities with young kids.  It looks like a great book that I’ve just added to my wish list.  Let me know if you’ve seen this book or if you have any other ideas for including all kids in yoga classes.

Contest: Win an Animal Yoga Book

Animals Do Yoga… and So Do I

book by Angela Faith Miller, illustrated by Susie McColgan

US $12 softcover, $18 hardcover

This book review comes with thanks to the author, Angela Miller of AnimalsDoYoga.com. She  sent me two complimentary copies. One I used in my kids yoga classes to see how it worked with real kids.  One copy will go to a random reader who leaves a comment on this post – so please leave a comment for a chance to win!

Animals Do Yoga… and So Do I is a beautifully illustrated picture book.  Eleven animal pictures go with the eleven yoga pose pictures.  The pics are big and bright and the text is minimal.  Click here to see a couple sample pages.

Animal Yoga is a Hit with Kids
Kids love animals so the theme is a winner especially with young kids.  I also like the full-page pictures for holding up in front of a class.

When I introduced this yoga book to my preschool classes I wanted to see how the kids would follow along.  I read it as written, without giving any extra directions. Most of the poses were easy for the 2 – 6 year old kids to do.   In the thirty minute classes, we got through seven or eight poses.  We also did a short relaxation/meditation at the end of class that was not in the book.

This book also has, what I consider for preschool kids, intermediate poses.  These poses take more instruction and skill to teach, which is not given in the book.  They also take time and patience for the learners and the teachers.  For example, it took me about 6 minutes to help fifteen 2 – 4 year old’s learn to hold Fish pose for a few seconds.  The pictures and text in the book don’t always give enough explanation to do the poses.

My Recommendations:
I recommend this book for Kids Yoga Teachers, Yoga Teachers with kids, and experienced Yogis with kids.  The themes of yoga and animals will surely inspire children who like picture books.  I think it would be especially fun to do as a family or one-on-one, and in situations where you have time to learn the Intermediate poses.

However there are no explanations of the yoga poses in the book.  Beginners may want more info on the details of the yoga poses.  I wish there was a short pose guide for beginners at the end of the book.

Once the kids learn the poses, I could see young yogis pulling out this book to do on their own.  Animals Do Yoga… and So Do I could be a catalyst for a yogic lifestyle, a lifestyle that many of us wish we started when we were kids!

If you’d like to win the book, leave a comment on this post.  Contest closes Thursday morning at 11 am (March 4, 2010) when I’ll announce the winner and do a post about Teaching Yoga to Preschool Kids.

Character Development: Fairness

Fairness and Balance in Yoga

by Donna Freeman
www.YogaInMySchool.com

Fairness refers to justice, equality and the absence of bias. Children seem to intrinsically know what is fair and what isn’t.  There is even a series of advertisements which underline children’s innate ability to know when they are, and when they are not, being treated fairly.

Fairness with Ease and Strength
There are a number of ways this principle relates to yoga. The most prevalent is the ideals of Sukha (easy, pleasant, gentle) and Sthira (solid, durable, strong). The goal when practicing yoga is to have equal amounts of these two opposing philosophies present at all times.

Yogis are always looking to balance the effort with the ease, the soft and the hard. To treat both aspects of the poses with fairness in order to allow the body and mind to expand to its full potential. If Sukha is too much of a focus, the consequence is laziness and lack of will power. If Sthira is stressed, then injury or burnout may result. Neither extreme is healthy, but a balance of the two permits beautiful expression and growth.

Yoga Poses to Teach Fairness
In addition, balance poses teach much about fairness. Poses such as tree pose, dancer pose and eagle pose help to refine the sense of equality. Performing these poses always seems easier on one side, but both sides need the same opportunity to work the pose. The lessons, however, are more than physical. Children learn to focus and concentrate, training their minds as well as their bodies.

Finally fairness is underscored with Satya (honesty). Satya is the virtue of being true to and honest with yourself and those you encounter. This includes in speech and action. The ideal of fairness is completely redundant without honesty. Being able to see the world through realistic lenses helps to overcome selfishness and encourages compassion.

Teaching honesty to children is an ongoing endeavor.
Personal integrity is an elusive but essential aspect of society’s morals. Practising compass pose (Bikram half moon) with an accompanying discussion on how compasses help guide individuals through the storms of life provides a kinaesthetic reinforcement of these ideals.

The principles of fairness and equality are threaded throughout yoga. Children know the difference between right and wrong, justice and injustice. Allow yoga to help develop this knowledge through balance and honesty.

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