When we think of yoga, we think of young professionals, mostly women who live in cities, co-opting this eastern practice as a wellness habit. The highest number of yoga studios in the U.S. are in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.
Roughly 36 million Americans practice yoga for toning, strengthening, relaxation, and increasing productivity. And while that number has been growing at an accelerated pace, yoga still tends to have a variety of stigmas surrounding it, namely that it’s a female practice, a spiritual/hippie practice, or a practice for vegans.
What’s missing to “normalize” yoga is adaptation at an early age. You might wonder what a two year old could get out of a yoga session? But the answer is: a lot…
Here are four benefits to getting involved with yoga at an early age:
Improves mental health
Research has shown that yoga can improve the mental health of children. There are a vast amount of psychological improvements that come with yoga, as it sharpens focus, memory, self-esteem, academic performance, classroom behavior, and can reduce anxiety and stress.
Children’s yoga is not focussed on making children “perfect” at every position, the focus is on reassuring them, making them feel empowered by and in control of their own bodies. The purpose is to build confidence and body positivity, something that a lot of kids struggle with as the mental health crisis surges.
Improves physical health
Different forms of yoga practice help increase strength, endurance, and aerobic capacity. Yoga is a fantastic way for children to exert physical energy in a cathartic way, while simultaneously releasing tension and gaining calm–all while building postural awareness that will serve them for a lifetime!
Yoga is also incredibly accessible. Children who are less athletic, asthmatic, or disabled are able to participate and thrive in yoga.
Improves memory and leads to a better academic performance
Focus is required to accomplish different yoga poses, so the practice builds a steady skill of concentration that allows children to accelerate in school when they apply similar techniques in the classroom. Yoga also increases patience, stillness, and mindfulness, and reduces stress, all of which improve academic performance.
Builds a habit
Building a positive habit early in life makes it much easier to stick with during your lifetime. Having yoga be a part of your life at such an early age allows it to become one of the tools in your arsenal to combat dress, anxiety, or simply to keep your body moving.
Enroll your child in a yoga class today!
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