Why i give
yoga for kids
I started teaching yoga classes for children as a replacement for a friend, a Yoga teacher. I found it interesting to explore this possibility, although I had never thought about it before. As I am convinced that things do not happen by chance, when I was asked for a replacement, I gave myself to the experience.
I found a fascinating world. A world that had already forgotten: Childhood. The freshness of children who live everything with energy and curiosity; his demonstrations of love and affection, without shame, openly expressing his feelings… all his feelings!
I saw myself playing, singing, exploring, having fun again. And I learned to put aside the ceremonial of adult yoga to loosen up a bit and confirm that even so, this wonderful ancient discipline could work its magic on their bodies and their hearts.
I have not stopped training since then, both in yoga and Mindfulness for children. And the most wonderful thing is that I am the grateful one, because this facet of yoga opened my heart.
Because is good
the Yoga for the kids
Today children suffer as much from stress as adults. They start from a young age with contractures that represent both bad bodily habits, demands, pressures and wounds of the soul. That is permeating their little bodies.
Early on they begin to disconnect from their body, losing the ability to recognize the messages it sends them: that heaviness that indicates that we should stop eating because there is enough; that upset in the stomach that is telling us that we should get away from that person; that headache that is nothing more than a warning that we need to rest a little before continuing.
In yoga we work with body awareness and movement. Children learn to relate from another place not only with their body but also with their emotions. Ultimately, they learn to know each other better. Yoga helps them to grow healthy, to be more self-confident, to release anxiety in a safe way. It teaches them to take care of themselves. And this wisdom, they take it for life!
Why Mindfulness is Good for Children
It would have been very valuable for me to become familiar with Mindfulness when I was little. Learn to focus attention, to be less reactive, to be more compassionate to myself and to others, and to live fully and consciously. These are skills that can be learned for life if they are taught to us.
We ask our children to focus and calm down but we do not teach them how to do it.
In our culture we prioritize doing over being; the result on the process, having on being happy and well-being. This way of seeing life has a direct impact on our children, causing anxiety, attention problems, eating disorders, addictions from an early age.
Mindfulness is a jewel that we can give you; a tool to learn to live better.
Tommy and his mom Luciana.
