Our Mindful Therapist Contributes: How Can Yoga and Mindfulness Help My Child
/Yoga and mindfulness have become increasingly popular in enhancing not only health and wellness in adults, but also children. Many people are unaware that yoga is not just an exercise: It is a five- thousand-year-old system of living that has evolved over time. In our western world, the primary focus of the yoga lifestyle is on the physical exercise practice, or what is traditionally called “asana”. The benefits of asana extend to children as well as adults.
The physical practice of yoga is incredibly therapeutic for children in many areas, such as:
Helping children learn about the connection between their mind and body
Increasing physical awareness
Increasing hand eye coordination
Increase muscle strength, flexibility, & balance
Teaches discipline & reduces impulsivity
Enhances concentration, focus, attention span, & memory
Encourages self-control
Regulates breathing
The practice of mindfulness derives from the practice of meditation, which is a branch of the traditional yoga lifestyle. Often times meditation and mindfulness are coupled as the same thing, but they are in fact different. Meditation is a practice, while mindfulness is a skill. When mindfulness is incorporated into a child’s daily life, they grow to be able to meditate, or take time for themselves to reflect on their thoughts and feelings.
Teaching children techniques or mindfulness can:
Reduce symptoms of depression & anxiety
Improved self-awareness
Improved academic performance
Enhances problem-solving abilities
Improves management of stress
Encourages calmness & relieves emotional pressure
Can help develop positive outlooks & perspectives
Enhances cognitive skills
Increases compassion & empathy
Yoga and meditation are powerful tools in enhancing your child’s physical and mental health. Pairing these healing modalities into your child’s daily life can spark peace, wellness, and good health into not only their live, but also everyone in your home.
How can I teach my child yoga for mindfulness?
There are endless resources for children’s yoga. Research local yoga studios in your area that have child or teen yoga classes. (If you are in Tampa or Jacksonville, we can offer studio recommendations!) You can also find private children’s yoga teachers through these studios, or even through parenting and local activities Facebook groups. Some schools also offer yoga as an elective class or as an added enhancement through their physical education or guidance programs. Inquire about these options to your child’s school counselor. If an in-person yoga class option is not accessible or affordable to you, there are many free yoga classes on online platforms such as YouTube that offer a fantastic variety of classes ranging in categories such as age, style of yoga, class length, etc.
How can I teach my child mindfulness and focus?
Through in-person yoga classes, mindfulness techniques are typically weaved throughout the class and are curated to the class size and age group. You can also find fantastic resources on Google or YouTube. For younger children, using feeling charts are incredibly helpful. For older children, feeling wheels are very useful. A great start to instilling mindfulness into your child’s daily routine would be asking them self-reflecting questions depending on their age.
A few self-reflecting mindfulness questions we recommend are:
How does your body feel today?
If you could describe how you feel using weather words, what would you say? (sunny, rainy, cloudy, cold, etc.)
How can you tackle any challenges that you may face today?
How can you spread love/positivity/kindness today?
What are the pros & cons in this situation?
When you have a feeling in your mind, can you also feel it in your body?
At Serene Mind, we offer yoga therapy for children and adults. Yoga in combination with talk therapy on a consistent basis creates an intense focus on the beneficial areas of yoga and mindfulness and how it can create a life of balance and peace.
If you are interested in yoga therapy for your child (or yourself!), email us at hello@serenemindpsych.com or give us a call at 813.321.8280