Yoga for Kids: Turning on the light

Last week Cami Barausse, owner of Yogi Bears based in Kloof, KZN, explained how Yoga unites and disciplines the mind, body and breath. Today she is unpacking just some of the benefits of yoga for children:

Yoga and Body:

Constantly bombarded with societal pressures of inadequacy, yoga teaches kids to love themselves. Learning this from a young age equips children with the life skills and tools for the coming teenage years when self doubt may begin to creep in.

·      Develops core strength, flexibility and body awareness

·      Builds co-ordination and balance

·      Relieves stress which promotes better sleep

·      Tones internal organs

·      Enhances performance of other extra mural activities

Yoga and Mind:

Through the asana (postures) children learn more about their bodies and what they are capable of. They learn more about their minds and how they can affect and change not only their own attitude to life, but also the attitudes of the people around them. They learn that they are capable of this through their own thoughts and how they choose to react to any given situation.

·      Builds self esteem and confidence

·      Nurtures mental balance and awareness

·      Inspires imagination, creativity and empathy

·      Improves concentration and self discipline

Yoga and Breath:

Combining the body, mind and breath helps children develop into more wholesome, confident, kind and responsible adults. Yoga teaches children to be present, and to concentrate and focus on their breathing in an ever demanding world. They learn how simple breathing techniques can help them throughout the day, in any situation. Typically children deal with frustration by crying and throwing tantrums. When they learn proper, healthy breathing techniques and tools to focus and quieten the mind, they begin to apply these tools in their everyday lives and to react appropriately to any situation.

·      Improves lung capacity and detoxification through increased exchange of carbon dioxide and        oxygen

·      Reduces anxiety

·      Calms the mind, creating physical and mental balance

Yoga and Emotional/Spiritual:

By connecting the Mind, Body and Breath children are able to discover themselves and love themselves, to see the good in themselves and n others. Through this journey of self discovery they learn to focus and calm their minds as well as become aware of their instinctive capabilities. Aiding children in this way allows them to develop skills to cope with the journey of life, making them stronger and more capable of dealing with the stresses of life. Children are often pushed and encouraged to be super productive, leaping from one activity to the next all day long until they crash at bedtime. Yoga teaches children that it does not always have to be this way. It teaches children how to relax and be still. This process of “stillness” will teach them to handle the demands of today’s world in a much more wholesome and proactive way, thus allowing them the downtime needed to understand what is going on inside them and around them.

·      Promotes compassion and self-awareness

·      Enhances the connection to oneself and nature

·      Teaches respect for ourselves, others and all living creatures

Thank you for reading our blogs, if you would like to learn more about this incredible life-skill and allow your little one the opportunity to become a Yogi Bear too, then email Cami on yogibearsza@gmail.com

With love

-Liesel

Building our little ones through Yoga

In this week’s blog we are delighted to showcase Cami Barausse, owner of Yogi Bears based in Kloof, KZN. Cami has so much to share with us about the amazing benefits of Yoga for children that we have decided to spread this blog over 2 weeks.

My five-year-old daughter Hannah has been a “Yogi Bear” for the past five months, and she is loving it! We are already feeling the benefits that Cami speaks about:

“It is vital that children are given the tools from a young age to strengthen their minds and bodies, helping them to build up their self esteem and self awareness. Especially in today’s world which is dominated by the competitive nature of the media and the constant advancements of technology, children get very little time to download and process themselves and the world. This makes it very hard to find balance in the home environment, school and other activities.

Children are given few life skill tools to deal with emotional, social and physical challenges or conflicts that occur throughout life, giving rise to emotional imbalances. Today’s world is very much oriented around being the best, the strongest, and achieving the most. Yoga, which means “to unite” connects the whole self; mind, body and breath. Yoga teaches children that everybody has a different body and that different bodies can do different things but all bodies are the same. There is not one body better or worse than the next in yoga, we are all just discovering our bodies and learning from them in our own way.

Yoga is truly for everybody. Yoga helps introduce children to themselves, through their body, building self awareness, self confidence all the while quietening their minds. The best characteristic of yoga is that it is portable, no mat, special clothing or room is necessary, only the willing body.

Namaste: the light in me sees the light in you. Yoga teaches acceptance and tolerance of others. In practicing yoga, children learn early in life that all living beings are to be cherished and respected as they are, thus helping to create harmonious communities and a more peaceful world. All children are natural born yogis.

The combination of an unpolluted mind, innate sense of trust in others as well as an absence of inhibition allows children to receive the teachings of yoga and grow from them in inspiring ways. Leading them to yoga is our responsibility as, while they are discovering themselves, they will be teaching us as adults.”

Look out for the second part of this blog next week when Cami unpacks all the amazing benefits of yoga for children.

With Love

Liesel