Why choose Children’s Yoga and Mindfulness?
Being a children’s Yoga teacher I do a hell of a lot of reading and in particular the press articles around me. I was astonished this week to read an article in the Telegraph which reported that last week there was a 42% rise in anxiety in children. It really worried me that the children today face so much pressure, as an adult would and perhaps many more pressures than we first thought. Children face pressures from social media, school, sports and even world events such as Brexit. Research among 700 children aged 10 and 11 for the mental-health charity Place2Be suggests almost two-thirds of children worry “all the time”. Worrying about family and friends and fear of failing at school are the top causes of anxiety, the charity claimed. In an ever evolving world which happens at such a fast pace, where is there the time for our children to relax, take a breather and reflect in a safe environment? We are a children’s yoga company in the North East and we are on a mission to help children gain access to yoga and mindfulness much more easily to help this crisis.
Children’s yoga has many physical and emotional benefits to it. A huge part of what we teach in our Children’s yoga sessions is to help them connect meaningfully with their everyday lives, give them the tools to become resilient, make sound choices and find that emotional balance in their life. As a brand we feel its so important for children to have that feel good factor which helps them to access the part of themselves that is capable of focus and good decision-making. It also empowers them in their own bodies and brings out a confidence and creativity like never before. Children’s Yoga helps to improve all of these in a way that is fundamentally appealing to them—which is through their bodies and through direct experiences and linking them to yoga. A big part of our brand is offering childrens yoga and mindfulness to schools where we feel this should become much more of a priority, the “well-being” of children, and not just exam results.
Inside our children’s yoga sessions our children are taken away from the self-doubt that often comes with labeling, while still getting the support they need. Yoga can be a lifelong skill which can be practiced, rather than an intervention, and from it children can build resilience before these types of challenges occur. What they learn from yoga can then be applied to every day experiences and challenges. It’s non competitiveness means that children with no experience of yoga can come and join in. Yoga is not expensive, it requires little equipment, and it only has healthy side effects…it is a no brainer really.