What is bullying?
Bullying is the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It can happen face to face or online. – ABA definition
We all know that learning to understand and manage conflict is an important part of growing up. Bullying is not simply a ‘falling out’. Research shows that experiencing bullying can have a significant impact on a child’s life well into adulthood. To ensure we are able to prevent bullying, we can all play a part to act quickly when it takes place and avoid misidentifying bullying, it is vital that schools and other settings have a shared definition of bullying. This should be understood by the whole school or setting including parents, young people and all staff. It is something at Kalma Life we feel strongly about!
Bullying is more common than people realise around a quarter of children are bullied in school. It can have a strong impact on children because of the physiological problems it can cause when they are at a vulnerable age. But Yoga can help bullying!
Yoga can help bullying.
Exercise can greatly improve the mental and physical health because it strengthens the mind and body connection giving young people a grater mind-body confidence. No other type of fitness does this more so than Yoga! In a typical Kalma Life Yoga class we place emphasis on strength, flexibly and coordination all of which are beneficial for improving body image, self-confidence and self-esteem. All of these qualities’ yoga brings are all of those which most young children and teens struggle with and are things that bullied children need support with even more so.
Yoga is also a brilliant stress buster! While a lot of you may believe children do not get depressed of suffer stress in the way adults do-you couldn’t be more far from the reality of it. A lot of children can suffer high levels of stress through different causes. When people are bullied they can suffer from a wide range of physiological problems as well as physical ones. High stress levels can cause digestive issues (poorly tummy’s), headaches, muscle pain, anxiety and weight loss/gain.
Yoga brings a special benefit.
The practice of yoga regularly has a very special benefit to the mind body and soul. One of the most important elements that we teach in classes is that yoga is a non-competitive type of exercise which means that it is great for encouraging teens and children to practice it not to win it because it feel so good! When you practice no two poses are the same. You can achieve the poses which ever you can no winners or losers no measuring yourself against other people there is no judgement!
Children and young people thrive from being able to apart of a sport where there is no measuring themselves against others or winning just reaping the benefits of feeling the stretches and feeling good inside and out and the satisfaction of achieving poses. This also hugely important for kids which have been or are being bullied because of the severe physiological effects bullying brings with it. Low self-esteem, low confidence, poor body image, anxiety, fearfulness, depression and social isolation the unique qualities of yoga help to mitigate those affects and give bullied kids a chance to relieve stress and improve the way they feel about themselves.
What science tells us.
There is an increasing amount of scientific evidence that shows yoga helps to improve the symptoms of depression anxiety and other psychological disorders. The deep state of relaxation yoga can induce cant be achieved through other fitness and sporting activities, this helps to promote benefits like reducing stress, better mental clarity and better quality of sleep. When kids practice yoga they think less about those stressful situations and focus more of what the body is doing for example what arm goes where which muscle is contracting or keeping the balance in a pose. This gives them time off thinking about those situations.
When kids practice yoga regularly they gain a better ability to handle stressful situations which means if a child or young person is being bullied they will be better equipped to deal with the situation and less susceptible to the physiological trauma bullying brings with it-thats how yoga can help bullying!
Visit our schools and colleges information pages to book your yoga sessions.