Kids yoga is a set of movements in which classic yoga postures are adapted for children. In kids yoga, which consists of individual, dual and group exercises, children have the opportunity to direct their energy in the right direction.
The aim of kids yoga is to balance body-mind-soul harmony as in adult yoga and to ensure that the child continues to live with this balance. In this way, social and educational lives are also affected positively.
There is no such concept as losing or winning in kids yoga. Thus, children express their creativity in a safe environment without competition. Having fun together, learning and playing is the real reward for children. The child, whose self-confidence increases, learns to discover himself through yoga and does so within the framework of awareness rather than a competition consciousness.
One of the most important features of a child yoga is entertainment. Kids yoga is combined with songs, stories and games and applied according to age groups. The basic postures in kids yoga are named after animals, plants, objects and nature. Stories and games prolong children’s time to concentrate, integrating with stories and expanding their imagination. To avoid boredom, transitions between movements in music, stories and games, and the time to stand in a position are faster than in adult yoga. Even hyperactive children can sit on their mats for a longer time with games and songs.
From a mental point of view, kids yoga helps increase the child’s self-confidence and motivation, enhances the ability to express himself by allowing him to experience easier and different ways of learning.
Socially, it improves the awareness of group work, creativity and problem-solving skills, and helps to reduce exam anxiety. It facilitates the learning of school-age children as well as increases their awareness of their environment.
The main benefits to the physical development of children are the regulation of internal organs, strengthening the immune system and increasing flexibility-balance-power coordination. In addition, adolescence has been observed to be easier in children who begin to practice yoga regularly at an early age.
Spiritually, we can say that it makes the child calmer and more peaceful, recognizing and trusting themselves. Yoga makes the child conscious of becoming an adult full of love, tranquility and spirituality, and gives the child the desire and passion to explore constructive and result-oriented ways to get something.
As a conclusion, it is much more than yoga poses. It is a way for children to discover themselves.