Introduction

Y oga is an ancient Indian practice that was introduced to western culture during the late nineteenth century. Through controlled breathing and various simple or complex postures, yoga improves flexibility, releases mental and physical tensions, and boosts energy. Thousands of years ago, the yogis who developed asanas (poses) were living in close contact with nature, from which they drew most of the posture’s names: swan’s grace pose, tree pose …

It is generally accepted that children are master imitators; they will gladly join you in a yoga practice.

Starting yoga early provides a practice of lifelong discipline and an array of health benefits. Physically, yoga develops self-awareness through flexibility, strength, and coordination between body and mind.

Yoga also develops concentration, appeasement, and relaxation. Children are so flexible and have such a good sense of balance that they actually can get into poses much more easily than adults. Most of them are receptive to yoga; they might just need a little encouragement at first!

In their everyday lives, children today are often not very close to nature. They experience different types of stress caused by the demands of numerous activities. They evolve in a world fraught with competition, social media, new technologies, and a sense of urgency. Many sensorial stimuli are constantly bombarding their brains, which consequently process a heavy load of information without getting enough rest.

Even very early on in life, learning to breathe and to center our attention through meditation are excellent ways to empty our mind while at the same time expanding our mental capacity.

It is also generally accepted that children don’t have a very long attention span. Paired with mudras—simple, entertaining gestures that resemble mini-yoga poses for hands—meditation improves concentration. They also activate pressure points on hands or fingers to regulate the body’s five elements, which in turn helps children to rapidly find calm and assurance. Each mudra has specific results and healing powers.

In schools where meditation is taught, teachers have noticed a quantifiable improvement in their students’ work and behavior.

How to organize the sessions

To prepare the body, start with a warm-up exercise. Then quickly transition into a breathing exercise (with or without meditation or mudra). Continue with a sequence of several poses.

If the child asks, you can add yogic games and end by a complete body relaxation (p. 14).

The benefits of the poses can be divided into two main categories: mental and emotional needs and motor skills. Prepare your program by choosing poses whose specificity addresses the needs or wishes of your child.

Mental benefits

To release stress:

All the meditation poses: crocodile, happy baby, reclining hero, inverted triangle.

To improve concentration and balance:

Tree, mountain, warrior III, kite, inverted triangle, supported headstand, tree.

To stimulate memorization and dissipate fear or vertigo:

All head-down poses: supported headstand, half-supported headstand, downward-facing dog, difficult, brain yoga.

Physical benefits

All the beginner postures are accessible to younger children. The intermediate and advanced postures can be practiced once they reach five years of age. For the advanced poses (half-supported headstand, camel, etc.), it is imperative that a parent be present.

Poses can be practiced in sequence. Offer to practice variations one after the other. From a forward, backward, or sideways bend, the child can go into pendulum; from a forward bend, into triangle, arc, cobra, tortoise, moon arc, and plow.

Regarding twisting poses, there is fish—sitting or lying variations—and inverted triangle.

For hip flexibility:

One-legged king pigeon, extended side angle, garland, sleeping Vishnu (side-reclining leg stretch), warrior I, II, and III.

For leg, ankle, and foot strength:

Chair, star, warrior I, II, and III, tree, kite, triangle, ferocious.

For arm, shoulder, wrist, and hand strength:

Upward plank (or toboggan), plank, tabletop, staff, wheel, upward-facing dog.

For the digestive system and abs:

Diamond, bow, child, locust, half-boat.

Fun and playful postures:

Cat (meowing), cow (mooing), lion (roaring), cobra (hissing), bow (foot by the ear, like a telephone), frog, upward plank (or toboggan), plank (ball running down the back), kite (pretend flight), chair (Kangaroo jumps), tiger, upward-facing dog, table.

To easily find each activity, please refer to the alphabetical index on the back flap of this volume.