Yoga for young minds

“Yoga is like music: the rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.”— B. K. S. IYENGAR.

 Yoga is the union of body, mind and soul. It is the ancient science of self-realization—a systematic method of observing the mind, mastering the breath, and stilling the fluctuations of consciousness to directly experience our true nature as one with the Universe. This, in essence, is what each of us is invited to practice: a lifelong journey of learning about our existence and nurturing our deepest well-being.                                                                                                                                 

If we truly understand the significance of yoga and its deep connection to who we are, why would we not offer it as a foundation to our children i.e our young minds? Planted early, it gives them the chance to live deeply, experience fully, and walk their unique paths with richness and awareness. There are different ways we can introduce yoga to our young minds. A great place to start is by making it playful and imaginative.

Using nature explorations, animal adventures and storytelling one can ignite the passion and imagination in their minds and build the curiosity which could lead them to try the poses of animals like cat or cow pose, butterfly pose, frog jumps etc which could encourage them to stay focused and concentrate better. As for nature explorations, being in a tree pose or mountain pose would give them a glimpse of learning balance and staying calm and peaceful.   

Breathing, which is an important aspect in yoga and everything revolves around it, one can teach them that breath is the secret tool they can operate to conduct their inhalation and exhalation effectively. Deep slow breathing, or exhaling like a bumblebee, making sounds like a lion breathing out are some of the ways to teach about the importance of letting out the air and the unwanted energies helping them to relax and bring clarity of thought.

Mindfulness and focus games can play another interesting method to capture young minds’ attention and keep them occupied. The silent game, Freeze dance and so on will give them a chance to observe and stay silent even if it’s for a few seconds or minutes which is like meditation in disguise.Also making them chant sounds like ‘om’ or certain rhythmic patterns would be beneficial.

Emotional Intelligence is just as important as caring for our body, mind, and energy. It is vital to help the young minds to understand and befriend their feelings. How they feel when they come across certain situations, how they respond and what makes them feel happy or otherwise. What is compassion, love, joy etc.

Expressing creativity and connection is important as it is an expression of one’s creative quotient and how they are evolving. Making them form groups to do role play or play games enhancing soft skills, moral values would be engaging and fun. 

Along with some of these ways there can be various other approaches like integrating yoga in the form of small exercises everyday making it a wellness ritual and just soak in the joy of exploring, where we can introduce and encourage our little, young and bright minds to realize the nature of this life and the possibilities it offers and how to reverberate with the infinite nature of this universe.

Once a young mind is exposed to an environment of healthy and nourishing values, we significantly increase our chances of raising a joyful, profound, responsible and conscious human being. And it is these individuals who will be instrumental in making the world a better place for everyone.

To learn more about it, let’s hear what Sadhguru says about yoga for children