Benefits of Yoga for Kids Growth and Focus

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Why Yoga Is Important for Kids
• Benefits of Yoga for Kids’ Physical Growth
• Benefits of Yoga for Kids Mental Focus and Concentration
• Emotional and Behavioural Benefits of Yoga for Kids
• Best Yoga Poses for Kids Growth and Focus
• Conclusion

The challenges faced by children today can be overwhelming, particularly with all the distractions that technology provides them, as well as the high expectations placed upon them to excel academically and have multiple extracurricular activities outside of school. Because of this, many children experience stress like adults. Many people assume that yoga is something only grown-ups do; however, it teaches children how to develop the ability to handle life's situations in a calmer fashion and provides them with greater confidence and grace when dealing with everyday situations.

Why Yoga Is Important for Kids

In this modern society, where children are constantly told to "hurry up" and/or "do better", the practice of yoga provides children with an activity that teaches them how to just be. In contrast to competitive sports with clear winners and losers, yoga has no winners or losers; rather, it’s about each individual person and their individual practice of yoga. The importance of yoga for kids -

• Encourages Self-Discovery: Through their practice of yoga, children can begin to recognize their own bodies, how they function, and what they can achieve.
• Provides a Screen-Free Space: Yoga provides children with a physical break from technology-induced neck problems that come from using tablets and smartphones.
• Creates Healthy Habits: Engaging in yoga at a young age can help create an environment for children to develop healthier lifestyles, rather than waiting until they are in their thirties when they are forced to learn the definition of ‘wellness’.

Benefits of Yoga for Kids’ Physical Growth

The kids can have immense benefits by practicing yoga in the growing stage of their lives like:

• Flexibility & Strength: Kids can strengthen their muscles and joints through yoga asanas while also stretching out tight muscles. Kids will develop functional strength and support for their growing bodies.
• Balance & Coordination: Yoga poses like the "Tree Pose"(Vrksasana) combine the body and brain and help develop various gross motor skills to help with coordination in sports and other activities.
• Better Posture: With so many children using desks or technology, their posture is now causing neck strain and headaches. Yoga improves posture by opening the chest and strengthening the upper back muscles.

Benefits of Yoga for Kids Mental Focus and Concentration

If you have ever attempted to get your 7-year-old child to complete their homework task, only to have them get distracted by a fly in the room, you know the difficulty with it. We often refer to this as the “Monkey Mind” where they jump from one thought to another.

1.  The “Drishti” Effect: The term "Drishti" is a word in Yoga describing a "Focal Point" for the practitioner to focus on during balance postures. It helps develop brain pathways to help children be able to ignore distractions.

2. Oxygenating The Brain: Yoga teaches children how to breathe in a deep way using the diaphragm. The more oxygen to the brain can provide benefits such as:

• Improves Clarity of Thinking: When the brain receives a fresh boost of oxygen, it’s like clearing away a thick mental fog. This helps kids process information faster and make better decisions because their minds feel "awake" and sharp rather than sluggish or confused.
• Improves Memory Retention: A well-oxygenated brain acts like a high-speed sponge, making it much easier to "save" and store new information. This helps children remember what they learned in class and recall those facts more accurately when it's time for a test or a project.
• Improved Attention Span on “boring” Tasks: Deep breathing gives the brain the steady energy it needs to stay anchored when things get dull. Instead of their "monkey mind" jumping away to find something more exciting, kids find they have the mental stamina to sit still and finish repetitive homework or chores.

Pro Tip: If your child is stuck trying to do a math problem, have your child do 3 "Lion's Breaths" (big inhale followed by exhaling out with a big ROAR). This helps reset the nervous system and clear the fogginess of the brain.

Emotional and Behavioural Benefits of Yoga for Kids

This is where the magic really happens. Yoga is like a "remote control" for a child’s emotions.

• Develops Emotional Regulation: When children experience an emotion (e.g., anger, disappointment, fear) their first reaction tends to be either an explosive outburst or completely shutting down. Yoga helps children to "hit the pause button" and think before they react emotionally to what has happened to them. With yoga practice, a child will also develop body awareness and learning how to use breath to manage their feelings from their body.
• Build Confidence: A child's successful performing of a pose they have previously thought impossible provides them with self-esteem and self-confidence. These children also learn that they can accomplish incredible things through enough practice and determination to accomplish them.
• Develops Compassion: By promoting kindness towards themselves and others, kids will develop empathy through learning how to respect themselves through the practice of yoga. When kids learn to respect and care for their own bodies, they will naturally learn to respect the rights and feelings of other people.

Best Yoga Poses for Kids Growth and Focus

You don't need a fancy studio to start. You just need a little bit of floor space. Here are the "Greatest Hits" for kids:

Conclusion

Yoga is not about doing it perfectly, but rather about doing it. For children, a "practice" can be made as short as five minutes before going to bed each night or one fun Saturday morning practicing "pigeon poses” (Kapotasana). Children won't become professional yogis, but they will have tools that are useful throughout life. 

When a child learns to use their breath to support them during a hard balance pose, they are also learning how to use their breath to support themselves through hard tests, conflicts on the playground, or stress in the workplace twenty years from now.