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WHY YOGA FOR CHILDREN? The benefits of yoga for children are numerous. Yoga provides balance and downtime, and helps encourage introspection and awareness of self. The constant stimulation and over-scheduling we experience as adults makes no exception for children, who are perhaps even more sensitive and more affected by it. Beyond offering our children an opportunity to strengthen their bodies and quiet their minds, yoga is thought to offer far reaching medical benefits: A growing body of evidence suggests that yoga can have dramatic effects on conditions such as Autism and ADD/ADHD, for which we have become accustomed to prescribing medication. It is astonishing to consider that something as simple and pure as yoga can provide such multifaceted benefits: strength, flexibility, focus, calm, and self esteem.
We encourage children to connect to their bodies, minds, and to the earth. We encourage them to get out of the house, away from technology and back into the natural surroundings, which welcomes them. We persuade children to look at the world with eyes that are open to new ideas. We support a world where children have no racism or prejudice.
Yoga instructors working with children have consistently found that children identify with yoga through the theme of animals in their instruction. Children practice yoga by imitating animals and nature, and by using music, art, and storytelling. Based on this common ground, Sasha and Mishoo: Little Yoga Warriors will become a wonderful addition to children’s yoga groups.
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