Are you looking for ways to connect with your children? Perhaps you want a healthy activity that you can both participate in. Getting children involved in an active lifestyle from an early age can be incredibly beneficial, and practicing along with your kids can be beneficial to everyone.
We have an idea of a healthy and entertaining activity that can be done with your kids pretty much at any age: yoga! Yoga has been around for centuries and has hundreds of proven benefits, even for children! This post will take a look at the benefits of doing yoga with your kids for both you and them.
Whether or not you already have a yoga practice established, inviting your kids to join you and spending the time together can be special. Let’s take a look at 5 reasons you should do yoga with your kids.
Establish healthy habits at a young age.
Children form habits, even at very young ages. Establishing a yoga practice from the time they are young can be extremely beneficial to them in the long run, as it gives them the opportunity to build not only a physical practice, but a spiritual one as well.
Starting yoga at a young age can help build lean muscle, boost the immune system, and increase coordination and flexibility. When children start healthy habits at a young age, they are more likely to continue them throughout their life. Obviously, habits take time to perform and having some consistency is important in establishing these habits. Yoga is not only a physical exercise, but it can also be a lifestyle, and when introduced to young children, it can really help to shape who they become.
Strengthen the family bond.
A family that does yoga together stays together! Taking the time to do any sort of activity with your kids is so important. It strengthens the bond you have with them and encourages open communication.
Yoga is no exception! In fact, this is an amazing way to spend time with your kids while teaching them healthy habits and getting in some physical activity. Because yoga is all about connecting – within your body, mind, and spirit – it can also help to deepen the connection with your child. Yoga can also be a fun activity to do together!
Yoga isn’t always silent and strategic. Have some fun with it. Try out some silly poses. Play around with breathwork. The time you spend with your kid doing yoga will be one that you and they will remember for a long time to come.
Improve physical and mental health.
As we’ve already seen, yoga has several benefits when practiced by anyone, children and adults. Practicing yoga regularly can not only improve your physical health, but can also help to improve mental health as well.
Studies have shown that yoga can help to boost brain power and decrease, or even prevent, memory loss. It also boosts concentration, which is important in both children and adults. This can help with school, work, and many other things in life.
Boost your kids’ self-esteem.
In practicing yoga, self-esteem is boosted. Yoga brings more confidence to the practitioner; especially children because the focus is not on the outcome, but on the practice itself. Also, the more one practices, the better they become at the more challenging poses.
This is always a great way to bond with your child and bring their confidence to a higher level. Plus, the level of solidarity between family members when practicing challenging poses has increased exponentially. Everyone is cheering everyone on and it makes everyone feel good in the end.
Decrease stress and increase calmness.
Everyone knows that sometimes things get heated amongst family members. There are many things that can bring stress to the household. However, practicing yoga, especially together among family members, can decrease that stress and bring a sense of calmness and tranquility to the family.
Yoga gives you a way to deal with stress that is not exploding, yelling, or crying. It gives you and your children an outlet and a way of calming the mind and soothing the soul. This can bring peace to the homestead in very obvious ways. Instead of fighting and yelling, your family can use some breathing techniques or yoga poses to defuse the situation and think more calmly and clearly. It is a win-win for everyone.
If you are considering starting a yoga practice, then think about including your children as well. They can benefit just as much as you can. Plus, it is an excellent bonding experience for everyone involved.
You can have fun, spend time together, and introduce healthy habits into your children’s lives. Everyone will come out on top when you practice yoga with your kids. Another suggestion: invest in non-slip, natural yoga mats, made from cork or jute. That way practice is made easier for everyone, and you are setting the example of living and buying sustainably for your children.
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