Helena G. Vancells

yoga and mindfulness

Yoga and mindfulness are more important than ever in today’s competitive and busy world. Children need accessible tools to relax and improve self-regulation. I’ve found that sharing Yoga and mindful breathing exercises with children can be tremendously useful for them when navigating difficult emotional situations, like frustration, sadness, and disappointment. The results of this work are calmer, less impulsive children who are better learners.

Children's Yoga combines poses (Asanas) through movement games, story-telling, music, visualizations, relaxation exercises and breathing techniques to develop self-esteem and body strength and flexibility in a non-competitive setting.

Mindfulness practices were introduced in the West by Jon Kabat-Zinn MD, who designed Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) to assist people in a hospital setting. It has proven to be beneficial for adults and children in different settings as well. It uses a combination of mindfulness meditation, body awareness, and Yoga. Research on mindfulness in youth has been shown to raise test scores, reduce impulsivity, enhance well-being, and build executive functioning.

 

Psychologist Daniel Rachenfield states that Mindfulness is about connecting deeply with our minds and bodies to realize how very often we disconnect from ourselves. The paradigm of Mindfulness is not about being quiet and happy. The real purpose of Mindfulness is to reach a deeper understanding of who we are and what our connection is to the world around us. As he explained at the Mindfulness and Education Conference organized by the Omega Institute in March 2015, “We are in a head-based culture, especially in the West. Mindfulness brings the opportunity to be able to zero us out. To help children land in their bodies through relaxation techniques, breathing, sensory awareness and yoga exercises”. Research has shown  that basic body-awareness and basic relaxation are needed in order to learn.

Yoga means union, the connection between both the physical body and the spiritual mind. Practicing both Asana (poses) and Pranayama (breathing) exercises, help to create a balance between mind and body. They work together in order to achieve overall strength, flexibility and well-being.

 

In a children's Yoga class, we practice Yoga postures and breathing exercises to instill these long term goals and benefits. Children are learning techniques to help their bodies become healthier, stronger and more relaxed.

 

We move in every pose - dancing, marching, hopping, skipping - with accents on stillness throughout the class, and finish with a relaxation exercise. Children love practicing Yoga, learning the poses, connecting with their own bodies and connecting with others when doing group poses.

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