kids love yoga!

Lori and I have been teaching Yoga 4 Youth classes since September.  In that time we've seen our students get more flexible, stronger and more able to relax.  The middle school students tell us how much the yoga has helped them deal with stress at school.  The younger ones still like to ask us why we can't do the super bendy poses that they can do!  We have learned so much from all of these students in the past few months.  It's been so amazing to bring real yoga to these kids.  We do have fun, we do laugh, but we also do real poses, call them the sanskrit name and explain what muscles are being used and how to protect them.


Being school teachers, Lori and I know that we don't have to dumb things down for kids, we just have to explain it a bit differently than we do to adults.  I think it's awesome that our students know what a "midline" is and that if they hug into their midline during a balancing pose, it gets easier!  Of course, we also have a ton of fun playing "freeze yoga" and doing partner poses like "lizard on a rock".  What has been the most fun, is watching our students open up and try new things.  They are so willing to dive right in and see how bright they can truly shine.  They are a constant inspiration to both of us.


The fact that we get to teach our own children in our classes just adds to the delight!  Lori has two boys, I have two girls, and they all love doing yoga.  It's so great that at such an early age they are learning the skills they need to deal with stress, to take care of their bodies and to know that their own potential is limitless.  Maybe, just maybe, they will not suffer from migraines because of stress, or suffer sports injuries because of overuse and under-stretching, or maybe they'll just feel good about being themselves.  Hey, all of those options are great reasons for all of us to do yoga.


The bottom line is that yoga is great for everyone!  We feel blessed to teach yoga to both kids and adults.  We will be blogging about our experiences on this path, giving suggestions for kids to do at home to further their practice and even posting interviews with our young students.  Thanks for reading and feel free to post your own comments and questions.