The Benefits of Yoga for Kids: 10 People Share Their Stories
Today, I would love to share with you ten stories from our Kids Yoga Stories community that demonstrate the benefits of yoga for kids.
Scroll to the bottom of the post for a chance to win 10 yoga books for kids!
Last year, we sent out a newsletter asking if anyone was interested in boxes of free old-edition yoga books from Kids Yoga Stories. Hundreds of responses came flooding in from teachers, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, counselors, parents, yoga teachers, recreational staff, and caregivers worldwide.
Each one talked about stress that affects children: broken homes, anxiety, school testing, overscheduling, special needs, and trauma. And they all shared how yoga has changed the lives of children in their communities. Yoga has brought calm, clarity, and connection to their diverse communities with children of varying abilities and needs. Yoga knows no boundaries.
The common thread running through all the responses was the strong desire to make a difference in the lives of children. But as Susan, a teacher, said, “The high budget/lack of funding that is typical of most public schools these days makes it difficult to get required items to feed a budding yoga program.”
I heard from so many people doing amazing work, sometimes with hardly any funding. In honor of their inspiring efforts, Kids Yoga Stories would like to give you the chance to share in their passion by entering for a chance to win 10 Free Yoga Books (see link at bottom of the post).
Ten Stories Sharing the Benefits of Yoga for Kids
1. All my students need their yoga time.
Thirty percent of our student body has a certified learning difference. I like to describe our students as diversely gifted. All students are more stressed than we imagine, and students with learning differences are more stressed than general learners. All my students need their yoga time. Having more of your yoga books will bring much-needed enjoyment and stress relief to a group of beautiful little souls working very hard to learn and grow into happy, healthy human beings. – Sherry
2. Help my students gain strength, flexibility, and self-regulation.
We are an inclusive preschool for children with and without disabilities, both intellectual and physical. Yoga is extremely beneficial for our students. Having a library of books for our teachers and therapists to utilize and guide their practice will have huge benefits for our students and help them gain strength, flexibility, and self-regulation. – Tara
3. My students have fun, relax, and feel empowered in our short yoga sessions.
The elementary aged kids living in the residential care facility have a variety of mental health and behavioral needs. However, when they come to the mat to practice with me, all that falls away. They are able to have fun, to relax, and to feel empowered in our short sessions. Like most of us, they don’t always want to come to yoga, but they’re always glad they did. I hear them buzzing about it through the rest of the day and see them teaching poses to teachers, tutors, parents, clinicians. Having books available would provide the youth and their direct care staff with resources to fuel their practice through the rest of the week. It would give them the confidence to make their practice their own. – Liz
4. Yoga is a tool that can follow into adulthood with, a good foundation.
We have a few children with disabilities that would greatly benefit from children’s yoga to aide them physically/emotionally as well as the other children. We do controlled breathing as a relaxation/calming technique, which is very effective. I believe teaching children yoga at this stage of life is a tool they can follow into adulthood with, a good foundation. – JeanMarie
5. I have seen behavior improvement with the kids who have taken yoga with me.
I work at a Boys and Girls Club. It is an afterschool program for children six to twelve years old. I have been teaching yoga there for a year now, and the children love it and even the parents of the children. The kids love to look at the yoga cards I already have. I feel with these yoga books, the children can read them on their own and can do yoga with their friends. I can also use the yoga books to plan yoga lessons. These children that attend the boys and girls club, the majority are children at risk and come from low-income families. They experience violence, domestic violence, death, single-parent home, homelessness, foster care, etc. I have seen behavior improvement with the kids who have taken yoga with me. – Ashley
6. Yoga can be a glimpse of calmness, peace, and harmony.
We get a lot of children with emotional and anger problems in our Head Start Preschool program. The children see so much more in their young lives than I have ever seen. I believe with my whole heart and soul that yoga can be a glimpse of calmness, peace, and harmony. They are fighting so much. We have instituted a calming peace area where children may go when they feel the need to be by themselves and calm down. It is used a lot. The yoga books would be such a beneficial addition to that area. We could read the books, do the yoga, then the children can do the yoga themselves. – Cherie
7. Many of our children benefit from activities that involve postural and core strengthening.
Our pediatric therapy clinic offers speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy for children ages 0-21. Many of our children benefit from activities that involve postural and core strengthening. Yoga offers a new and fun way for these children to get strong as well as to improve so many areas of performance during their day. Our therapists will use these yoga books throughout the clinic. For example, our physical therapists may use these poses primarily for strengthening and necessary weightshifting for walking, running, and climbing. Our occupational therapists may benefit from these books in that yoga, through its core strengthening, also improves body awareness, self-regulation, motor planning, bilateral coordination, improved vestibular processing, and additional stability for the upper extremities, which is needed for handwriting and fine motor tasks. Our speech therapists will also be able to use these books in her treatment sessions while children are working on pointing to receptive vocabulary, general print awareness, objects, colors, and verbs. – Beth
8. Yoga helps us to focus and accomplish all of our academic tasks in the school day.
I teach a program from students K-5 with special needs. We have students affected with autism, down syndrome, and issues that impact cognitive and behavioral functioning. We want to provide every student with strategies that help promote the very best person that they can be. Yoga helps us to find the calm that lies within our spirit so that we can focus and accomplish all of our academic tasks throughout the school day. – Denise
9. My students are achieving many milestones and overcoming growth obstacles.
I work for a small privately owned childcare center. After working with children for the past ten years, I’ve seen a decline in their mental and physical growth. I’ve been strengthening my own yoga practice for about two years now, and after conferring with many parents and colleagues, I decided to start training to teach children safe and beneficial yoga practices. The difference teaching has made just in this short year and a half is so profound and rewarding. They are achieving many milestones and overcoming growth obstacles. – Sonya
10. Yoga is more accessible to children when it is incorporates the various learning styles.
I work for a children’s mental health organization where we provide service, advocacy, and support to many families, children, and youth struggling with symptoms of trauma. As we know, when responding to trauma, we need a “bottom up” approach. We need to engage the senses and teach the child to be comfortable in their own body before we can focus on cognitive-based interventions. That’s where yoga comes in. I find that yoga is far more accessible to children and youth when it is incorporates the various learning styles–the visuals of books and the storylines make the concepts engaging and help cement the teachings. – Kim
10 People from our Community Share the Benefits of Yoga for Kids
Enter to Win 10 Free Yoga Books for Kids
Would you like ten free yoga books for your organization? One random winner will choose ten yoga books of their choice from our Kids Yoga Stories Shop.
Please fill out this GIVEAWAY FORM to let me know how these yoga books would benefit you and your organization. In return for the free books, I would love to hear how your children enjoy the yoga books.
Contest Rules:
1. Entries are open worldwide.
2. You can be any age to enter.
3. No purchase is necessary.
4. Kids Yoga Stories accept no responsibility or liability for any injuries or losses that may result from practicing the yoga poses in the books. Please ensure your own safety and the safety of the children.
5. You must enter the giveaway with a valid e-mail address. The winner will be notified by e-mail, and at that time, we will request a mailing address. If the winner doesn’t respond within 72 hours, we’ll pick another winner. The shipping of the book can take some time, depending on the winner’s location. Kids Yoga Stories will cover the shipping costs.
6. The winner will be picked randomly.
7. If you have any questions, e-mail Giselle directly at giselle at kidsyogastories dot com.
8. Your email will automatically be added to our weekly Kids Yoga Stories newsletter list. You may unsubscribe at any time if the content isn’t the right fit for you.
9. The contest closes on Tuesday, June 13th, 2017 at midnight EST.
Thanks for participating in our 10 Yoga Books for Kids Giveaway!
Enter the 10 YOGA BOOKS FOR KIDS GIVEAWAY HERE >>
Enter the 10 Yoga Books for Kids Giveaway here >>
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