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 Health & Beauty | July 2005 
Yoga for Kids
 Sughey Banos - El Universal
In this modern world it seems harder and harder for children to relax and just be kids; life has become so demanding, and things are passing by so fast, there's hardly time to breathe.
All of this can lead to many serious difficulties in life, from behavior problems to unmanageable stress. Yoga can offer kids an alternative in which they can learn to enjoy, and see with new eyes, the best stage of their life.
Yoga is a thousand-year-old discipline that was born in India, in the search to unify the mind, body and spirit hence its meaning of "union" in Sanskrit.
But you don't need to bring your children to that corner of the world in order to appreciate it. In Mexico City there is Agora Lucis, an excellent place to get your little ones started in the subject.
Yoga specialist Veronica Márquez explains that the discipline removes blockages to energy. She also says that you can't consider yoga a sport, because it doesn't focus on physical look and competition. "We're trying to build noncompetitiveness, which is opposite of what today's society is promoting, everyone wants to be the best, to work hard for results. This is a free space, where children can participate without any expectations placed upon them. We help them to remove stress and pressure," she said.
The yoga that children and grown-ups practice is very different, Veronica said, beginning with the energy level. Also, the kids don't have the consciousness to understand the commitment that the formal practice involves, and because of that they look only to establish the foundations.
Their program is founded on the idea of multiple intelligences, of Howard Gardner, in which he postulates that we all have at least eight: kinesthetic (muscular force and energy), musical, visual, ecological, linguistic, mathematical logic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal (your relationship with yourself); the idea is to work with all of them in order to help equalize and develop the child.
She recommends that kids from the ages of three or four can start to learn the art form. Anyone can practice it, including those with physical limitations, though it may require that you have an instructor who can customize your training to specifically deal with special needs.
Seriousness is not a key element in yoga classes for kids. When they enter, they sit in a circle next to the professor, they relax, and they begin to chat about any theme related to the class. They later move on to working on postures, structured play and finally a hands-on activity to end the class. Fun is definitely a fundamental component of each lesson, which is always developed around the central theme.
For many kids finding yoga could be the key to a healthier, saner life. |
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