Yoga for Everyone

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Many adults enjoy and are aware of the rewards of yoga. Yoga stretches tight muscles, builds body awareness, improves endurance, and calms the mind and body. But yoga is now also attracting a younger crowd and teenagers are finding out that yoga can be a fun way to exercise and relax.

This is great news to parents who are finding it more challenging to motivate their children to get physically active. According to 2001 findings of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), physical activity tends to decline rapidly as children get older. Only 64 percent of high school students and just 57 percent of high school girls, participate in vigorous exercise three or more times a week. Worse yet, the CDC found that 10 percent of young people report no recent physical activity at all. The CDC encourages children to engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. According to the National Health Action Nutritional Educational Services, an estimated 15 percent of children age 6 through 19 are overweight and at risk for obesity-related diseases and their associated complications including Type 2 diabetes.

Many teens have relatively few constructive outlets for their excess time and energy or for their stress. They are absorbed in school work. Their parents absorbed in their own work. As a result, when they are not studying, a lot of kids are filling their time with playing video games or surfing the net. Even at school, Physical Educations programs have been reduced. Children who are engaged in physical activities are better able to meet the demands of daily physical activity and gain greater self-esteem, confidence, discipline and school achievement.

Yoga may not look like other forms of exercise to teens, but they will be amazed at how the seemingly simple poses can work out so many areas of their body.

Why Yoga is Different

Sometimes just signing your child up for a team sport or an aerobics class is not the answer. Anyone who can remember feeling shame in high school gym class can relate. If young people do not feel good about their bodies they are not going to want to put on tight clothes and get out in front of other people. For teenagers lacking body confidence, some group activities can backfire causing them to further disconnect from their bodies and actively resist taking care of themselves. Yoga’s emphasis is on self-acceptance which makes it more appealing, a less intimidating way to get active. Yoga stresses a nonjudgmental emphasis on body awareness.

Yoga is not a competitive sport- there are no winners or losers. Yoga can give less confident kids much-needed support from their peers. One someone is has difficulty with a particular pose, often others in the room help them out. Yoga offers teens an opportunity to just relax. Just getting to be –without having to achieve anything in particular- is a huge relief to them.

The Added Benefits of Yoga

Traditional school sports tend to emphasis strength and speed over flexibility. Many teens overlook the importance of stretching. Many often weight train to develop major muscles while ignoring the supportive and opposing muscles which are equally important. Yoga helps correct these imbalances. It can help build endurance and flexibility thereby improving athletic performance. Yoga can enhance ones ability to concentrate and focus. Practicing yoga can also improve posture. Chest-opening postures and inverted poses strengthen arms, shoulders and back muscles which teach young women how to carry their changing bodies with more comfort and confidence.

Yoga also teaches a person to stay calm, centered and focused in the midst of distraction and to let the body relax. This is an important skill for adolescents who are experiencing transitions- physical, emotional, intellectual and relational at a fast past. This time for them is also characterized by peer pressure, social anxiety and stress. Yoga can be an outlet for working out their emotions. It can help teens take control of their anger and frustration and find alternative ways to deal with them rather than reacting right away.

Let Them Try

If your teen has expressed interest or you suspect they may enjoy trying it, investigate a few different yoga studios in your area. Let your teen sample classes to find the best fit for them. There are a variety of styles. Part of the experience is the group energy so a live class is best to begin rather than home DVD or books. In addition taking classes with your child may not be the best idea, as many teens are self-conscious around their parents. They need a time to explore their own independence. After a few months, as your teen learns the poses and becomes more comfortable with them, they may be ready to begin a self-guided practice.

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