Bengaluru

Yoga for Children: A need in today’s digital age

Dr Palak Dengla

BENGALURU: How often have you found your child glued to multiple digital screens and felt helpless about it? Are you concerned about your child’s health, mind and future? After all, temper tantrums, reduced attention span, lethargy, poor memory, decreased immunity, obesity and junk food cravings are all on the rise these days.

If children continue to be unhappy despite getting everything delivered at lightning speed, it will affect their patience (mind) and blood circulation (blood pressure). A non-content attitude will deviate their focus on unimportant things, making them uncompetitive, physically slower and argumentative, with less appreciation for the environment.

So, let us combat this threat together before it spoils our future generations. It is important to decode the principles of our ancestral science of movement and calmness, Yoga, on the human body and mind. Acknowledging the environment, our children should be able to harness the power of the sun and accept the calmness of the moon by performing Suryanamaskars on waking up and Chandranamaskars at dusk.

Both the salutations are a comprehensive and fun workout for children, comprising eight powerful postures incorporating breath control, postural movements and meditation.

Children aged eight years and above should do the Namaskar series once a day; first slow with about 3-5 repetitions to improve mental skills, and then fast around 10-15 repetitions to improve cardio fitness.
The benefits of Namaskars for children are many, among them are digital detox, reducing digital obsession, improving imagination and creativity. Secondly, they calm the nervous system and increase patience, self-awareness, confidence and help overcome stage fright.The author is a yoga therapist, Aster RV Hospital

Benefits of children practising yoga

Improves Memory and Attention Span
Practising yoga encourages children to have a clearer mind and focus in their academic performance and extra-curricular activities. Yoga is also beneficial for children suffering from special disorders like ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) by reducing some of its core symptoms like hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattentiveness

Development of healthy eating habit in kids
Yoga helps in developing healthy eating habits in children which helps in maintaining calm and focused mind-set. Yoga teaches self- acceptance and builds confidence. Yoga allows children to learn and move at their own pace in mastering new poses which helps in building confidence by creating a flow between their body and mind. An added advantage by learning yoga at a young age are incredibly valuable lessons helping in fight the increasing feelings of self- doubt that a child faces during their teenage and beyond

Improves balance
Systemic breathing and exercise are an integral part of yoga and balancing both are very essential to achieve its benefits

Yoga enhances immunity
Children often fall sick due to lack of immunity in their body. Yoga helps in overcoming it by stimulating the nerves, endocrine, digestive and circulatory systems which enhances their functioning. Some asanas and deep breathing techniques assists in safeguarding one from falling prey to germs causing diseases

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