When stuck in the house, it is often difficult to come up with enough activities, to stay calm, peaceful, and prevent extreme outbursts. Since we could not drive to the gym, I bought a kids yoga DVD and an adult yoga DVD. I wasn’t sure how well the DVD would go over, for me I need the energy of other human bodies to drive me and push me forward in a work out. While the television did not offer the energy and heat of other bodies, it did offer us an hour of fun, laughs, and a little work out. My five year old has gone to kids yoga at our gym and loves it. After her first yoga class, she was teaching me poses, "Mommy this is how you do tree pose". She’s been in gymnastics and dance so she was very attentive and excited to do yoga with mommy. My son on the other hand was less interested and brought his tool box in to play with, crawled under us, and climbed on top of us. However, mommy doing yoga was like an extra playmate to wrestle on the floor with him and he laughed and laughed crawling under and on top of us. Regardless of his distractions, my daughter and I pushed through and felt great afterwards. Some benefits I have gained from yoga include; better focus, better sleep and less difficulty falling asleep, and more patience with the kids.

I have found that my mood has a direct and indirect influence on how the kids are feeling and functioning. When I am sleepy, irritable, and easily angered with my kids, it seems to affect my daughter’s mood because she feels sad and withdraws or get cranky to. My son is the opposite of us because he acts out more and feels angry. I can always tell how my daughter is feeling, she is an extrovert and very transparent. Her feelings are shown on the outside. I can even ask her to express verbally how she feels and she not only appropriately identifies the feelings, she also expresses them, a skill a lot of adults don’t even have. So the little time I have with my kids to influence and teach them I want it to be peaceful, hopeful, and positive time.

Yoga has helped me develop inner awareness, attention to mindfulness and relaxation. If I can teach my daughter even one of those valuable skills to cope with life's ups and downs before high school, I would feel very fortunate for her success to deal with life's difficulties. I have taught my children to take deep breaths when they get frustrated, mad, or sad. Just to be aware of the breath helps them have an advantage in coping with academic and peer pressure. Breath work also has great benefits for helping regulate emotional state, be aware of reactions and consequences, and develop internal check ins. My favorite part of yoga is the meditation and attention to breath work at the end, because on my own I am lousy at taking time to breathe or meditate. I hope for my children that I can model that mindfulness and attention to breathing, so that it is a skill that carries with them to school. 

Here’s the benefits of yoga for kids:

Enhances physical flexibility

Refines balance and coordination

Develops focus and concentration

Boosts Self-Esteem and Confidence

Strengthens the Mind-Body Connection

Benefits for mom’s doing yoga too:

Encourages overall health and wellness

Relieves stress

Greater elimination of toxins

Build core strength

Improves posture for long term health effects

Increases endurance and flexibility

Mental endurance and physical stamina

Some suggestions that I have used and Love:

This is a Yoga Book for kids and I have used it in a Teen Group with girls who were sexually abused, with my five year old, and with individual clients in therapy. They even have cards to use when in a group setting and instructing kids into different poses. This book is great for all ages!!!

Here is the DVD we used, we loved the ABC's video,there are lots out there:

THIS Book is great for the younger or beginner YOGI'S:

So why not become a Yogi and get your kids involved in building concentration, strength and focus.

Playful Blessings,

Dr. Brooke