Firefly Kids Yoga in Westwood MA

This time of year can be both exciting and stressful for kids as they transition out of summer vacation and into the school year. For younger children who are still learning how to be students, the classroom environment itself can be a source of incredible growth and stress. Sitting still at a desk, interacting with peers, cultivating autonomy, and spending time away from home and parents are all new experiences that require a new set of skills. Older children can also feel overwhelmed by academics, homework, and tests, not to mention the complex and often intense social pressures of school. In the middle of all of this, finding time for yoga might not seem like a priority or even a possibility, but there is a growing body of evidence that just a little bit of yoga can have far-reaching benefits for students.

Improved Brain Function
A recent study conducted by the researchers at the University of Illinois found that several markers of cognitive function associated with focusing on and retaining new information improved after just 20 minutes of Hatha Yoga. This is an amazing finding for parents, teachers, and students because it means that real improvement in learning can result from just 20 minutes of yoga!

Lowered Anxiety
Two studies from Harvard and Boston University Medical Center have found that yoga can reduce stress, decrease anxiety, and improve overall mood. If you practice yoga yourself this probably doesn’t seem surprising, but the implications for children, who are still learning to self-regulate emotion and stress responses, are immense.

Boosted Immunity
One of the most surprising and fascinating findings in recent yoga research has shown that yoga can have a positive effect on immune cells—at the genetic level! This means that practicing yoga will help kids stay healthy and avoid illness, which can definitely be a big challenge for students once flu season arrives!

Interpersonal Skills
Some of the most important lessons kids learn in school are not measured by tests. Becoming a successful student and eventually a happy adult requires self-control, self-awareness, perseverance, and resilience—all of which can be learned through yoga practice. In yoga class we focus on breathing and posture, we learn to control our breath, we learn to persevere through difficult poses gracefully, we learn to balance, and we learn to relax. When students take these lessons off the mat and into the classroom, amazing things happen.

Yoga for Kids

As adults we sometimes get stuck thinking about yoga in a specific context (we might think practicing yoga requires us to be still and calm, or to focus in meditative silence for an hour at a time) and that context doesn’t seem very kid-friendly. But actually there are many ways to practice yoga that can be extremely accessible and fun, even for busy families! One of the most exciting findings in these recent studies is that just 20 minutes of yoga can yield real cognitive benefits, and those benefits are immediate! Knowledge of even a few yoga poses and breathing techniques can be a powerful tool for children that will help them excel academically and successfully navigate interpersonal relationships in school and beyond.

Contact us at mailto:fireflykids@fireflyyogama.com to register for classes and get more information.