Yogaaaah: Its Benefits for You and Your Kids
I remember the first time I tried yoga. It wasn’t completely of free will. Up until that morning, I thought yoga and its buddy, pilates, where some kind of granola-y form of useless exercise. Like Lamaze breathing during labor: it sounds good but doesn’t do a damn thing. (At least that was my experience…)
But then my parenting group invited an exercise instructor to give us an intro to yoga. Given it was a small group of friends, and I wasn’t going to miss my favorite social hour just because I was skeptical of yoga, I took my place on a borrowed mat.
The first pose we tried was child’s pose. Our guest instructor knew exactly what she was doing. If you want to get anyone hooked on yoga, definitely start out in child’s pose. Tired moms with back issues relating to pregnancy LOVE child’s pose. I honestly could sleep in child’s pose. Child’s pose had me hooked!
We tried a few other stretches and positions, often grunting and giggling our way through. It wasn’t long after that I bought an inexpensive yoga mat and a DVD so I could practice at home.
I didn’t practice often, trying to squeeze 15 minutes in here and there during my daughter’s naptime. If she woke in the middle of my down-dog, she would come join me on the floor. It was like playtime. One of my favorite memories.
But it wasn’t enough. Little did I know how good yoga was for the heart and mind. I had struggled with anxiety and mild depression off-and-on for years, and having three small children and a husband who worked a stressful, 80-hour-a-week job triggered those old familiar feelings. I visited a counselor. She recommended…wait for it…yoga, three times a week.
So I took her advice. But not in the solitude of my home. I bought a membership to a local yoga studio and practiced with a group. Turns out, part of the high of yoga is doing it with other live humans, much like my first experience on a mat. And it didn’t hurt that this particular studio had a wall of windows that offered a tranquil view of a lake. Natural light. Peaceful, lapping waves.
Yogaaaah…indeed.
I found yoga, the breathing, the movement, the community to be more relaxing, grounding and mental-satisfying than any antidepressant or counseling session. It really was good therapy. My mood improved. There was one memorable time when doing savasana, or final rest, that I was in tears. The tension in my neck went away. In fact, I haven’t had trouble with my neck since, because of yoga.
My own story aside, here are some of the other benefits from practicing yoga regularly:
Physically, yoga can
- improve your balance, flexibility and overall strength.
- be a great cross-training modality to help prevent injury.
- correct poor posture.
- perhaps enhance immunity.
- increase energy.
- aid in weight loss.
Mentally, yoga can:
- improve sleep.
- stimulate the ability to focus.
- sharpen critical thinking skills.
- increase happiness and confidence.
- reduce depression and anxiety.
- enhance our attention to inner cues, like satiety, and to mindful eating…the enjoyment and savoring of our meals, both of which aid in weight management.
A practice that has been around for 5,000 can’t be a fad. It’s not just an elaborate game of “Simon Says” or an exercise in remembering which is your right hand and which is your left (although both must contribute to developing that mental focus and acuity…), And kids can reap these same benefits, too. Consider trying a beginners’ class with your local YMCA or community rec center. Both likely have sessions for kids as well (or for even more fun, parent-kid classes). Not sure you want to head out and practice yoga with a group? Sign up for a free trial with an online yoga studio like youryogaflow.com.
And as always, Namaste. Translation (sanskrit, spiritual):
the divine in me respectfully recognizes the divine in you.
One last thing: I do not receive any benefit or kickback from mentioning youryogaflow.com. Well, not in financial terms. In full disclosure this website is my go-to when I can’t get to a “live” yoga class.
