4 reasons to practice yoga with your child

Yoga offers a multitude of benefits to kids and grown-ups alike. If you need a little convincing, read on: here are four great reasons to make a regular yoga practice a part of both of your lives.

The world is busier than ever, and both children and adults experience stress in their everyday lives. With demanding school schedules, extracurricular activities, and troubling increases in screen time, your child may have little time to relax and decompress.

Yoga offers both the young and young at heart a critical mental break from the hustle and bustle of life. It gives kids a chance to benefit from some quality downtime.

If you've ever taken a yoga class, you'll be familiar with the peace of Savasana, a simple pose that encourages complete relaxation of the body and mind. Wouldn't you like to help your child experience this feeling too?

Yoga doesn't just strengthen the body — it also strengthens the mind. Over-stimulation abounds nowadays, and yoga can help. People who practice the discipline learn to focus on their breath and body while connecting with what's happening on the inside instead of being distracted by their surroundings.

This ability carries over into daily life: yoga helps with concentration at the office, in the classroom and around the house.

Yoga can also help foster a deeper sense of calm and relaxation.

Yoga enhances balance while improving posture and alignment. Kids gain an increased sense of body awareness and the self-confidence that comes with recognizing their own growing strength. What’s more, kids who feel stronger are more confident in their own capabilities and potential.

A regular yoga practice has been shown to improve circulation, flexibility, sleep and mood. For athletes, yoga can help prevent injuries, promote recovery and improve performance in other physical activities.

Yoga is a non-competitive, self-paced activity that allows kids and adults alike to feel a sense of accomplishment in a safe setting. Movements and postures are highly individualized, allowing each person to move according to their own comfort level.

From simple meditation poses to more challenging postures, yoga courses offer participants a sense of progress based on their own individual abilities, not those of the people around them.

Many yoga studios offer courses designed for parents and kids. And what better way to teach your child healthy lifelong habits than by adopting this healthy practice together?