Jennifer Demas teaching kids yoga. Courtesy/Jacci Gruninger
By JENNIFER DEMAS, RYT200
High Mountain Wellbeing
Los Alamos
As a Kids Yoga Teacher, this week I share a bit about why Kids Yoga is such an important tool in a child’s development.
Kids yoga is not just fitness, fun and games, it is scientifically proven to have positive effects on brain development.
While there are many therapies out there to help children and their parents, not all therapies and modalities are accessible to or well understood by most families. In contrast, kids yoga is both well known and accessible.
What most families don’t know is the profound benefits a yoga practice can have on the brain and the body.
Research has shown that practicing yoga can improve children’s cognitive function, memory, attention span, and ability to self-regulate.
*Yoga involves movement, breath control, and mindfulness, all of which have been shown to positively impact brain development particularly in growing executive functioning.
Yoga is an amazing practice to support building brain neurons which allow children to have more control over their thoughts, as well as improve the physical make-up of their brains.
The more we build neurons the more integrated our brain is. Many neurologists, including the famous Sanjay Gupta, conclude that integrated brains are the key to brain health and longevity.
This practice also includes breathing and taping techniques that can build a stronger immune system and stimulate the production of T cells; cells that are crucial for keeping us healthy.
Yoga techniques provide tools that give children power and confidence in their brains and bodies. It may seem far-fetched that something so easy and fun can make such an amazing and lifelong impact, but research continues to come flooding in proving the benefits of practice.
Kids yoga is fun, but it is also about self-regulation skills, building stronger executive functioning and strong integrated young brains.
I am a certified and registered 200 hour yoga teacher with multiple kids yoga teacher certifications. I have also developed and delivered kids yoga teacher training to yoga teachers interested in working with children.
New to Los Alamos, I bring with me 15 years of experience working with children in many capacities including daycares, state hospitals, behavior therapy, physical therapy, summer camps, and so much more. Out of all the amazing modalities I have seen and experienced, the one I chose to specialize in is Kids Yoga.
I have seen firsthand the amazing results that can happen with a consistent practice. With compound ADHD and dyslexia, I have struggled with self-regulation and executive functioning skills even as an adult.
Once I experienced the amazing benefits of a yoga practice for myself all I could think was, “I wish I had known this as a kid.” I decided to make it my life’s mission to help kids know how their brains and bodies work early in life to prevent or minimize future struggle.
I will be leading two kids yoga classes on Tuesdays at High Mountain Wellbeing – LIttles Yoga (3-5 year olds) 2-2:30 p.m. and Young Yogis (6-10 year olds) 4-4:45 p.m. starting the 2nd week of April.
Visit www.highmountainwellbeing.com for more information.
*Therapeutic Effects of Yoga for Children: A Systematic Review of the Literature, Galantino, Mary Lou PT, PhD, MSCE; Galbavy, Robyn PT, MPT; Quinn, Lauren DPT, Pediatric Physical Therapy 20(1):p 66-80, Spring 2008.
*Yoga for Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Well-Being: Research Review and Reflections on the Mental Health Potentials of Yoga, Ingunn Hagen1,* and Usha S. Nayar.
*Yoga as an Intervention for the Reduction of Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review, Aurora James-Palmer1, Ellen Z. Anderson1, Lori Zucker1, Yana Kofman2 and Jean-Francois Daneault1*, Front. Pediatr.,, Sec. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 8 – 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2020.00078, 13 March 2020
Courtesy/Jacci Gruninger