Kids

[Guest guest]

Hopefully the subject of the last message will

not deter you from the notion that I am a warm loving

mother of two. Both my kids (6 and 2 1/2) watch me do

yoga and sometimes want to participate. My oldest

takes a yoga class for kids and she also likes to do

the sun salutations from David Swenson's videotape. I

won't let her do anymore because her form is not very

good yet and I'm afraid she may hurt herself. My

youngest will try to do Down Dog. Actually, he's pretty

good, although he always confuses "yoga" and "yogurt"

and will sometimes go into the kitchen and stand by

the refrigerator when I ask him if he wants to do

some yoga. <br><br>I think its great to get your kids

practicing with you, although of course you yourself

probably won't get much of a practice in. My mom practiced

yoga and taught me Padmasana when I was about 5 or 6

and also Eka Pada Sirsasana, so I never even knew

that these were really difficult asanas. I told an

acquaintance about this and she told me that it might be

somekind of karmic result of actions in a past life to be

reborn in a family that exposed me to yoga. So pass the

good karma along to your kids. Who knows, one could be

Krisnamachara reborn!

[Guest guest]

I think itÕs good to expose kids to yoga. Too

often the Òyoga communityÓ is very exclusive of

children and that is understandable -- parents use yoga

time to have some time of their own.<br>The reality of

the practice is pretty much exclusive of kids...

imagine bringing a 3-year old to a Mysore class! Another

factor is that practicing yoga is a fairly new thing for

westerners and there is only the beginning of methods and

teachers for childrenÕs yoga.<br>The best way is what JoJo

is doing, just letting the kids play along when she

does her practice. My kids have grown-up playing along

with me, trying out poses like it is a game. They have

the _Yoga for Kids_ tape and I do that one along with

them. Although the concentration and meditative aspect

totally allude them at this point, but at least they are

getting a clue as to what it is all about. One

interesting aspect is when my daughter wakes up she comes in

and sits to watch me and criticizes my form... very

unnerving. But what I have taught her to to is how to adjust

me which sometimes works well, and other times she

gets rambunctious and jumps on me.<br>Like all things

with kids, the best thing to do early on is lay a

foundation and let things unfold naturally.

[Guest guest]

bring my kids to a yoga class? Ha! that'll be the

day. they can out limber me and out posture me already

and they don't even try. they flip thru swenson's

book and try stuff out when we are looking at a yoga

video at home. my oldest loves to show me how easy

marichy a is (let me see her do it when she has a gut

like me), my youngest, 4 1/2, will just lay there in

upavishta and watch tv. i can't find the name of the

posture my son likes, it's the second series one where

you're on your abd and, with knees bent, you grab your

toes and pull your feet down along your side. he just

puts his feet on the floor, no struggle, it's

like--yeah, that's how they're supposed to go, isn't it? it's

disgusting really. i thought it would be cute to try and get

a photo of them with guruji in carlsbad. he was

delightful with them. he didn't know any better, though, and

jokingly asked, "so do you all do yoga too?" bam, they are

all down on the floor, whipping out their favorite

postures. i couldn't drag them away

[Guest guest]

That's great about your kids - I try and involve

my 4-year-old when I practice, and since I do it

pretty much every day it's a normal thing for him and

often he leaves me alone for an hour and a half!!!

Unimaginable at any other time... Sometimes he watches and

every now and then he goes - I can do that! and does a

pose. He doesn't seem to be that flexible through,

which seems a bit odd, but then again he's not into

pain of any sort and even the sensation of stretching

might deter him. The thing for me is not to force him

into anything. He's good for adjustments (eg Badda

Konasana) and loves chanting the prayer with me. <br>As for

the little one, he's one and a half, very full-on and

I only try and practise when he's sleeping.

Otherwise he sits on my butt as soon as the first upward

dog comes along and won't get off. I know there's

yoga videos and books out there for kids (although we

don't have a TV), are there any really good ones that

would appeal to a half-interested 4 year old?

[Guest guest]

found these videos on amazon, they have some

books as well, just hit their site and search under

yoga for kids and you'll get a start. i'm sure these

videos are available thru yoga stores/sites as well.

amazon was just easiest to search with.<br><br>yogakids

video <br>good reviews on amazon, our kids like

it<br><a

href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6304192703/ref=sim_video/002-1118294\

-2579224

target=new>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6304192703/ref=sim_video/002-1\

118294-2579

224</a><br>ei ei yoga <br>mixed reviews on

amazon<br><a

href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561764019/ref=sim_video/002-1118294\

-2579224

target=new>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561764019/ref=sim_video/002-1\

118294-2579

224</a><br>yoga for children <br>mixed reviews on

amazon<br><a

href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6305234701/ref=sim_video/002-1118294\

-2579224

target=new>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6305234701/ref=sim_video/002-1\

118294-2579

224</a>

[Guest guest]

"He doesn't seem to be that flexible though".

<br><br>I too noticed a distinct falling-off in flexibility

with my two kids (now 10 and 11) between the ages of 5

and 7. Perhaps sitting on chairs at school did it?

Now, although my son spends all his time playing

football and my daughter does a lot of dancing (jazz and

ballet), neither can even touch their toes!! My ashtanga

teacher (who is also an osteopath and physio) advises

strongly against formal yoga for growing children - except

as a fun thing (copying dad - and usually outdoing

him!).<br><br>I also question the value of intensive training in

any sport for youngsters. A schoolfriend of my

daughter - age 10 - spends all her weekends at gymnastics

competitions and is already starting to develop serious back

problems.<br><br>Funny, isn't it? Most of us are born with reasonably

perfect bodies - we let it all go and then spend the rest

of our life trying to get it back ...<br><br>(Dave's

"Thought for Wednesday")

[Guest guest]

skinnda,<br><br>you're so right...<br>but yeah,

you hear all this stuff about kids being naturally

flexible, and I think you can't generalize. People are just

different from the start. Touching toes, that's what I

meant with Tai (my 4-year-old), but then he'll sit in

(what we call) Badda Konasana no worries!! I don;t try

to make him do anything at all, but if he wants to

join in, cool. i'm happy that he lets me practice

almost every day!!<br><br>Dani

[Guest guest]

Thanks heaps for the video stuff okrgrl! I had to

smile at the notion of yoga stores - here in tropical

far north Queensland there's no such thing!!! I'm

constantly amazed at how many people turn up for my ashtanga

classes, even though I'm still struggling through first

series just like they are. there's just almost nobody

really advanced around here. Yoga classes for kids are

on the wish list too, but nobody can get that sort

of training.<br>Amazon works though, i'll check it

out. And maybe we'll even get a tv, hehehe

[Guest guest]

Yup, the _Yoga Kids_ video is the best of the three.<br>It stresses breathing

thrughout and begins to introduce<br>kids to meditation concepts.

[Guest guest]

Funny, I have been practicing so long with my

kids around, I hardly even notice when my three year

old jumps on my back during upward dog, or plays

piggie back during downward dog. Its a constant reminder

for me, to keep it fun. Sometimes I get too serious,

or intense ("greedy") by trying to touch my head to

my knees, or put my leg behind my head. He reminds

me that this is fun. Also, he has sort of been a

natural yogi teacher to me. While watching him learn to

walk a few years ago, I noticed he crawled into a

downward dog position, then tried to stand. He would fall,

only to try again and again. One day he just stood and

walked. Much the same as me when I tried the

Urdhvadhanurasana, I tried and tried, and one day "bam" I was up.

Hopefully one day "BAM", I will be able to do the jump

throughs gracefully, or the handstands, or just about any

pose for that matter. I do think its important not to

"push" yoga on to our kids, but also I feel its

important to "lead by example" and practice where they can

internalize it by observing. Planting a seed if you will.

[Guest guest]

My kids (3 years old and 1 & 5/6 years old)

enjoyed the Yoga Kids video, but I have found that they

prefer to use the book:<br><br>Fly Like a Butterfly :

Yoga for Children<br>by Shakta Kaur Khalsa <br><br>We

get out the mats, ring the mindfulness bell and then

they (usually the 3 year old) pick out postures they

want to try.<br><br>Om Shanti,<br><br>Shambhala

[Guest guest]

I remember reading in a physiology text that

pre-adolescent/early adolescent kids are commonly less flexible (as

measured by a sit and reach toe touch test) than older and

younger children. Something about their body proportions?

Or how their muscles are ajdusting to growth? I

can't really remember--I mostly just remember the

pictures of the little kid and big kid touching their

toes, while the middle kid wasn't even close.