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Getting a little time for ourselves as parents can be tricky. And at any age,stress can keep us from eating right, sleeping right and let’s face it acting right. We feel it and so do our children, so instead of trying to carve out a few precious minutes each day to de-stress alone, why not make it a family affair?
By introducing yoga into your family, you and your children can take part in an ancient tradition that seeks to connect mind, body and spirit. Whether they are 3 or 13, they can work with you on building their core muscles, breathing techniques, empowerment, letting go of stress, mindfulness… there is just so much yoga offers!
But where do you begin? We scoped out some great ideas for getting started! Here are a few of our favorites.
Try Partner Yoga
If you’ve been thinking about trying some yoga out with your kids to help you both relax and reconnect, try out these poses from Kids Yoga Stories. Not only might you find bedtime to be less stressful, you might discover you all really like yoga.
For Younger Kids, Let Them Watch You at First
According to an article on Rhythms of Play, kids 3 and under benefit by just watching you practice at first. While you don’t need to make them sit still and watch you, keeping the electronics off during this special time is key.
Get Kids a Yoga Mat that Fits Them
One size does not fit all when it comes to yoga mats. Per this article on Yoga Journal, kids feel safer when they have a yoga mat that fits them and has boundaries. Not up for buying a kid’s yoga mat right now? Make your own with this tutorial from Sewing Rabbit or this one from The Sassy Life.
Make the Yoga Age Appropriate and Fun!
Your three-year-old and your nine-year-old have different needs and wants when it comes to yoga. Make sure you are making the yoga practice fit each child. And liven it up with music, props and stories. YogiApproved.com has a great article entitled 5 Tips for Doing Yoga with Kids with ideas on how to make yoga fun for every age group.
Consider Taking Your Family to a Yoga Festival
Once you’ve introduced yoga into the home, check out a festival celebrating all the great joys of yoga. Not only might you have a fun family day and further grow your love of yoga, you might meet some like-minded families in the community!
Remember, yoga is more than just physical poses. The word yoga comes from the word yuj meaning “to unite or integrate”. The practice of yoga seeks to bring the mind and body together with the breath by integrating breathing techniques, meditation and yoga postures. So, any way that you can encourage this marriage of mind, body and spirit, will benefit you and your children. Whether it’s taking a few minutes each day to practice breathing exercises or coloring mandalas with your kids, you can make huge strides in creating harmony in your family and helping your children to develop techniques that will help them battle stress and promote health as they get older.
Thanks to Natasha for the use of the top two pics with her and her adorable children. You can follow her on Instagram as @natashaswinter for amazing videos and photos of her daily yoga practice. And thank you to Amy and Aimee for being part of our great photo shoot with our new decals. You can follow them on Instagram as @amyyogamomof3 and @aimeemasch for lots of yoga inspiration.
