by: Mandy Burstein, RYT-500
“Children are the world's most valuable resource and
its best hope for the future” – JFK
At Prana Yoga Center, we see
the value in our children and know that the healing benefits of yoga are applicable
to them as well. Every Monday and Thursday around 3 pm, the lobby of Prana
starts to fill with excitement, hugs, giggles and brightly-colored yoga mats as
our young yogis start to trickle in for Teen Yoga class. After a long day
at school, our students generally come in to the studio frenzied and
hyperactive, yet almost always leave feeling restored and ready to tackle the
rest of their day with a renewed sense of focus and composure.
A recent article from ABC
News investigated the rise in popularity in yoga for kids and teens and
this is what they found….
"More practitioners and more parents are
becoming aware of the benefits of yoga and seeing their kids can benefit
too," said Liz Eustace,
CEO of Alignyo, an online yoga community with a newsletter devoted to all
things yoga. "The things that
benefit an adult will also benefit a child. Stress reduction, mind- body connection, physical strength – these
are things that benefit kids as well as adults."
And these benefits, we have
most definitely seen come to life at Prana! Over the past two years, my fellow teen
yoga teacher, Stephanie Armstrong and I have witnessed a true transformation
among our tween and teen yogis. They have evolved into more confident, focused,
grateful and grounded versions of themselves. Some of my most proud moments are
when, at the beginning of class, I check-in to see how they are doing and ask
if they have any requests and they say, “Can
we do some restorative yoga today? I’m feeling really stressed out and just
need to relax and meditate.”
It truly melts my heart to know that our students,
at the young ages of 13, 14 and 15 now know how to check-in with themselves and
figure out what their unique needs are.
This is such an important skill to
cultivate that will stay with them the rest of their lives. One day, they will
journey away from Prana, off to college, then off to the working world, and the
skills that they once cultivated on their yoga mat as teens will come back to
guide them through life as present, mindful adults.
Last week, we were invited to
spend the day at La Jolla High School to introduce more teens to the healing
benefits of yoga....
While it can be difficult to convey the amazingness of yoga to 50
high-energy teens in just a short 45 minutes, we did our best to guide 5
different classes through Sun Salutations and a rigorous practice of other
challenges poses to show them that yoga can be a great source of physical
exertion. We ended each class with a few minutes of relaxation and mini-meditation,
allowing them to see that yoga can also deeply relax the mind, decreasing their
stress-levels and improving their overall well-being.
Thankfully, science is also on
our side when it comes to understanding the healing benefits for teens! Professor Kuyken from the University of Exeter
studies the effects of “Mindful Meditation” on the mental health and well-being
of young people aged 12-16 years.
Here is
an excerpt from the MedicalXpress
report: Students from 12 secondary
schools either participated in the mindfulness in schools program or took part
in the usual school curriculum. Mindfulness has been described as the practice
of becoming aware of what is happening in the present moment and of learning to
relate more skillfully to thoughts, emotions, body sensations and impulses as
they arise. The young people who participated in the mindfulness program
reported fewer depressive symptoms,
lower stress and greater well-being than those in the control group.
And don’t just take our word
for it! One of our dedicated yoginis, who has been with us since she was 12
years old is about to start high school in the fall. She has a full schedule of
rigorous classes, extra-curricular activities, family obligations and social commitments
throughout the week, yet still commits to her yoga practice every Monday and
Thursday after school with us. Here, she tells us why: “I love yoga because it is a great stress reliever and it helps get the
tension out of my back. It also teaches me relaxation techniques so I don’t stress
out too much for tests.”
Whether it’s the physical,
mental or emotional benefits our teen students are looking for, they have
access to it all through their yoga practice. If you have a teen in your life
that would benefit from yoga, please send them our way. We would love to meet
them!
Namaste,
Mandy
Our next session starts Monday, April 8
and runs through Monday, June 10.
Learn more about it here.
Mandy Burstein is a yoga instructor and writer based in La Jolla, California. She began her journey into yoga on the beaches of Costa Rica and has been captivated ever since. Through yoga and writing, she passionately empowers people to become the best versions of themselves, both on and off the mat.
Mandy teaches at Prana on Monday's at 7:15pm for a Vinyasa 1-2 class, as well as Thursday's at 3:15pm for our Shine Teen Yoga for Girl's class.
A huge THANK YOU to Shauna MacKay for sharing her time, beautiful spirit and knowledge this morning at the "Hatha for Hope" donation class. Much gratitude also to YWTT grad Christie Lane for assisting and all the Yogis who came out! If you missed this event, but would still like to donate to our Yoga for Hope team please visit here to make a donation.
