Total Transformation for Teens through Yoga

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.