Yoga for children: Positive impacts
The physical and psychological growths do not mature together. Sometime in relation to the brain, nervous system and endocrine system, physical growth outpaces mental growth. Therefore, there is the primary basis for inherent problems in children
During the Gurukul Education era, children were traditionally introduced to the practice of yoga at the age of eight, nine or ten. The Vedic tradition has a ceremony for children of this age in which they are taught Gayatri Mantra, Surya Namaskar and Nadi Sodhana Pranayama and many more. Science has been coming up with back-to-back breakthroughs in its area and several researches have been done in yoga as well. Yoga is becoming popular day-by-day and today, many countries have been incorporating yoga in schools.
Yoga practice is directly related with health. Yoga has positive impact in different systems such as nervous, digestive and endocrine system which is very beneficial for proper development of human body in children and adolescents. But the impact of yoga on the body can be realized and felt after long practice only.
According to sage, Patanjali the author of Yogadarshan, yoga practice becomes firmly grounded upon being continued for a long time with reverence and without interruption. So children should practice yoga regularly for a long time being disciplined in the food they eat, balanced life style, positive thinking and proper sleeping and awakening etc.
Children and adolescents have many unexplained and unexpressed problems. They cannot always express their problem correctly, hence children usually express their problems through behavior. So, a close observation of their behavior is imperative.
At the age of seven or eight, the pineal gland starts regressing and when the process has advanced to a certain degree, the sex hormones start to function in the body.
The physical and psychological growths do not mature together. Sometime in relation to the brain, nervous system and endocrine system, physical growth outpaces mental growth. This is the primary basis for inherent problems in children. After the age of ten or in adolescence there are more challenges at the physical, mental and emotional level.
Psychologists have declared adolescence as a transitional period of life. Children at this age find it difficult to control their behavior. As a result they show high risk behavior coupled with unpredictable temperament leading to wrong friend circles, drug abuse, smoking, consuming junk food, uncontrolled and speed driving, unsafe sexual activities, infatuation, early marriage, arrogance, suicidal proclivity, etc.
The twentieth century Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget theorized his idea by saying, “Adolescence is the age when the individual becomes integrated in to the society of adults, the age when the child no longer feels that he is below the level of his elders but equal, at least, in rights”. Furthermore, when the sex hormones start being secreted in girls for instance, the mammary glands, the ovaries and uterus all start to function.
Now if the pineal gland is out of the picture too early, the confusion starts at the wrong time. The child becomes restless because she is not physically ready to express this new development, and this is another challenge for children.
The pineal and pituitary glands are very important glands. In yoga, it is known as Ajna (third eye) Chakra which is situated in the brain at the top of the medulla oblongata. It is a very small gland and it acts like a lock.
The moment the regression of the pineal gland is complete, the emotional growth becomes rapid and the child finds it difficult to adjust. If we delayed emotional growth in relation to physical growth in children, or if we helped them balance both growths, the child’s stability is enhanced greatly.
The author of more than 80 yoga text books, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, points out in his book “Yoga education for children” that to maintain the balance of the child’s physical and mental health, we have to maintain the health of the pineal and pituitary glands through the practices of Shambhawi Mudra, Nasagra Dristi, Bhramari Pranayama (bumble bee breath), Nadi Sodhan Pranayama (alternative nostril breath) and concentration practice known as a Tratak (candle gazing), etc.
The early maturity of sexual awareness can corrupt a child’s mind. Hence it is beneficial for children to practice Shambhavi Mudra in order to influence the third eye Chakra inwardly and to delay sexual maturity until the correct time.
Dr. Deepeshwar Singh, a young Indian researcher in this discipline, has concluded along with his co-workers that yoga practice enhances self-efficacy and processing speed with fine motor coordination, visual-motor integration, visual perception, planning ability, and cognitive performance.
Children should practice regular Asanas such as Suryanamaskar, Tadasan and Sarvangasan for a few minutes, preferable in the morning for increasing height, and balanced development of the physical body.
In the same way for physical as well as mental balance, children need to practice a few Mudras: Shambhavi and Nasagra Dristi, Gyan Mudra and Tratak as well as some important Pranayama such as Nadi Sodhan, Bhramari Kapalbhati and practice concentration on breathing.
Pant is a yoga instructor at Kendriya Vidlayala, Kathmandu and four times national champion in boxing and national player of weight-lifting and martial art