Yoga for Teens - How yoga can support your teen’s physical and mental well-being.
Hello Everyone,
It’s October! How did that happen? As always, the wheel keeps on turning at an alarming rate. So here we find ourselves in the most beautiful month of the autumn season and of course, we are now in full swing with the new school year. If you have children or teenagers, they are now settled and hopefully enjoying the new year of studying and socialising ahead. With this in mind, my thoughts today turned to my experience of teaching yoga to children and teens, and how wonderfully beneficial it has been for my students and my own children, to learn even a few basics of yoga asana, philosophy and mindfulness. So how can a yoga practice help teens to overcome every day issues that may result in anxiety, as well as connect to the foundations of yoga for more effective social and emotional skills? Here are my thoughts and experiences to share with you today.
As a parent, I see that young people are navigating and striving to manage their lives in increasingly complex times. Even if we take the whole Covid situation of the past three years off the table, just attempting to keep pace with an external world, which operates at escalating speeds of relentless media input, is an unprecedented phenomenon for this generation of children. Screens, phones, social media and the never ending Snapchat notifications, which must be attended to, leaves our kids saturated from constant brain stimulation.
As a mum of teens, I am becoming progressively aware of the challenges that our young people are facing every day. Young brains are becoming overwhelmed with the bombardment of information they are presented with through technology and social media. Meanwhile, the age old challenges of the teenage years: physical changes, insecurities surrounding body image, pressure to fit in with peers, uncertainty about beliefs, and often hefty amounts of schoolwork, persist on the sidelines. The teenage years are a time of transformation and, as with any phase of transition, a little space and time to become quiet is required to allow the metamorphosis to take place. Yoga can be that space and quiet; it can be an anchor in this time, and the ability to develop a practice to cope with stress is a gift that will be invaluable throughout life. As a society, we regularly upgrade our material belonging, such as technology with new smart phones, tablets and laptop computers, or new vehicles or clothes. However, the idea of improving our relaxation skills, promoting inner peace, self care and physical and mental strength, then encouraging the young people in our lives to access this also, is often overlooked. I really believe that taking some time to involve our teens in a practice such a yoga, which involves movement, mindfulness and structure can offer such rich reward at this impressionable time of life.
Making time for mother and daughter yoga practices
So how can we introduce and incorporate yoga into the lives of our children and teens? For my family, the most natural way is to simply model it for my children. Parents are the first and most important teachers in their children's lives. Modelling a home practice of yoga, mindfulness and basic self care to my children demonstrates the importance I place on my physical and mental health. Both my son and my daughter know that my yoga practice is my self care time, which recharges my mind and body. They are aware of the role it plays in my ability to be centred and peaceful and how significant yoga is to my overall happiness.
My daughter was around nine years old when she asked to take her first yoga workshop. At this time, I introduced both of my children to Iyengar yoga with a summer workshop taught by an experienced Iyengar yoga teacher. Having fun in a yoga studio with other children encouraged my daughter to explore yoga in more depth. Moving forward, she has progressed on to taking adult classes and workshops with my teachers, and has also enjoyed participating in teacher training groups with me. She has developed a home practice and often asks me to teach her. It is wonderful to observe her asana practice and how invigorating it is to her. It has increased her strength and flexibility and her appreciation of it is remarkable. As an older teen now, she uses her practice as self care. On days when she needs a boost of energy she will focus on energy giving asana. On days when she needs period pain relief, she uses her practice to quieten her mind and body and she knows the asanas that will bring the relief she needs at that time in her cycle. At eighteen years old, she is now reaping the the rewards of her yoga philosophy knowledge. Recently, she has been able to relate to this aspect of her practice in order to process some social struggles she has been encountering. Understanding the concept of ahimsa (first of the five Yamas of yoga philosophy) was a turning point in her ability to let go of some challenging feelings. Her pranayama practice is also emerging. It is beautiful to receive a glimpse into how this practice is going to serve her. In her world as a performing cellist, she often experiences the pressure to perform well. Playing in recitals, festivals, competitions and examinations can be overwhelming for her at times. She uses her breathing techniques to remain calm and centred before she steps on stage and the nervousness she once experienced is much improved. She is using yoga to navigate areas of her life in a positive way, and at just eighteen, this is wonderful to observe.
Finding calm in a supported inversion
The skills that young people can gain from practicing yoga are immeasurable. Schools are starting to incorporate yoga and mindfulness practices into their daily schedules and yoga classes for children and teens are becoming increasingly popular. In our current society, teens have an underlying pressure from social media to constantly portray their best selves online. This background noise of perfectionism is exhausting, and the unrealistic expectation of teen culture can be all consuming and diminish the self esteem of young, impressionable people. Yoga can serve as a tool, which can become a focus outside of the parameters of social media’s vice like grip.
It is my strong belief that if yoga practitioners, teachers and parents can encourage the young people in their lives to take time out of their hectic schedules to improve their inner resources, the better equipped they will be to cope with the issues of the transformational teenage years.
Focus and strength found in a Pincha Mayurasana variation
If this resonated with you and the young people in your life, chat with me in the comments below, or send me a message on the Connect with Me page of this website. I am available to answer any questions about establishing a yoga or mindfulness practice for children and teens. You can also find me on Instagram and on YouTube. Come and check out my practices there, all of which are suitable for young people. I would love to see you! I will link a few practices below that would be beneficial to get you started.
And as always if this inspired you today, please share it with a friend; it might inspire them too!
Until next time... Be Well!