health and safety: Give your child’s mental and emotional health a boost with these yogasanas by expert Yogesh Chavan

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Give your child’s mental and emotional health a boost with these yogasanas by expert Yogesh Chavan

FOR CHILD'S SAKE

As with everything else in life, starting young is the best route in fitness too. So if you want your child to be smart, alert and healthy, take him/her to a yoga session. Introducing kids to yoga can help them imbibe its benefits even better. Forget the complicated poses and explanations, these are few asanas a child can easily perform:

BETTER HEIGHT
A child's height is determined to a large extent by
his/her genes but yoga can help your kid become
slightly taller. Try the following:
TADASAN
The palm tree pose. Stand with feet together and hands to the side stretched at the shoulder level. Breathe in and lift hands above the head with palms touching. Raise your heels such that you balance on your toes. Hold this position. Keep your eyes open, concentrate on a spot on the wall at eye-level. Once you feel that you can balance yourself, try lifting up higher and feel the stretch. Slowly lower your hands and body back to the starting position.
How it works:
Since children tend to spend a lot of time on the PlayStation or the computer, they develop a tendency to slouch. Tadasaan helps counter this tendency by making the spinal cord stronger and more flexible which improves posture and remove stiffness which is common after long hours of sitting (tuitions, school etc).

TO STAY FOCUSSED
Kids get easily distracted during lectures. The following asana will help
your child concentrate better.
VRUKSHASAN
Stand with feet together. Lift your right leg, place it on the inner thigh of the left leg. The toes should point downwards and the bent knee should be parallel to the floor. Focus on any spot ahead of you which is at eye-level. Lift your hands above your head and let your arms touch your ears, with palms touching each other. Feel the stretch and continue to breathe normally.
How it works:
You are required to concentrate your entire attention at a spot in front of you. This calls for a great amount of focus from a child. Also, regular practice helps you hold the final pose longer and thereby improve concentration. Thereafter, the same focus can be easily applied to academics.

BETTER IMMUNITY
With new viruses doing the rounds, your child needs to build a strong immunity. Follow this asana:
ANULOM- VILOM
Sit in Padmasan or any comfortable pose. Fold the index and middle fingers of your right hand. Use your ring finger and little finger to close the left nostril. Take a deep breath from your right nostril. Hold your breath. Use your thumb, close your right nostril, and exhale from the left nostril. Repeat the same procedure, starting with your right nostril. Repeat this entire cycle about 10 –12 times or ideally for a minute.
How it works:
Immunity refers to the correct composition of the blood, wherein there is enough hemoglobin to keep you healthy, and enough white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria or virus. This can be achieved by supplying blood with ample quantity of oxygen. That is exactly what happens during Anulom-Vilom.

FOR CONFIDENCE
Work this asana into your child's
schedule to ensure (s)he grows into a
self-assured adult.
AKARNA DHANURASAN
Sit with your left leg outstretched and the right leg bent and placed over the thigh of the left leg. Using your left hand, hold the toes of your right foot. The toe is to be held in between the curved index and middle finger. Breathe in and lift your right leg up towards your ear. Breathe deeply and lower the leg. Repeat the same process with the right leg outstretched and the left leg bent.
How they work:
This asana is slightly tough but strengthens and stretches the thighs and hands. By practising this asana, the child pushes himself/herself physically. Mastering this asana itself acts as a confidence-booster which then automatically applies in tasks too.