You Can Yoga
Family Yoga
Between work, school, meals, football practice, laundry, dance class, birthday parties and an endless list of other activities, it's no wonder you're feeling like the family's a little disconnected. Each person is going in a different direction, and if one ball in the perfect juggle of life drops, all of the other balls might drop, too.
To me, yoga is all about the connection. The connection with your breath, your mind and your body. That's what makes it such a beautiful thing to bring into your home and introduce to your family.
The world is very fast paced and so many distractions are around us, especially for our children! Yoga is a chance to reset the mind and body while focusing on moving and breathing. It's not about practicing yoga for hours each day either, it is about giving the tools to the whole family to be well for everyday life. Just a little bit each day is enough to encourage routine and teach body and breath regulation in bite size chunks.
The benefits of yoga for kids
Yoga has amazing benefits for you and your kids.
• Yoga is non-competitive (it's all about your own journey)
• Yoga develops body awareness and builds concentration
• Yoga teaches how to manage stress through healthy movement and meditation
• Yoga develops muscle tone, strength, balance and flexibility
• Yoga helps to develop a positive self and confidence
• Yoga helps to connect families together by yoga movement and play
Once you get the hang of it, it is fun to get your yoga on in other places, like down at the beach, the park, and other places of nature.
Yoga teaches us to breathe well, it can help us cope with overwhelming environments and situations and generally learn to relax.
It can also help slow down involuntary movements as breathing well encourages more oxygen into the body which improves a wide range of things, including circulation.
It also means that if we can breathe well, we can learn to be in a calm state, which means we can make better decisions and follow instructions better. It also teaches us to be more aware of how we should be feeling and to keep our muscles flexible and strong which means mobility will improve daily.
How to create time for family bonding in the midst of all this madness?
The key is finding an activity that each family member can enjoy, that also doesn't take up too much time in an already packed schedule. Seems impossible, right? Well, if there is a will, there is a way.
One solution has been tried and tested by many families, and has proven to be successful. It's yoga.
Yoga is beneficial for all ages, and finding one hour per week to take a class together as a family is not too challenging if you make an effort. Family yoga time at your local park or at home is also an option, if a formal class is too much of a commitment at first.
No matter how it works into your family's schedule, or how frequently you are able to do it, read on to learn about the many ways yoga can benefit your family.
Family Yoga shows children that parents are not perfect. Up to a certain age, children believe their parents are super-human! They seem to never run out of time, money or resources, and this can create high expectations for parents to fulfil. There are always poses a parent finds difficult and those a child find's difficult. This reality check brings a humanising quality to the parents, releasing them of expectations from the child.
Family Yoga teaches families how to relax together. Most parents want their children to learn ways to relax and be more at peace! What a better way to learn these skills and then doing it as a family! Yoga is wonderful for discharging energy and also engaging the rest and digest response, releasing those loving, calming hormones.
Parent and child yoga classes deliver the same mental and physical benefits as any other yoga class: peace of mind, relaxation, and increased bodily strength and flexibility. The perks don't stop there, though.
"For parents, I think it is amazing to have a place to come and exercise without having to find childcare.
Family Yoga provides an opportunity for positive feedback among family members. Since every person and every body can do yoga, there are always opportunities for encouragement in family yoga class! We always encourage positive feedback for each family member in class, no matter what shape a body holds. Yoga is about holding space for a wide breadth of experiences, from the tiniest yogi to the most experienced.
Family Yoga inspires creativity as a family.
In class we learn from others and garner a sense of connection to life, truly knowing that we are all connected and going through life together. This is in large part the essence of family yoga.
I look forward to sharing all these benefits of family yoga and more as we participate in class together!
My Family yoga sessions are carried out currently online with Zoom, and once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted and is safe to do so I can come to the family home, or in the park or hire a convenient space.
I am flexible to meet the needs of your family