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Yoga is an art and science of meditation in motion that originated
thousands of years ago in India. Yoga was developed by yogis who would sit
in meditation in the woods, on mountaintops, in caves and at the sea.
Oftentimes they would feel aches or pains in their bodies after sitting
for a while and would open their eyes to observe the natural world around
them. They noticed that the flowers weren't worried about how long it
takes to blossom and the animals weren't complaining about tension in
their hips.
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Photography ©2004 Ciro Coelho/CiroCoelho.com |
Nature seemed to be at peace with whatever was happening. A tree was happy
whether it was being still and rooted or blowing in the wind. So the yogis
began to imitate nature. They would hold their bodies in such a way as to
mimic the animals, birds and nature around them. Sometimes they were
supple and flowing like snakes. Other times they stretched like cats and
dogs after they nap. They pretended like they were strong and courageous
warriors. They stood tall, confident and still like mountains. Oftentimes
they would sit cross-legged with their eyes closed and imagine that they
were a lotus flower resting at the surface of a pond. The yogis were
connecting with nature. This is how yoga got it's name. The word yoga
means "union", remembering that we are one with all that is. When children
remember that they are one with all that is, they begin to feel the
connection between their own bodies, minds, hearts and spirits and find
inner peace.
The yogis discovered that yoga gave them energy, released physical tension
and helped them to focus and concentrate and feel peaceful by combining
stretching and strengthening exercises synchronized with their breathing.
Children are natural yogis. When you watch children playing it looks like
what the yogis must have looked like when they were first developing yoga.
Children spontaneously go into poses such as the downward dog, plow, candlestick, child's pose, and, of course, final relaxation. Children have
not yet disconnected from nature or themselves and one of yoga's aims is
to support children in staying this way.
There is a wonderful saying that children need to be taught 2 things: that
they have roots and they have wings. Yoga creates a loving, accepting and
safe environment in which kids feel comfortable to root into the earth,
themselves and their life. With the help of yogic movement and breathing,
children feel grounded and thus become more self-aware, self-confident and
empowered and their wings begin to expand. As children discover that they
can be rooted and expansive they find and achieve their own personal
balance.
The goal of yoga with children is for them to live in peace with
themselves and all of life and to enjoy their lives. Through the practice
of learning to calm and quiet the mind, release physical tension and open
their hearts in gratitude and love for all of life, all inner obstacles
are cleared and children bask in the light of their true nature: pure
peace.
