The many benefits of yoga and mindfulness for children when faced with changes and uncertanties in life.

THE MANY BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR CHILDREN TO TEENS Emotional well-being is a key benefit of yoga and mindfulness for children to teens. So what constitutes as emotional well-being? Laevers’ (1994) states that ‘Sound well-being results from satisfaction of basic needs – the need for tenderness and affection; security and clarity; social recognition; to feel competent; physical needs and for meaning in life. It includes; happiness and satisfaction, effective social functioning and the dispositions of optimism, openness, curiosity and resilience’ (The Early Years Framework). How do I feel as a parent, carer, teacher? How you feel radiates out into the world. Children are very sensitive to your emotions. To reach higher consciousness and vibrations within the body is to feel love, joy and peace and be flowing in life. As humans we rely too much on external factors for happiness. If we do this, then ultimately sadness is the opposite and we live in ‘duality’ of the two. A conscious person uses ‘awareness and response’ and not ego and reaction. Teaching ourselves and our children to think before they speak and act, is vitally important. Buddhist wisdom tells us to (and same concepts can be seen in other religions) ‘elicit action-based on awareness in everything we do’ (Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnam). With the potential of gaining greater awareness of our inner-self and a mindful attitude, we can evolve into more caring, thoughtful, open- hearted educators and parents. What the research says: The World Happiness Report supports the concepts of happiness and well-being as an important pathway toward greater sustainable development. The 2015 report included writings by Dr. Richard Davidson and Brianna Schulyer, who presented on the neuroscience of happiness. The report described how well-being is a skill that can be cultivated and trained. It defined well-being in terms of four qualities or characteristics: 1) Sustained positive emotion 2) Resilience 3) Empathy, altruism and pro-social behaviour (also known as generosity) 4) Mindful attention (https://www.mindful.org/author/carley-hauck/) Emotional Well-being is a key component of Outcome 3 in the Early Learning Framework for Australia. Well-being starts with our basic needs being met of food and shelter. Then a secure bond with one or more adults is to be formed with tenderness and care, along with an on-going sense of security and social involvement and recognition. Further to that is; building meaning in one’s life, a purpose and a sense of satisfaction in pursuits. Yoga helps children to regulate their feelings as they grow. Yoga teachers, educators and parents of young children, should be open to all the feelings a child expresses as they mature, even negative ones like; anger, frustration, envy and greed, because these are all normal responses to situations and need to be expressed within safe boundaries. Yoga allows for this and supports children to express these feelings in appropriate ways by teaching them the skills of mindfulness. Calm down strategies are regularly practiced in yoga, one being; breathing fully and mindfully. One example is; counting in one and out two and with emphasis on extending the exhale to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system which supports self- regulation. Feeling their stomach rise and fall like a balloon is a helpful way to teach the process. Teach these techniques to children whilst the child is calm in a yoga session, so they can then store that knowledge away to use again when needed. Mindfulness of emotions can include; being aware of the impact our emotions can have on ourselves and others. Breath awareness can be followed by mindfulness practice; being aware of our surroundings and ‘living’ in the present moment. It can be used to reduce anxiety by using the techniques of ‘still awareness’, involving taking note of what we hear, smell, see, in order to bring us back to the present moment. Kabat-Zinn advocates for mindfulness for coping with stress and anxiety and even pain and illness (America Professor of Medicine and founder of the Centre for Mindfulness in Medicine). Mindfulness can serve to remind ourselves that we should be grateful for being here and make it a real presence of mind experience and trust this is where we ought to be in our journey, no matter what the challenges may be. When challenges arise in society, something called ‘spaciousness of awareness’ can be practiced, where we practice compassion for a fellow humans and we open our awareness to the wider community, supporting each other in times of need and recognise we are all connected in some way in this world. We can practice these abilities through ‘loving-kindness’ meditations with children, that can assist them in visualising sending out compassion to others and directing compassion to themselves to gain inner strength. Mindfulness and resilience building activities to help. Living in the present moment by; Noticing beauty around us in nature. Noticing contented happy moments in life. Deeply listening to someone talking and paying attention to them. Being mindful of our thoughts and feelings before we act. Do a random act of kindness. Spend quality time with friends, family, pets. Hobbies out in nature. Listening to favourite music, dancing. Benefits of children’s yoga 1. Yoga encourages good posture for the skeletal system and flexibility, agility and strength for young growing bodies. 2. Yoga increases oxygen to the brain which supports learning and concentration. Yoga ignites children’s imaginations, creativity and self- expression. 3. The nervous system and the endocrine system are ignited and work together. Calming of the nervous system with breathing out and asanas takes place as the heart rate slows down and cortisol level and activating calming hormones, such as serotonin. WHAT NEUROTRANSMITTERS ARE AFFECTED BY YOGA? YOGA BOOSTS LEVELS OF THE FEEL-GOOD BRAIN CHEMICALS LIKE GABBA, SEROTONIN AND DOPAMINE. 4. In our fast- paced world yoga assists children to calm their thoughts, centre themselves for learning and learn how to be ‘still’ for a moment. Preschool age children are showing signs of stress and anxiety in Western countries. 5. Yoga teaches children how to care for their bodies, body awareness and self-regulation through mindfulness and relaxation. 6. The joy of movement, music, games and socialisation can all be experienced during a yoga session with children. There is no competition in yoga, therefore children who don’t like competitive sports will thrive. 7. Yoga teaches perseverance and confidence in their own abilities. 8. Yoga helps with self-regulation, self- discipline and self-expression. Feedback from parent: ‘11 yr. old with some anxiety and low confidence has improved over the year personally with yoga. She visible has more confidence on taking on new tasks, enjoying school and new sports. She tells parents that yoga helps her cope with school.’ Ideas for the whole family to reduce stress: regular physical exercise: walking, jogging and yoga postures. Daily mindfulness/ meditation practice. For example; a 10 minute breathing exercise. There are many good apps. available to guide you. If distracted - simply label the emotion/thought, then return to the focus of your breath. For fidgety children you can use a weighted toy, fidget toy or eye pillow/soft toy to have on stomach to relax the senses further as they lie or sit down and breath mindfully. Benefits for children with special needs. Children can benefit from doing something different that a typically developing child can do and experience success. Teaching family classes can also help with siblings and parents to see the child succeeding and to increase bonds. FOR CHILDREN WITH ASD’S AND ADHD/ADD.  Increases attention span, regulate emotions and teaches stress management skills and respond to sensory stimuli in a more positive manner.  Supports better sleep patterns over time.  Increased oxygen to the brain which supports learning and concentration.  Autism and physical disabilities: Improves strength and tone in muscles for those with low muscle tone. Develops balance and increases body awareness.  Energy released in a non- competitive form of exercise.  Builds their self-esteem. Making them aware of their strengths. Adjusting view to: I HAVE, I AM, I CAN. Then add three strong external factors for support.  Personal achievements and accomplishments are rewarded, a sense of belonging and connectedness, and autonomy and personal agency is increased. (Yoga for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder by Dion E. Betts).