Well, no need to start the post highlighting the importance of exercising our bodies to remain fit for a longer perios, so I will not spend time on this. The point I am making in this post is that not only adults but children also need to exercise their bodies right from beginning so that they beome more fit and obviously for longer time. In today's world of video games, television and excessive internet surfing, the normal exercises that children used to do while playing field games went missing from their schedule and it is more pertinent for them to formally start doing these yogic exercises so that the balance in body remains positive. In addition, this will also develop natural inclination of children towards Yoga and hence will increase health conciousness in them.
As other field games, the fun factor is not missing from these yogic games though I agree that these can not be compared to the field games as those are multi player and maulti faceted games as compared to Yogic exercises but still there is enough fun factor in these to keep the children glued to them as their daily routine. Yoga also boosts the metabolism of the body and provides a natural calmness in mind. This is particularly beneficial for the children, most of whom possess a hyperactive or hypoactive nature these days.
I will recommend following exercises for the children to start with:
- Vir-asana - this yogasana helps the kid to build the confidence
- Pranayam - this hugely popular and useful breathing exercise(s) helps a lot in mental relaxation and the child will feel much more refreshened up(and this is without the dose of a fizzy cold drink that makes the brain dizzy)
- Simh-asana - this instlls fearlessness and confidence in child
- Swastik-asana - to provide them a feeling of security from all worldly emotional pains like exams, sadness due to a fight with a friend etc.
- Trataka Karma - this enhances the concentration levels of children and also helps boost their memory
A child can be re-energized with yogic exercises like Surya Namaskar like I mentioned in my earlier posts on this. Also helpful are Bhramari, Hal-asana and Karnapid-asana to boost their overall growth.
Dejection and lack of confidence are common among children today, due to the intense competition which they have to face. Some of the yoga poses that help them regain their confidence and become competitive include Marichi-asana, Pash-asana, Bharadvaj-asana, Rangachikitsa etc.