News — yoga

We hear that many great athletes practice yoga.  It's no wonder, since yoga not only makes you stronger physically, but it strengthens you in other ways as well.

1) Breathing-yoga is not just about stretching the body. It's about remembering to breath, which is vital to life.  When I was in Taiwan, I entered a jump-roping contest.  My coach gave me one tip: Don't forget to breath.  I ended up winning the jump rope contest, and I believe it was because I remembered to breath throughout the competition.  Yoga teaches us the right way to breath so that oxygen reaches all of the cells in our bodies and then some.

2) Focus-whatever you do, whether it's playing tennis, swimming, or walking-it's important to be mindful of the moment and focus.  When we do yoga, we learn little tips on how to focus or perhaps un-focus on things that are interfering with the moment.  Yoga teaches mindfulness, and in today's busy world, this skill is becoming more and more important.

3) Strength-yoga requires the muscles to work together.  Because a lot of the moves require isometrics, the body becomes stronger. 

4) Agility and Balance-yoga moves require the body to balance.  Not only will you become more agile, but your body will become more balanced as you work out both sides of the body.  With every stretch, there is a counter stretch.  Yoga encourages everyone to engage the muscles on both sides of the body, whereas other sports may just focus on one side.

Of course there are many other benefits to yoga, but these are just a few that compliment other sports and activities.  

They say that a child remembers something better when they actually experience it, versus just being told something or reading about it.  And we can imagine, that if you read something as well as experience it, the memory will recall even more.  Reading a book and doing yoga go hand-in-hand and here's how it can be done.

For example, take a book such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle.  In the story, we are introduced to 9 different animals (all different colors) and a teacher.  There's a brown bear, red bird, yellow duck, blue horse, green frog, purple cat, white dog, black sheep, gold fish, and teacher with glasses.  Did you know that there's a yoga pose that can be done with each of these animals?  The poses may not flow as smoothly as yoga should, but they get the kids active and recalling the book and poses much easier when combined.  You can combine yoga with any book that you read, or even revolve yoga moves around a topic that is being taught in school to help children recollect.

Tip #1: Don't forget to do floor moves as well as standing moves.

Tip #2: Always remember to counter-stretch.

Tip #3: Remember to stretch both sides of the body.  For example, if a child does tree pose with their left foot on the floor, they should also do the right foot on the floor.