Photo by Tom North, www.TrueNorthbyTomNorth.com
Whether a child has trouble focusing at school, feels anxious in social situations, or has autism or a chronic disease, stress makes it worse. Teaching a child to manage stress as it arises is one of the most hopeful and effective strategies to promote well-being on all levels.
Stress-reduction strategies are showing up in classrooms, clinics, and homes around the world as more people understand the devastating effects of stress. Stress-hardiness is determined by how quickly and effectively the body can recover from the stress response. Stress-hardy children are spared the long-term consequences of chronic stress. Yoga is unsurpassed as a stress-reduction technique.
“Although it’s common knowledge now, as recently as the 1960s it was heresy for a doctor to suggest that stress and disease were linked,” writes Lissa Rankin, MD in her new book, Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself. Harvard cardiologist Dr. Herbert Benson was given flack by his peers for being too “woo-woo” when he first discovered and named “the relaxation response” in a study published in 1969.
Now this response is well understood, and the link between this state and mental, emotional, and physical health is clear. With this understanding, it’s a wonder why every child in the world isn’t taught how to evoke the relaxation response as a daily practice and as needed throughout the day. It’s a fundamental condition for health. The good news is it’s both easy and enjoyable. Play a few breathing games, get the body into some animal shapes like downward-facing dog, snake, and turtle, and take a guided relaxation on a “magic carpet.” While kids are playing in this way, they are also becoming more stress-hardy.
Kids face the same stressors as adults. They are sponges absorbing the world around them, and if the adults in their life are stressed, they are stressed too. Social unrest, finances, disease, death, and divorce-there is no shortage of stress triggers.
A deeper underlying and more pervasive cause of stress is a feeling of separation. Yoga expertly addresses this as well. Far more than a simple stress-reduction technique, yoga gives us a way to see the truth of who we are beyond labels, titles, and roles.
This is why experiencing connection on all levels-with oneself, others, the natural world and Source-is the foundation of well-being. Regardless of a diagnosis, condition or behavior, we all need connection to be well. The experience of connection roots out the deeper cause of stress, and the gut-wrenching challenges our kids face begin to fade.
Regular relaxation counteracts the havoc stress wreaks on the body and mind. It’s no surprise kids report that savasana (the relaxation session at the end of each yoga class) is their favorite part. They can feel the soothing effects of it and intuitively know it’s what they need.
The single most effective way to reduce stress and evoke the relaxation response is a regular meditation practice. The benefits have been well researched. When we see a group of kids bounce around like popcorn, impulsively darting here and there, it may seem like an impossible dream to get them to sit in silence. Not so. Children enjoy quiet introspection when it is presented in a simple and compelling way. A perfect introduction is a book by Kerry Lee Maclean, Peaceful Piggies Meditation.
Yoga is a practice that is simple and free and can be done at home or school each day. Children enjoy doing it. Yoga reduces the damaging effects of stress, evokes the relaxation response, facilitates an experience of connection, and reveals greater meaning and purpose in life.
Fortunately, there are hundreds of yoga classes being offered in schools and studios throughout the Chicago area and across the country. More and more teachers are getting the specialized training required to share this practice with kids. Just as the “relaxation response” was first met with suspicion and is now a central component of our understanding of well being, so too yoga for children will soon be a part of every child’s tool kit for self-care.
Mira Binzen has a degree in child psychology and is a certified Yoga and iRest® Yoga Nidra teacher, yoga therapist, and co-founder of Global Family Yoga (globalfamilyyoga.com), a teacher-training program based in Chicago, focusing on children and families. She offers wellness consults for families by phone and Skype. Her e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.org.