This year we were excited to launch our pilot preschool yoga program, Youthful Yogis. The program is built upon yoga, fundamental movement, and play principles to keep young children engaged and having fun while learning how to use their bodies. This program focuses on strengthening, stretching, breathing, body awareness, and an increased mind-body connection. Our main goal of this program is to provide a healthy outlet for emotional expression and control. Some of the other benefits of yoga for children as young as three include:
• Safely improving strength and flexibility
• Improving coordination, balance, posture
• Learning to relaxation techniques
• Expressing creativity and imagination
• Improving self-esteem and confidence
• Learning important social interaction skills
• Developing emotional balance
Our students are always eager to learn yoga poses, just like mommy and daddy do! In our yoga classes, we teach our yogis age appropriate yoga poses like downward dog, tree, cobra, chair, and more. We encourage them to feel where each pose is strengthening and stretching to enhance body awareness. We even tie the poses together to create sun salutations. In addition to learning yoga traditions such as poses and breathing, we incorporate games, story books, and activities to encourage cooperation, imagination, and enjoying the present moment and process instead of competition.