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Yoga for youngsters

By on April 4, 2008

 

Imagine a typical yoga class: silence, a chime, legs crossed in meditation, the Sanskrit murmur of the teacher, the breathy mindfulness as the students move from pose to pose. That was not the type of yoga class I went to last Wednesday afternoon, however. There was jumping, running, songs, there was even mooing! I was at Melanie Mano’s kid’s yoga class at Shizen Yoga Studio in Kichijoji.

Speaking to Melanie afterwards, I discovered that her original specialty was not yoga, but educating children with special needs. The stress involved with this job led her to yoga and then she started using it with her students. Its effectiveness prompted her to train as a yoga kids teacher, as well as a Sivananda yoga instructor.

Having loved yoga for a long time, I wanted to share it with my five-year-old son. I wondered what it would be like, what he would be like. I watched Melanie persuade him that he could do it, his delight and enjoyment in his achievement, and in the fun of it all.

“My classes could be very different,” says Melanie. “But I usually try to have some ‘wild time’ where we move and dance and are silly, along with some ‘quiet time’ where we lie down and feel calm, some ‘connecting time’ where we all make poses together, or play a game all together and bond with each other as a group and some ‘talk time’ where we share thoughts and ideas with each other. Sometimes I also have some ‘book time’ or ‘craft time’,” she says.

Melanie feels that yoga can offer many advantages for young children, as she explains: “There are many benefits of doing yoga at this age. Of course, maintaining flexibility is an obvious one, but what I think is the greatest benefit is that children become more aware of their bodies and how they move, what feels good to them.”

In contrast to regular gym classes for children, Melanie offers a different viewpoint. “I try to foster cooperation in my classes rather than competition, as much as possible. There is no right or wrong way to do a pose. I encourage the children to use their imagination, be creative and think outside the box. The class should be a place where they feel both safe and free, where they can experiment.”

For Melanie, one of the greatest joys of teaching children is seeing how they develop. “What I enjoy most about my classes is to see children open up over time, to see them become more free with their bodies and with each other, to see them become more confident. I like that each class is different from another because each time children bring their own touch to the classes. And quite simply, I like to see the children smile!”

If smiling and laughing were yoga poses, then this would be a master class. After a restful Savasana (the final pose where you lie quietly for a few minutes), my son was ready to go home. And he was even more ready to come back for another class! “Can we do this every week?” he asked enthusiastically.

Shizen Yoga Studio offers Yoga Kids classes on Wed. from 3:30 to 4:30 for children from 4 to 8 yrs. Shizen also offers Yoga Mama classes for mothers and babies up to 8 mths. Nearest Sta: Kichijoji (Chuo/Inokashira lines).

Entopia Kichijoji #201, Kichijoji, Minami-cho 2-5-9, Musashino-shi.
Tel. 090-3814-4488
www.shizenyoga.com/e/

Little Namaste holds yoga kids classes in Kichijoji, Omotesando and Omiya. They also offer parent and child yoga classes.
http://littlenamaste.com/english/02/index.html

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