Concepts or themes as well as being great in adult yoga classes are also great for teen yoga. The physical elements of a class can create a lot of laughter (for us all!) and are fantastic for lifting mood and creating a sangha – yoga community – enabling everyone to feel connected however shy, introverted, or quiet. Yoga classes for these groups might consist of a warmup, fun and challenging poses (asanas) with lots of variety (standing, sitting, twisting, balancing etc), partner work and perhaps an accessible meditation, visualisation or calming breathing exercises. As tweens and teens deal with exams this is a particularly useful skill to have. Yoga enables all of us to tap into our parasympathetic nervous system which is essential for calming us and lowering our stress hormone levels. As a form of physical and mental exercise it can be incredibly empowering and strengthening.
It can provide teenagers with essential life tools such as positive body image, healthy self-esteem and confidence, better concentration, greater self-awareness, and empathy towards other and greater internal and external strength. Yoga as both a form of movement and mindfulness helps to make us feel more present, aware, and able to resist distractions. Also, this lack of executive functioning means they’re not planning ahead and their priorities may not always seem to make common sense (leaving the wet towel on the bed!?)! How can yoga help?
Yoga sequence for teenagers full#
Which in part explains the mood swings and impulsivity because they don’t yet have full access to their frontal lobes. Simply put their frontal and prefrontal cortices which control insight, empathy and risk taking are not fully developed. The teenage brain is very different to the adult brain. Tweens and teens are a unique group exposed to all the above demands whilst also grappling with body awareness and self-esteem issues. As a mother of two boys, currently aged nearly 11 and 14, I am well aware of the importance of balancing technology with slower, offline, practices and look forward to introducing weekly yoga and trying out this beautiful practice as a family. This months guest blog feature has been written by the lovely Lorna Fisher from .uk and highlights the many benefits of a regular yoga practice for our teens and tweens. Navigating a global pandemic and lockdowns has meant more time on social media, less in person interaction and less access to group sports. We finish with a Meditation to help integrate the class experience and hopefully take new learnings into their everyday life, feeling happy, grounded and improving self- esteem and self- belief.We live in an over stimulated world and although some stimulation is important for mental ability and growth, living in a state of constant flux pulled between our devices, social media, peer group pressures and academic pressures can contribute to mental health problems. The postures are more challenging regarding balance, strength, and flexibility. There will be more explanation about posture and breath.
Then in the form of a Sharing Circle, we discuss our class intention and learn new poses to incorporate into a new Yoga Sequence or Yoga Dance to further explore the theme and it’s meaning to each person. We start with a short Mindfulness Practice Exercise, followed by a warm up exercise or game. Helping to explore the benefits of this practice and develop life skills to nurture positive self- belief and to learn to self-regulate during this time of rapid change and growth of body and mind.Įach week we based our class around a new intention or learning – developing open heartedness, cultivating gratitude, encouraging self- belief and strength of spirit & validating the need for self- care. In today’s busy world with pressures of school, friendships, digital technology and social media, the course aims to provide a safe space to explore feelings and thoughts. We have developed a six week course specifically designed for Tween & Teen girsl to provide a journey into Yoga, Breath and Mindfulness incorporating modern and engaging music.
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