You Were Born A Yogi, Don’t You Remember?
The only beings (other than liberated souls) that are in harmony with themselves, i.e they are at home anywhere and don’t care who is watching, are babies and children. And yoga naturally manifests in their supple bodies.
It is quite common to observe children performing yoga asanas or yoga mudras that support their physical and mental development.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says children are born yogis. “There is a talk that Guruji gives about how children perform different asanas at different stages of their development. For instance, when they are learning to walk, they do the cat stretch to strengthen their spines or perform the Pavanamuktasan to boost digestion,” explains Dinesh Kashikar, faculty at Sri Sri Yoga and the Art of Living Foundation.
If as children, we are born yogis and perform yoga naturally, then why do we forget the practice and lose flexibility as we grow up?
“The main reason is that their interactions with their environment, namely parents and peers, have a bigger influence on them. So they don’t get to interact much with nature. Secondly, the pace of life is different these days and parents don’t really encourage their kids to do yoga. Thirdly, the ego starts developing and does not allow the child to be natural,” points out Dinesh.
According to him, yoga itself can never be forgotten because it is as natural as heart beat or sunrise. “There is an innate intelligence that knows what postures are good for the body. The ancient rishis discovered this in their meditation. So yoga postures are easy to learn, they manifest,” he continues.
“When we observe children from all over the world, whether they are from Japan or Latin America, perform similar yoga postures.” Once children grow into adulthood, these postures need to be consciously and regularly practiced to achieve the goal. “As we grow up, our awareness matures and these postures begin to have a deeper and more profound impact. When body and mind develops, the impact of the yoga poses also changes. For example, children can put their big toes in their mouth, but they cannot keep their attention at one point. By practicing yoga postures, we can get the best of both worlds: maintain the suppleness of youth and increase the awareness of a mature mind.”
“More schools are now including yoga as a part of their curriculum. Children in this generation are now more exposed to yoga than their parents were,” he shares, “The Sri Sri yoga program of the Art of Living facilitates the rediscovery of the yogi in each one of us.”
Some interesting observations:
It is quite common to observe children performing yoga asanas or yoga mudras that support their physical and mental development.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says children are born yogis. “There is a talk that Guruji gives about how children perform different asanas at different stages of their development. For instance, when they are learning to walk, they do the cat stretch to strengthen their spines or perform the Pavanamuktasan to boost digestion,” explains Dinesh Kashikar, faculty at Sri Sri Yoga and the Art of Living Foundation.
If as children, we are born yogis and perform yoga naturally, then why do we forget the practice and lose flexibility as we grow up?
“The main reason is that their interactions with their environment, namely parents and peers, have a bigger influence on them. So they don’t get to interact much with nature. Secondly, the pace of life is different these days and parents don’t really encourage their kids to do yoga. Thirdly, the ego starts developing and does not allow the child to be natural,” points out Dinesh.
According to him, yoga itself can never be forgotten because it is as natural as heart beat or sunrise. “There is an innate intelligence that knows what postures are good for the body. The ancient rishis discovered this in their meditation. So yoga postures are easy to learn, they manifest,” he continues.
“When we observe children from all over the world, whether they are from Japan or Latin America, perform similar yoga postures.” Once children grow into adulthood, these postures need to be consciously and regularly practiced to achieve the goal. “As we grow up, our awareness matures and these postures begin to have a deeper and more profound impact. When body and mind develops, the impact of the yoga poses also changes. For example, children can put their big toes in their mouth, but they cannot keep their attention at one point. By practicing yoga postures, we can get the best of both worlds: maintain the suppleness of youth and increase the awareness of a mature mind.”
“More schools are now including yoga as a part of their curriculum. Children in this generation are now more exposed to yoga than their parents were,” he shares, “The Sri Sri yoga program of the Art of Living facilitates the rediscovery of the yogi in each one of us.”
Some interesting observations:
- The fetus in the mother’s womb can often be observed holding the merudanda mudra(thumbs up)
- A new born child can be seen very often with the adi mudra (closed fist with thumb enclosed)
- Infants very often hold the chin mudra (thumb and forefinger delicately touching at the tips and the other 3 fingers are opened out)
- When babies start turning over, they do Bhujangasana (cobra pose), Natrajasan (leg crosses over while lying on the back with arms stretched out)
- When they start crawling, they often do the cat stretch
- As they learn to stand up and walk, they do trikonasan (triangle pose) and the mountain pose
- Till the age of two, babies often do the pavanamuktasan( knees and legs up in the air folding towards the stomach while lying on the back)
- Babies are often seen even sleeping in the child pose
Yoga for Children
Mountains tumbling into head stands, suddenly converting into speeding cycles. Bridges collapsing into roaring lions, cocooned caterpillars turning into beautiful butterflies. These amazing pictures are nothing but scenes from any normal household. Watch a child and you will know. The natural postures of a child are yoga asanas. This is what the body is born with – simple yoga asanas that are part of a child’s body language from the minute he is born.
Even an infant unconsciously follows the yogamudras (hand postures maintained during meditation).If you observe a sleeping child, its thumb and the index finger slightly touch, a formation which is the ‘Chinmudra’. Have you seen a six month old baby lying on its back with its legs up? It kicks its legs and head also up, almost like what you do with the abs (abdominal) machine.
Then it goes on its back and does the ‘cobra’ posture in yoga. One is born with yoga but the modern mind is preoccupied with so many things, so many judgements, so many opinions, and so many impressions that we are unable to observe, perceive the refined things we naturally have an affinity for. If you observe an infant, you will be amazed at how balanced he breathes. Babies breathe from all the three sections of the body. As they breathe in their belly comes out, as they breathe out their belly moves in.
Are you Breathing Properly?Balanced Breath – Feelings and Frequency of Breath
In one minute we breathe nearly sixteen to seventeen times.
If you are:
Upset it may go up to twenty
Extremely tense and angry - it could total twenty-five times per minute
Very calm and happy – ten
In meditation - two to three breaths
Deep meditation can reduce the number of breaths you take.
And that is why we need to re-learn yoga.
The Art of Living has courses conducts courses for the young and the adolescents – to go back to their natural ways. The earlier they start their journey, the easier it becomes and gets incorporated in their lifestyle.
ART Excel ProgramThis fun-filled, adventourous and interactive workshop is designed to teach Yoga to children between the age 8 and 13. Yoga is packaged in a way that these young minds can grasp it and apply them in their lives. To know more about The ART Excel course
The YES! CourseThe time of adolescence (14- 17 years of age) is when, most learning takes place. The choices people make at this time, goes on to shape their futures. The Art of Living has designed this workshop for adolescents to learn Yoga and guide them in this crucial stage of their lives. To know more about theYES! Course
Even an infant unconsciously follows the yogamudras (hand postures maintained during meditation).If you observe a sleeping child, its thumb and the index finger slightly touch, a formation which is the ‘Chinmudra’. Have you seen a six month old baby lying on its back with its legs up? It kicks its legs and head also up, almost like what you do with the abs (abdominal) machine.
Then it goes on its back and does the ‘cobra’ posture in yoga. One is born with yoga but the modern mind is preoccupied with so many things, so many judgements, so many opinions, and so many impressions that we are unable to observe, perceive the refined things we naturally have an affinity for. If you observe an infant, you will be amazed at how balanced he breathes. Babies breathe from all the three sections of the body. As they breathe in their belly comes out, as they breathe out their belly moves in.
Are you Breathing Properly?Balanced Breath – Feelings and Frequency of Breath
In one minute we breathe nearly sixteen to seventeen times.
If you are:
Upset it may go up to twenty
Extremely tense and angry - it could total twenty-five times per minute
Very calm and happy – ten
In meditation - two to three breaths
Deep meditation can reduce the number of breaths you take.
And that is why we need to re-learn yoga.
The Art of Living has courses conducts courses for the young and the adolescents – to go back to their natural ways. The earlier they start their journey, the easier it becomes and gets incorporated in their lifestyle.
ART Excel ProgramThis fun-filled, adventourous and interactive workshop is designed to teach Yoga to children between the age 8 and 13. Yoga is packaged in a way that these young minds can grasp it and apply them in their lives. To know more about The ART Excel course
The YES! CourseThe time of adolescence (14- 17 years of age) is when, most learning takes place. The choices people make at this time, goes on to shape their futures. The Art of Living has designed this workshop for adolescents to learn Yoga and guide them in this crucial stage of their lives. To know more about theYES! Course
This is Dance Yoga show performed by Art of Living people, Irkutsk, Russia, on The City Day celebration.
Typical yoga class for children
Yoga classes for children rarely focus on the importance of perfecting poses. Instead, they often emphasize yoga basics, such as the cultivation of compassion — rather than competition — and the connection between breathing and different poses. A typical yoga class for children may involve:
- Warm-up. Your child will remove his or her shoes and may lie down or sit cross-legged on the floor or on a chair. A special object — such as a yoga mat or pillow, clothing, or stuffed animal used only for yoga — may be used to signal that this is a time for relaxation. The instructor may encourage your child to quiet his or her mind, perhaps by closing his or her eyes and imagining a problem disappearing.
- Breathing. Your child will be encouraged to focus on breathing in and out slowly and deeply through the nose. In one technique, your child might imagine filling up his or her stomach with air like a balloon and then slowly releasing the air.
- Postures. Gentle movements, including stretching, will help your child prepare to do postures that involve standing, sitting, twisting, balancing and bending. Some instructors provide pictures of plants, animals or objects to imitate. During each pose, your child may be reminded to breathe through his or her nose, to avoid forcing a position, and to stop if he or she experiences pain.
- Relaxation. After completing a series of poses, your child may lie down on the floor on his or her back and close his or her eyes. The instructor may repeat a sound or phrase to encourage your child to concentrate on his or her breathing. Your child may also be encouraged to visualize experiences, such as lying on a cloud or floating through the sky.
- Reawakening. As the class ends, your child will begin stretching or wiggling his or her body and slowly rise from the floor.