Are you worried about whether Yoga will be helpful for your anxious child?

Yoga offers a myriads of tools in its toolbox to help children and grown-ups alike who suffer from anxiety. The benefits of Yoga have been proven to pacify the nervous system, however it is only going to be beneficial if you actually practice!

Staying seated and still can be very difficult for beginners of Yoga and even though achieving long periods of seated meditation was initially the overall goal of Yoga in the ancient world, Yoga can take very dynamic and physical forms.

Thankfully Children Yoga is a very dynamic practice with mini breaks here and there to regroup, recenter and practice slowing back down. A physical practice is often what the anxious person needs, according to Alex Howard, doctor in psychology specialising with anxiety. He recommends to try and identify which type of anxiety is the main issue:

  • Is your child suffering from a physical anxiety which may take its roots in multiple causes including inbalances in blood sugar levels, inflammation and food intolerances, or simply poor quality of sleep. It is characterised by shallow breathing, fast heart rate, hot and cold sweats, headaches, and digestive issues.
  • A mental anxiety is characterised by a pace of thoughts far quicker than usual, meaning that there are many more thoughts than usual too ! This leads to a sense of being overwhelmed, wired, and worried about what may or may not happen and generally fearing that we may not be able to cope.

The best solutions for the above 2 types of anxiety is movement, as you cannot think your way out of it. Whether vigorous movement, or mindful movement, an embodied activity that your child enjoys would be ideal.

  • If the source of anxiety is emotional, the aim is to come back to a sense of safety first, breathing techniques, reassurance, acceptance, and reasoning in short simple sentences may help your child best. Understanding what triggered anxiety is important. Once calm, aim to discuss whether the size of response is appropriate to the size of the problem, or threat felt. It is important to aim to process the issue as opposed to burying it deeper as ‘What you resist, persists’.

Whatever the source of Anxiety, Yoga offers many tools – physical poses, breathing techniques, mindfulness techniques or the reflection in the class – that can help. It is important that the setting is right for your child and that they have an interest in Yoga practice.

It is easier to gain benefits from Yoga practice if your child enjoys Yoga and if the other children in the class also enjoy Yoga and understand what the expectations are. Role modeling by other children in the class can be as beneficial as it can be disruptive so do check with the teacher how the class is going and whether your child is joining in.