Can Kids Yoga Create World Peace?

By Azahar Aguilar 

As yoga instructors, we know yoga improves the lives of adults all over the world. Stress and body aches derived from everyday life make the practice a necessity to adults. But can it do the same for children, and in turn build a more peaceful future when they lead the next generation?

Most kids are under similar pressure as adults today, just with different titles.  To get good grades, do well at sports, and to fit in with friends.  All while under the spotlight of social media - could you imagine dealing with Facebook in middle school?. Change of life transitions such as divorce often hit them harder than adults, due to the powerlessness and position outside to the situation. The same goes for poverty, family violence and even war.

Yoga is a necessary tool to combat these issues and more.  Every child, regardless of ability can do some type of yoga. -To have fun and enjoy, to let go and relax, and to recognize and ignore the ego. While not all of this is grasped immediately (is it immediate with most adults though?), the practice matures with the children over time, and with that, more mature yogis and yoginis blossom open in the future.

Benefits of yoga for children specifically include improved coordination, body image, stability, self-esteem, concentration, awareness of the present moment, social interaction, responsibility, and increased creativity in already creative minds.

When we give our children the gift of learning these lessons early - how to reduce anxiety, connect with the inner mind and body, to slow down, to turn inward, to connect with others, we ultimately give this gift to our future. What world could we create when those kids grow up?  How would future world leaders and CEO’s make decisions if they recognized we are all the same in breath, prana, and energy?

Negative life cycles are perpetuated every day, and in every type of community around the world.  There is no unique situation - tiny humans tend to be the byproduct of adult decisions. If a good mentor is absent in a child's developmental years, it creates the possibility to begin the cycle for teen pregnancy, school dropouts, anger issues, or crime.  Society bears these costs, when really we could prevent this cycle from starting by giving children tools to deal with their emotions and the world around them.

Yoga builds an outlet for children with traumatic home or life events - Everything from poverty, hunger, sexual violence, domestic violence, or gang violence. Yoga acts as physical and mental therapy for children with limited resources.  It arms them with better sleep at night and tools to deal with these daunting life events. Children learn to value themselves, deal with their temper, recognize their own value to contribute tothe world, correct anti-social behavior, and contribute to their community at large. It breaks the cycle with positive impact from adults as mentors and good examples.

Yoga for children is slowly popping up in other war torn and violence disrupted countries and regions.  Yoga as therapy gives children a chance to heal and address inner conflict head on, and to trust other peers and mentors as time goes on. Along with positive mental and emotional help for individual children, it connects the community at large and provides them knowledge to better handle individual anger, education, mentorship, and leadership. It creates jobs and initiates positive action within the populace at large - All tools to give the community a brighter future.

           

Yoga for kids in diverse communities acts as a means to relate to one another on a human level.  So in any community, it is a keystone to connect children to other children different from them, adult mentors from many varying communities and a lifetime understanding of how the world links together.  It's a light bulb moment for any child (or adult) to realize we are all human, and really, not so different.

Children's yoga programs are life changing for the adult volunteers as well.  Those that tune into the lessons from the children learn the most. Most volunteers explain what an honor it is for the adults to serve these groups of tiny humans.  The volunteering itself acts as an addition of positive energy to the community, as the act of giving always does.

Yoga for children absolutely has the power to create world peace - it breaks down old toxic cycles, creates tools for kids to build a successful future and relate to their peers on a deeper level.  In their adult mentors it initiates a connection to the present moment as volunteer adults pass down knowledge and positive energy for these tiny humans and the community at large.  

Good energy creates more good energy.  So what are you waiting for?  Go create some world peace. Volunteer in your community with children today.

© Copyright 2014 – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division