Find Some Zen: Yoga is Great for Everyone!

This is a cute (albeit a tad fuzzy) depiction of a great way to start your day with the sun salutation. 

I try to incorporate yoga into my daily routine. More often than I'd like to admit 15 more minutes of sleep wins out. However, it's no big news that yoga has some amazing mental and physical health benefits. It always helps me feel refreshed and ready to take on the day. And it can help kids do the same. 

As I did my routine this morning (high five for me for getting out of bed), I thought about posts and articles I've read about yoga for little ones and that children of any age can benefit from it. While I do believe that to be true, if I brought Brady into our yoga room I'm not sure I'd witness him imitating my tree pose or even the downward dog. It's more likely he would push around the yoga ball and pull my hair if it was within reach. However, I do see the value of introducing kids to exercise and taking care of their bodies at a young age. And although they may not be able to imitate poses immediately, they will observe, take the information into their sponge-like brains and after some time of repeating exposure to the activity will begin to experiment with it. 

Yoga is a great way to start or end the day and can also be a valuable tool for circumventing temper tantrums. The breath aspect, especially is a great resource for taming anger and frustration. 

This article at Parent.com has some handy tips for introducing yoga into your bedtime routine. I haven't tried it yet, as our bedtime routine usually goes pretty smoothly and as I said, it may result in more pulling mama's hair than actual yoga. But, as our little guy is more able to imitate poses and follow directions I definitely think it's something I'd like to give a go. All around, it just seems like a no-brainer to include your little ones in some yoga practice. It's a great way to fit it into your daily routine, do some deep breathing and establish some healthy habits from an early age.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about yoga with kids! Have you tried it? Do you have any tips for helping little ones imitate the poses you model? Do you prefer morning or evening yoga?