Yoga indeed has become a popular, mainstream alternative for exercise and fitness. Here in Los Angeles, hardly a day goes by that I don?t see people walking by with their Yoga Mats rolled up underneath their arms coming from or going to their Yoga class.
Most stay-home moms have picked Yoga up as well as their method of keeping fit and maintaining physical, mental and emotional balance. Upon seeing the apparent results most naturally wonder how their children might be able to benefit form using Yoga for kids. Well, it is my hope that as a Yoga enthusiast myself, you will find this article much helpful in choosing the yoga poses that could be incorporated into your child?s recreational endeavors.
Yoga for Kids: Recommended Poses.
1. Sun Salutations:
These are a group of poses that serve as a warm up to a yoga session or class. For staying fit, keeping obesity at bay and fun (especially when performed at a high speed), the Sun Salutations will be an immense source of enjoyment for kids getting introduced to Yoga. Do you know in India, they actually hold contests of how many rounds of Sun Salutations kids can do in one go? Yeah, they are that much fun.
2. The Shoulder Stand:
Trust me, behind your back, kids already try this pose. You probably did as a kid without knowing you were actually doing Yoga. So in your use of yoga for kids, make sure the inclusion of this pose is of priority. Executed with the bridge pose and fish-poses as counter poses, for kids doing yoga, the shoulder-stand will reap many benefits.
3. The Forward Bend Pose:
This teaches your kids self-dependence and aids immensely at curbing digestive disturbances as an added bonus. I?ll have you know, some authorities of Yoga have said that these three poses mentioned thus far are enough for humans-although this may be slightly erroneous or incomplete as the execution of their counter-poses for a specified amount of time is also of great importance as well.
4. The Wheel Pose:
Okay, I was walking through the park the other day and saw a kid who couldn?t have been more than 8 years of age executing this pose for literally 90 seconds. Yes, I counted this out of amazement and intrigue. It?s been hailed as the ?forever young pose?, consequently when using yoga for kids; this has got to be included. Co-incidentally it is the counter-pose to the third pose above.
5. The Relaxation Pose:
Of course this is a must-do for everyone. When introducing your kids to yoga, this will be a good time to show them how to relax with its use as a secret for relief from school stress and the little challenges they may face in their young lives. Yes, they do have some demands placed on them parents. Moreover showing this to them now will go a long way with laying the foundation on how to deal with the daily demands of life.
Other great poses to consider are the Bow, Triangle, Spinal-Twist, Inclined and Diamond Poses. Kids should also be shown proper breathing exercises with emphasis on Abdominal Breathing.
Other factors to be included when using yoga for kids are the use of a proper, nourishing diet of Fresh Fruits and vegetables-(emphasis on leafy ones) and positive thinking techniques. On the subject of diets, you can add some celery juice to their fresh fruit juices if you have one of those popular juicers such as the juiceman. This is one way of sneaking in a good source of powerful minerals into their bodies, tastefully. Oh, before I forget, they love BARHI dates! Moms, these are just like their rather harmful counterfeits (candies at the store) but of course are sources of great nutrients.
Yoga for kids is best begun around the age of seven, however, kids-being-kids, they of course will emulate what they see you doing, so as long as you know they are not in harm?s way, it?s okay to let them dabble a bit into Yoga.
Indeed using Yoga is both fun for kids and beneficial for as the book of Prov. 22. 6 states, it is one effective method of ?Training your child in the way he should go…? as the discipline and confidence that comes from Yoga (and Martial Arts too-just a hint)
may only be attainable from this ancient form of physical culture.
So Moms and Dads, go on and get your kids started on yoga. You?ll be glad you did.
Foras Aje is an independent health researcher and founder of Bodyhealthsoul.com. For more Yoga tips and information on Yoga Apparel choices, feel free to stop by his website today.
Showing posts with label Added Bonus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Added Bonus. Show all posts
March 1, 2009
I Must Thank Yoga if I Ever Do Win a Grammy
Voice lessons aside, one other thing that helps with singing or public speaking will be a feeling of looseness and flexibility in the throat. While some may rely on ?Hot tea, lemon and honey? to achieve this, there are actually some yoga poses that help ?loosen? the vocal cords and with practice actually increase the flexibility of the muscles in those areas.
Now, from personal research, a specific book titled ?Singing for the Stars? by Seth Riggs-(the vocal coach of the who-is-who of the Music Industry)-specifies that stretching to warm up not only the vocal cords but the whole body before doing vocal warm-ups are very helpful.
That considered, I specifically incorporated those poses that I know from sensation loosen the cervical region that of course contains the throat. (As an added bonus, some of these poses loosen other body parts that come in handy for my ?James Brown-Michael Jackson-Prince?-esque moves by the way?)
Now I will show you my choices and explain each one briefly.
1. The Sun Salutations.
This is more of a combination of poses, versus being an exclusive pose. Its ease and versatility comes in handy for warming up the entire body and increasing the blood flow. Moreover, with the deep breathing associated (and the corrective effect it does have on breathing in general), this unique collage of indeed very simple movements will come in handy for just about warming up to do anything.
2. The Wheel Pose:
This is a backward bending pose that owing to its execution stretches the entire body immensely. When properly executed, one?s head will be turned upside down which consequently stretches the throat and increases the blood flow to the head. When, I?m doing mid to up-tempo numbers, I love executing the wheel pose to sort of get the adrenalin pumped up and I also add the spinal twists (it?s counter pose so to speak) for an even more balanced stretch that it may offer.
3. The Lion Pose:
Think ?Scary Movie 1? here for a minute, remember when Marlon Wayans yells ?whazup? and stretches out his tongue? Well, this pose has a similar concept in execution. Moreover, I actually read that taking its name into consideration, it is often a pose recommended for overcoming shyness, as some Yogic texts claim in executing a pose, you take up the characteristic of the object or creature it is named after. Since this is the Lion Pose, it is believed that boldness and confidence is increased. For now, let?s just stick to the immense stretching of the throat that it offers.
4. The Shoulder-Stand Sequence:
Well, this sequence includes a pose known in Yoga as Savagasana (meaning it affects all body parts). It is a simple inversion pose and when executed with its counter poses: The Bridge and the Fish Poses, they adequately loosen up the whole body. If my performance or session is in the earlier parts of the day, I may simply execute just this sequence alone (with the previously mentioned sun salutations) and be fine. The fish pose especially loosens up the chest and is often recommended for respiratory disorders such as Asthma and Bronchitis.
5. The Relaxation Pose:
The name says it all. After a session or performance, it is always best to cool down the vocal muscles as this comes in handy for extensive daily use. Perhaps no other pose comes close to relaxing not only the vocal cords but the whole body like the Relaxation Pose yoga has to offer. This simple relaxation technique is something I have incorporated into my list of essentials as a vocalist and will come in handy for interested parties as well.
In addition to these poses and since singing involves a great degree of breath control, the Breathing Exercises (aka pranayama) belonging to Yoga come in very handy, as well as do some Yogic Cleaning techniques for the body such as nasal, throat and tongue cleansing?but that?s another topic altogether.
Moreover, a yogic diet -which is akin to the Mucus-free diet of the drug-free fraternity/lifestyle-helps to ensure excess mucus within is curbed and of course fasting-an advocated practice of Yoga-augments this even more. In fact this last factor is secretly why I hardly ever run out of breath while performing folks.
Perhaps if I ever end up winning a Grammy someday (hey, you never know?), I?ll be able to get up at the podium and acknowledge Yoga much more for helping me sing better, but for now, if your trade, passion or hobby demands an intense use of your vocal cords, you can surely benefit a lot from adding a little bit of yoga to making them work a lot better.
Foras Aje is an independent health researcher and founder of Bodyhealthsoul.com For more Yoga tips and information on Yoga for beginners stop by his website today.
Now, from personal research, a specific book titled ?Singing for the Stars? by Seth Riggs-(the vocal coach of the who-is-who of the Music Industry)-specifies that stretching to warm up not only the vocal cords but the whole body before doing vocal warm-ups are very helpful.
That considered, I specifically incorporated those poses that I know from sensation loosen the cervical region that of course contains the throat. (As an added bonus, some of these poses loosen other body parts that come in handy for my ?James Brown-Michael Jackson-Prince?-esque moves by the way?)
Now I will show you my choices and explain each one briefly.
1. The Sun Salutations.
This is more of a combination of poses, versus being an exclusive pose. Its ease and versatility comes in handy for warming up the entire body and increasing the blood flow. Moreover, with the deep breathing associated (and the corrective effect it does have on breathing in general), this unique collage of indeed very simple movements will come in handy for just about warming up to do anything.
2. The Wheel Pose:
This is a backward bending pose that owing to its execution stretches the entire body immensely. When properly executed, one?s head will be turned upside down which consequently stretches the throat and increases the blood flow to the head. When, I?m doing mid to up-tempo numbers, I love executing the wheel pose to sort of get the adrenalin pumped up and I also add the spinal twists (it?s counter pose so to speak) for an even more balanced stretch that it may offer.
3. The Lion Pose:
Think ?Scary Movie 1? here for a minute, remember when Marlon Wayans yells ?whazup? and stretches out his tongue? Well, this pose has a similar concept in execution. Moreover, I actually read that taking its name into consideration, it is often a pose recommended for overcoming shyness, as some Yogic texts claim in executing a pose, you take up the characteristic of the object or creature it is named after. Since this is the Lion Pose, it is believed that boldness and confidence is increased. For now, let?s just stick to the immense stretching of the throat that it offers.
4. The Shoulder-Stand Sequence:
Well, this sequence includes a pose known in Yoga as Savagasana (meaning it affects all body parts). It is a simple inversion pose and when executed with its counter poses: The Bridge and the Fish Poses, they adequately loosen up the whole body. If my performance or session is in the earlier parts of the day, I may simply execute just this sequence alone (with the previously mentioned sun salutations) and be fine. The fish pose especially loosens up the chest and is often recommended for respiratory disorders such as Asthma and Bronchitis.
5. The Relaxation Pose:
The name says it all. After a session or performance, it is always best to cool down the vocal muscles as this comes in handy for extensive daily use. Perhaps no other pose comes close to relaxing not only the vocal cords but the whole body like the Relaxation Pose yoga has to offer. This simple relaxation technique is something I have incorporated into my list of essentials as a vocalist and will come in handy for interested parties as well.
In addition to these poses and since singing involves a great degree of breath control, the Breathing Exercises (aka pranayama) belonging to Yoga come in very handy, as well as do some Yogic Cleaning techniques for the body such as nasal, throat and tongue cleansing?but that?s another topic altogether.
Moreover, a yogic diet -which is akin to the Mucus-free diet of the drug-free fraternity/lifestyle-helps to ensure excess mucus within is curbed and of course fasting-an advocated practice of Yoga-augments this even more. In fact this last factor is secretly why I hardly ever run out of breath while performing folks.
Perhaps if I ever end up winning a Grammy someday (hey, you never know?), I?ll be able to get up at the podium and acknowledge Yoga much more for helping me sing better, but for now, if your trade, passion or hobby demands an intense use of your vocal cords, you can surely benefit a lot from adding a little bit of yoga to making them work a lot better.
Foras Aje is an independent health researcher and founder of Bodyhealthsoul.com For more Yoga tips and information on Yoga for beginners stop by his website today.
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