Elgin instructor says yoga improves kids' focus, self-esteem
You want to help your kids become stronger and more flexible while fostering their self-esteem, empathy and ability to focus? Yoga is a prime way to do that, instructor Liz Berent says.
Berent teaches a weekly yoga class for 6- to 10-year-olds at The Centre of Elgin, where she also teaches classes for adults. The poses and physical movements of yoga are just a portion of the work that takes place during class, said Berent, who also co-owns The Yoga Room in Hampshire.
The kids learn, for example, about breathing techniques, listening to their bodies and being aware of their feelings, which in turn leads to the realization that they can control how they feel not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally, Berent explained.
“I view yoga as an Eastern methodology of public health. That's how I perceive it,” said Berent, who has a master's degree in public health. “It's a kinesthetic pedagogy. It's very much 'learning through doing,' which kids enjoy.”
Leah, 11, and Jenna Mack, 8, sisters from Elgin, who have taken Berent's class twice and three times respectively, said it taught them a lot.
“It's nice,” Jenna said. “It kind of helps control my breathing, and it helps calm us down for a test or something like that.”
Leah agreed, saying, “It helps you calm down if you are nervous or if you can't sleep.”
Their mother Suellen Shively-Mack said she, too, took up yoga once her kids started. “I have heard them talk about the ways in which it helps them. It gives them natural ways to have some control and deal with stress.”
Mirroring the vastly increasing popularity of yoga among adults, kids yoga is a growing trend across the nation, said Michelle K. Mitchell, co-founder of the National Kids Yoga Conference, whose third edition takes place in late September in Washington, D.C.
About 21 million adults, nearly double the number from 2002, and 1.7 million children practiced yoga, according to 2015 data from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
“Adults see how it makes them feel and what it does for them, and they in turn are thinking, 'Oh this might be a good idea for my kid to try,'” Mitchell said. “And from there it grows.”
Schools in major cities, including Chicago, Atlanta and New York, have incorporated yoga in their curricula, ranging from six-week programs to weekly or biweekly sessions throughout the school year, she said.
“Ultimately what we're trying to do is teach kids the yoga and mindfulness practices so it's a regular part of what they do, much like they take a foreign language course or learn to play a musical instrument or sing in a chorus,” she said. “Yoga includes movement too, and we know our kids need to be active.”
Research into the benefits of yoga for kids is fairly new, so there are no definite guidelines about the right “dosage,” she said. However, research does show that kids who practice yoga are less likely to smoke, drink alcohol and have sex later on, Mitchell said. “All of the programs seem to be effective.”
Kids with physical limitations also can practice yoga, Berent said. For example, kids with scoliosis benefit from strengthening muscles that support their spine, and kids with diabetes benefit from increased blood flow to their hands and feet, she said.
Danielle Cass of Elgin said she was thrilled to find out about the class at The Centre after practicing yoga at home with her 6-year-old daughter Isabella Hall.
“I looked for a yoga class for her for years, but they were in Chicago or Naperville, way too far,” she said, explaining Isabella has Klippel-Feil syndrome, a rare musculoskeletal disorder. “We want to focus a lot on what the body can do versus what it can't do. This is perfect for her.”