THE QUICK READ
• Practising yoga as a group allows
families to slow down and connect
with each other
• The nature of yoga enables it to
accommodate, and benefit, people of
all ages when practised in a group
setting
• People with special needs, especially
those with a diagnosis of ADHD,
ADD, Asperger’s and autism, often
find that yoga helps them self-
regulate and cope with sensory
issues, poor coordination, balance
and shallow breathing
• Families can benefit from even short
yoga practices of a few minutes, as
long as the activity is fun!
yoga makes it something of a rarity among
physical disciplines in that it is able to
accommodate, and benefit, people of all
ages, even when practised as a group.
Yoga:
• is non-competitive – it’s all about your
own journey
• develops body awareness and builds
concentration
• teaches how to manage stress through
healthy movement, meditation and
relaxation
• develops muscle strength, balance,
posture and flexibility, and is low impact
• helps to develop a positive self and
confidence
• can help to decelerate the ageing process
and increase energy and vitality
• helps to connect families through
movement and play.
Yoga can complement any fitness
program
I have worked with many clients who focus
on training for specific sports, as well as
those who do so in order to simply stay
healthy and well. Whatever their reason for
exercising, I always encourage clients to add
yoga to their workout regimes.
38 | NETWORK WINTER 2019
It’s not hard to recommend
Introducing yoga to your clients can be
as simple as recommending a good yoga
teacher and style that you know will be right
for them, or, finding a suitable yoga tutorial
video online that you think will resonate with
them. There are a number of family-specific
yoga classes available that help family
members connect with each other through
yoga and play therapy. Just search online for
‘family yoga’ and you may be surprised by
the choice in your local vicinity, particularly
if you live in a metropolitan area. Of course,
if you are a yoga teacher as well as a fitness
professional, you can teach clients and
members simple sequences that they can
take home to their families.
Recommend places to make it
more fun for a family
Yoga can be practiced in the home, in the
backyard, down at the beach or at the park.
Kids love it when it’s all about the fun – and
so do adults!
How long should you recommend?
Any yoga is good yoga! If a client or their
family hasn’t done much yoga before,
recommend that they do it for even 5 to
10 minutes by themselves. Initially, this
could just focus on learning to breathe
well. Remember, in order for it to become a
regular family activity, the practice should be
kept simple and fun for all family members!
Yoga really does provide some amazing
tools for our clients to feel more connected
to body and mind, and if they learn to share
these tools with their families, they will have
a more connected and calmer household.
Leah Chandler
Leah is a yoga teacher and fitness professional
and the founder of Kids-Fit Australia. She loves
teaching kids and families – including her own
family of five – how to keep fit for everyday life.
Leah is the founder of Family-Fit Online which
helps families connect, laugh and play together
through learning the basics of fitness, food,
relaxation and fun.
kidsfitaustralia.com / facebook.com/kidsfitaust /
instagram.com/kidsfitaust
Take care of yourself with yoga
I also recommend that fitness professionals
learn yoga and mindfulness techniques for
themselves. The physical techniques can help
us move better, and learning mindfulness
and relaxation techniques can help us ‘switch
off’ after another long and busy day training
clients and working on our businesses. We are
always striving to improve the lives of others,
but it is vital to our own wellbeing – and career
longevity – to also work on improving our own.