FEATURE | KIDS YOGA
Calm,
Alert &
Ready to
Learn
Preparing children
for managing stress
Story by JAYNE HEMBRUFF & LINDA BRYDGES
A
s parents, we crave to share meaningful insights with our children,
especially those that give them a
positive and hopeful image of who they are. We
reach out for tips on managing life’s inevitable
frustrations and stress load — theirs and ours.
Research shows the ancient wisdom of yoga
can be beneficial for today’s kids; especially
those who find it challenging to manage traditional school settings, social interactions and
life’s daily challenges.
Dr. Stuart Shanker, a leader in the field of
self-regulation and founder of the Canadian
Self- Regulation Initiative (CSRI), states that,
“for a lot of kids, people are always telling them
to sit still or calm down, but rarely are they
instructed on how to do these things.”
Building on Dr. Shanker’s research, I have
developed the “Yoga-tastic” model, which
helps children to generate their own solutions
to stress through using yoga techniques such
as present moment awareness. By using the
“Yoga-tastic” model, children are empowered
to build a customized tool kit of techniques to
access whenever they need a dose of calm, or,
alternatively, a dose of alertness.
22
THE HOLISTIC PARENT
Winter 2015
theholisticparent.ca