Post on 20-Mar-2016
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March 2013 59
59T h E c a M P i S S u ES
uP
er
Str
etc
hin
gYoga for
children
offers
tremendous
benefits
Story by Julie Kendrick
Photos by Tanya Villano
60 March 2013
60
There’s adult yoga and there’s kid yoga, and
they are very, very different sorts of
animals—as far apart, say, as downward dog
and a crazy, multi-colored cartoon canine.
Adult yoga usually involves dim
lighting, soft music, and lots of time to
de-stress from the pressures of, well,
everything that comes along with being a
parent. Kid yoga is playful mix of
running, jumping, stretching, and playing,
all with an element of mindfulness. The
body awareness, breath consciousness,
and inner calming are there, all right—but
they’re as undetectable to the average kid’s
eye as those “sneaky” brownies that have
puréed spinach baked right in.
This summer, venerable mommy-and-
baby-yoga empire Blooma will be offering
kids’ yoga camps, taught by Jessica
Rosenberg, a longtime Twin Cities’ yoga
instructor and developer of the The Adven-
tures of Super Stretch kids’ yoga program,
products, and yoga apps on iTunes. Camps
will be held at Blooma’s Minneapolis
location, 5315 Lyndale Avenue.
can your kid make it to shavasna?If your first thought is that there is no way
your little darling would be able to sit
through a session of yoga, consider the
experience of Anne Gustin, Edina resident
and mother of two children. Her six-year-
old and two-and-a-half year-old often beg to
fire up the Adventures of Super Stretch app
on the iPad during their daily quiet time.
And, says Gustin, her six-year-old loves
going to kids’ yoga classes, especially those
Jessica Rosenberg leads a class of parents and their children.
ResouRcesFor camp schedules and registration, visit blooma.com or call 612-223-8064. To download the app, visit adventuresofsuperstretch.com or the Super Stretch Yoga app in the iTunes store.
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taught by Rosenberg.
“Jes takes a playful approach to yoga.
They move around a lot. To teach squats,
for example, they all pretend to be frogs
and hop in a circle around imaginary lily
pads. It’s very interactive, and she uses
pictures, toys, and animals to illustrate
things to the kids. But she also teaches
them about the benefi ts and reasons for
each pose. And incredibly, she gets them
to lie relatively still in shavasana at the
end,” Gustin says.
While yoga for kids is still relatively
rare as a regular athletic activity, she says,
“I wish it were more prevalent and more
of a priority for parents, since sports tend
to take precedence. I know that in our
household, when our daughter got to a
certain age, there were lots of chances for
skating and soccer and gymnastics, but
we’re still trying to keep yoga in her life,
since it’s a lifetime practice, with so many
benefi ts,” she adds.
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“Kids learn how to blossom through the
yoga sequences,” teacher Rosenberg
observes. An industrial designer, she is a
500-hour Yoga Alliance registered yoga
teacher, and she believes that many of the
things learned in yoga camp are translat-
able to kids’ lives off the mat. “They fi nd
how they can use their breath for
emotional control and self-regulation and
they learn how to share with partner
poses. The balancing poses help them
remember that, even when things are
stressful, you need to keep breathing or
your mind will become erratic,” she adds.
The mind-body connectionKids’ yoga camp gives children the
opportunity to take ownership of their
reactions, she says. “For example, we
might do a fl ower exercise, where they
imagine using their sitting bones to root,
and use their breath to blossom. We’ll talk
as a group about what kind of fl ower they
choose to be. Or we’ll do an activity where
they make up their own yoga pose, name
it and then teach it to the group.”
Rosenberg observes that there are
signifi cant health benefi ts to a regular
yoga practice, no matter how small the
yogi or yogini. “In addition to increased
mental and physical fl exibility, yoga has
been shown to have a benefi cial impact on
children’s health concerns like obesity,
juvenile diabetes and attention disorders.
There is a great connection between the
mind and body, and I fi nd that the
immediate encouragement of simple
physical successes can be extremely
rewarding to children, and often provides
an ideal balance to their normal daily
activities.”
emphasis on funThe camps will be held for three age
groups that Rosenberg has designated:
Eagle group is for ages 5 to 8; Tree group
is for ages 9 to 11 and Butterfl y group is
for ages 11 to 15. Camps include daily
Kids embrace the Super Stretch philosophy outside the new location of Blooma in Minneapolis.
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yoga sessions, art projects and healthy
snacks. Each class typically features
stories, games, partner dynamics, animal
sounds and, Rosenberg promises, lots of
laughter. For all of the groups, there will
be an emphasis on creating self-confi -
dence, body appreciation and centered,
focused minds. Classes for older kids will
include elements such as journaling, time
for self-refl ection and group discussions.
“Yoga camp is a chance for children to
learn how to show up and tap into their
own inner strength and power. When they
learn to be truly in their bodies, it helps
them create their own true selves,
whatever age they are,” she says. “Plus, we
have a whole lot of fun!”
yoGa anyTIme, anyWheRe: aDVenTuRes of suPeR sTReTch aPPRosenberg’s app allows kids and families to do yoga at home or on the road, and delivers each pose with a compelling story that keeps kids engaged and moving. Sarah Deziel, a Minneapolis mother of two daughters, says that her four- and two-year-old have done yoga with Jes, and love the daily reinforcement that the app provides. “They use the Super Stretch app every day, and they now take deep breaths when feeling stressed or overwhelmed. My older one will move into up dog when she has a tummy ache, the way Super Stretch has told her to do,” she says.
For Deziel, yoga has become a family habit. “We practice yoga together a lot, and I love that it is something that they can feel a part of and can understand what I’m up to when I go to take a class. I’m also a yoga instructor, teaching mainly out in my driveway in the summers, to friends and neighbors,” she says, adding, “Now my daughters think that they can teach to their friends and will set up a mock class. I’m grateful that yoga can be so accessible and fun for our family.”
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