Kids Need Yoga Too
April 11, 2020
This week my youngest daughter, Reagan and I led the first Kids’ Yoga class for Willow Lane Yoga & Wellness via Zoom. Pictured here is one of our sweet girls from class who just so happened to be enjoying her flow outside in the glorious sun.
As we conclude this fourth week of Sheltering-In-Place in Illinois, I feel as though this is a bit of a dream. A month doesn’t possibly seem as though it has passed. However, it has and we all have gone through different emotions that we are trying to navigate. Our children are watching us, now more than ever. Why? They’re watching how we navigate routines, emotions, food, relationships, discipline and most of all…who or what exactly that we are tethering ourselves to throughout this global pandemic.
My personal yoga practice isn’t just physical: it’s my time to really commune with Our Creator. Jesus time coupled with “mat time” fosters that connectedness that keeps me rooted into the capital T, Truth amidst all of the fear-mongering and negativity all over social channels these days. As I spent time on the mat a couple of weeks ago, Reagan (my youngest child) asked, “Hey mom, can I join you?” The playlist started, we read a little bit from Psalms 91 and flowed through postures. We concluded with the sweetest little savasana time that I will hold dear to my heart forever by holding hands, breathing and praying together. Afterward, my girl said, “Mama, I feel so much better in my body, in my heart and with you and Jesus.”
You see, this girl has been begging me for well over a year to start a yoga class for kids. I have been resistant for multiple reasons, but the main reason was that I just didn’t feel ready yet. God prepares us and equips us to move forward each time He calls us to do something, yet we are the ones getting in our own way. I didn’t think I was ready, but those simple words from Reagan and her childlike way with words were just the nudging He gave me to say, “It is time.”
Kids need yoga too. They need faith-filled yoga just the way we as adults need it in our bodies, heart, mind and soul. The atmosphere of remote learning has fostered more sitting, more screen time (whether it’s screen time for learning, gaming or both), and disconnection from others. Yoga offers children the opportunity to counteract the aforementioned things by improving their lives physically by providing exercise, fostering a release of anxiety and creating a deeper connection to not only family, but their Creator.
What do I want my children to learn from this pandemic? What do you want your family to learn during this unprecedented time? I want my children to learn to abide in Him above all else. Rest, dwell, sleep under his wing and stay rooted to the capital T.
Psalms 91:1 says, “The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.”
Be blessed and don’t forget to bend, before you break,
Amy
Amy