Yes, Teaching Your Kids to Pose Like a Dead Bug is a Good Thing
I have been a group fitness instructor for 13 years and teach a variety of spin, weightlifting, water, and even Pilates classes each week. I adore some good yoga, but I have yet to master the art of Zen.
It takes a special person to be an excellent yoga instructor. Thank goodness Grand Rapids is full of great instructors – especially ones that offer awesome classes for kids!
I picked the brains of some coworkers, friends, and pros. Besides being a super fun way to be stretchy with friends, yoga has some amazing benefits for kids, too.
Kids Yoga is Uniquely Developed for Energetic Minds and Bodies
Using games, many classes introduce kids to breathing strategies and calming techniques, as well as develop motor skills.
Kids can gain muscular strength and flexibility in yoga. Sensory awareness is honed while general body awareness is a focus.
My friend Melissa Stout is an instructor in the Kalamazoo area who is passionate about the practice for kids.
Children in yoga are “helping decrease anxiety, stress, and depression by working on breathing patterns that activate the body’s parasympathetic nervous system,” says Melissa. This system is often referred to as the rest and digest system, controlling energy conservation, heart rate, and the intestines.
Besides moderating energy and mood, wee ones can learn to channel all that energy in a positive way.
Yoga for kids “promotes wellness for the whole child,” explains Jen Rapanos of Well-Bean Kid’s Yoga.
“(It) isn’t just a physical practice, and it certainly isn’t about alignment or worrying about how a pose looks. Instead, practicing yoga asanas with children provides an opportunity to become curious about how a pose feels in the body.”
Where to Find Kids Yoga Classes Near Grand Rapids
Although many gyms in GR offer childcare, finding classes just for your tyke can be a challenge. Luckily, our city offers many options for families to try out their tree pose.
I met an amazing yogi at a GRKIDS staff outing. As a second grade teacher, mom-to-be, and fitness fan that attends some of my classes, she knows her stuff.
Kristen Wood is active at Renew Mama Studio and listed so many options for the little ones, infants to tweens. Kristen is also excited about Renew Mama’s prenatal classes, summer camps, Saturday family yoga for everyone, the monthly kid’s party workshops, parent/child classes, and storytime yoga at Grand Rapids parks in the summer.
Well-Bean Kid’s Yoga believes in “planting seeds of wellness.” They are passionate about the emotional and physical health of young people, offering services from child yoga and mindfulness to parenting classes and psychotherapy services.
Kids classes are covered at AM Yoga. There are several choices for classes throughout the week including Baby Mama, Super Yogi, Elementary, and Girl Power. Camps are also offered.
Your kids will be buzzing about the yoga fun they can find at The Hive. Ms. Meg has geared the Bumblebees sessions just for your tots through school-aged kiddos.
For fun outside the studio, try Twisted Hot Yoga’s all ages free classes at Ah-Nab-Awen Park Fridays at 6:00 PM through August 23rd.
Kids Yoga Classes Near Kalamazoo
If you are in Kalamazoo County, try these places for the mind-body bendy benefits of children’s yoga:
Kids yoga in Pasadena is fast picking up. Parents and kids are fast realizing the importance and benefits of yoga and getting their kids to practice it in a fun way.
KDL has several Yoga story times that are fantastic for the toddler and preschool set! We’ve been going to the one at Wyoming, but I know Cascade, Comstock Park, and Byron Center KDLs also host some too.