Yoga for Teenagers: Calming the Mind and Body

From responsibilities, academic pressure, and friendships, teenagers experience numerous emotions. And this is what makes them overwhelmed quite easily. Here comes the role of yoga for ensuring calm, balance, and focus. You don't need to twist your body into complex poses every time. Rather, it's an approach to nurturing both the mind and body, thereby helping in dealing with stress and anxiety.

Read below this article to explore how yoga can actually be a game changer and what some of the best yoga poses are for teenagers.

Did you know that teenagers today face more stress than ever before? In fact, according to the American Psychological Association, 83 percent of teens say school is a major source of stress. Besides, social media, extracurricular activities, and peer pressure are some other factors that contribute to it. And there’s no wonder why it's common for teens to feel stretched thin. From improved focus to reduced anxiety, here are the key benefits of yoga for teenagers.

Breathing exercises, such as pranayama, are great when it comes to helping teens feel calmer, as they work by activating the parasympathetic nervous system.

Did you know that yoga also helps in strengthening muscles, improving posture, and increasing flexibility? In fact, poses such as downward dog and tree pose enhance balance and core strength.

Yoga also has a big impact when it comes to improving focus and concentration in kids. This means poses such as the eagle pose or dancer's pose can actually improve your teen’s ability to focus in school or on other tasks.

According to a study, yoga plays a beneficial role in lowering levels of stress and anxiety. Yoga is basically a safe outlet for kids to process their emotions.

Here are some of the helpful yoga poses that teenagers can benefit from.

Also known as the mountain pose, this pose is helpful in building confidence and improving posture. In this pose, one needs to stand tall and visualize oneself as a mountain—feet together, arms at sides while breathing deeply.

This yoga pose includes stretching the back and the shoulders. One simply needs to kneel on the floor, sit back on the heels, stretch the arms forward, and rest the forehead on the ground.

The tree pose is significantly beneficial in improving balance and focus. It involves standing on one leg, placing the sole of the opposite foot on the inner thigh, and placing the hands in a prayer position.

This cat-cow stretch position aids in easing back tension and connecting movement with breath. It can be done by alternating between arching your back and dipping it while on all fours, besides syncing the movement to your breath.

Yoga is a great approach to tuning out the noise of the world and tuning into yourself. From patience to focus, yoga plays a significant role in maintaining a healthier body, both physically and emotionally. Whether it's as simple as a short stretch in the morning or a full yoga session after school, taking out time for practicing yoga can make a huge difference during the teenage years and beyond.