14. Supta Baddha Konasana – Reclined Butterfly Pose – Reclining Cobbler Pose – Reclined Bound Angle Pose
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This is yet another posture babies adopt while sleeping. Knees bent outward and hands with elbows bent , aligned at shoulder level – wow! Completely peaceful and ideal way to sleep. But as we grow up, we lose that flexibility at hips and groins. Practicing this will return that flexibility. Once you are comfortable with this, you can even use this pose to do a meditation before sliding into sleep.
How to do:
- Sit straight on the mat. Keep your spine erect, while keeping the head, neck, and shoulders relaxed.
- Let the hands rest along the sides, with palms resting on the floor.
- Stretch your legs out to the front, while keeping them together.
- Inhale and bend your knees, allowing your heels to come as close as possible to the pelvis.
- Exhale and bend your knees outwards. Join the soles of your feet.
- Place your palms on your knee and push them towards the ground.
- Press the soles together, rest the hands on either side of the body, and slowly rest on the mat on your back.
- Inhale and lift your hands over your head and join the palms together.
- Close your eyes and relax your whole body.
- Hold the posture and indulge in deep breathing.
- Once you relax completely you can come out of the posture.
- Place your hands on the floor, bend your elbows, and place the palms on the floor.
- Inhale and pressing the palms and elbows on the ground, lift your torso and sit on the mat.
- Exhale and stretch out the legs.
- Shake the legs out completely.
- Place the palms on the knees, breathe normally, and relax.
15. Savasana – Corpse Pose
Bring your yoga practice to an end with a completely relaxing Corpse Pose. It helps not only to end up a session, but also lets you gather all the efforts and feel the way your mind and body is at the moment as you wind up the practice. Plus, it is one of the most vouched for relaxing poses. You can even meditate while allowing your body to relax like a dead body.
How to do:
- Lie down on the mat on your back, feet slightly separated, preferably at hip distance.
- Let the arms rest a little away from the body, giving space for armpits to breathe, palms looking towards the ceiling, allowing your fingers to curl naturally.
- Lift your head and place it back on the mat, giving that extra space for neck.
- Keep your shoulders relaxed.
- Slouch your whole body in such a way that it looks like a corpse.
- Close your eyes and indulge in deep breathing, letting your body and mind relax completely.
- With each inhalation, let your abdomen rise. With each exhalation, let your navel go back to the spine.
- Let go off all the thoughts and focus on your breath.
- Lie down in this posture till you feel completely relaxed.
- To come out, slowly move your fingers and toes.
- Roll your head from right to left and left to right.
- Lift your hands over your head and interlock your fingers.
- Stretch your toes and give your entire body a good stretch.
- Keeping the eyes closed, turn to your right and bend your knees.
- Pressing your palms on the floor, sit down in a comfortable position of your choice.
- Rub your palm vigorously to generate heat.
- Place the palms gently on the eyelids, allowing the warmth to spread on the eyes.
- Open your eyes and look into your palms.
- Join your palms at heart centre and bend your head, saluting the Mother Earth.
16. Trataka – Candle Light Meditation
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Meditating has countless benefits associated with it. Kids are encouraged to practice meditation for countless reasons. It puts them at complete ease; the stress is eased away. It helps to focus and concentrate better on their studies. It enables them to handle situations in a better way. Plus, it is quite good for boosting memory. It also bestows them with better sleep. It is also beneficial for strengthening the vision, and thwarting optic disorders.
How to do candle meditation:
- Choose a silent place where you can meditate.
- Choose a time when you be able to concentrate completely. The ideal time would be early in the morning within a few minutes of waking up. Your mind will be fresh and completely empty, allowing you to reap the benefits in a better way.
- Sit in a seated position you are comfortable, keeping the neck and shoulders relaxed, while spine and head are erect.
- Place the lighted candle in front of you in a line aligned straight with your eyes.
- Allow the hands to rest on your thighs, the tips of the thumb and index fingers joined.
- Take 5 rounds of deep inhalations and exhalations to prepare your body and mind for meditation.
- Fix your gaze on the candle flame.
- Let your mind wander for a while before focusing on the flame.
- Keep staring at the flame until that moment till your eyes close away automatically.
- Indulge in meditation as long as you wish to.
- To come out, please follow the rest of the steps. Once you have completed your meditation, rub your palms slightly faster till heat is generated.
- Place your warm palms on the closed eyelids.
- Wait for 3 deep breaths.
- Take your palms away and slowly open your eyes and look into your palms.
- Resume normal breathing.
17. Anulom Vilom Pranayama – Alternate Nostril Breathing – Nadi Soddhana
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Breathing, the right way, is good for you. This particular breathing technique helps in cleaning your entire nervous system. Plus, it is a good way to boost the circulation to the brain, thereby thwarting off all unwanted stress and tension. It is also known to help the kids with their concentration issues.
How to do:
- Sit down on your yoga mat in a cross legged position of your choice. While Padmasana is the ideal one, you can choose to sit in Sukhasana too. People who are uncomfortable sitting cross legged can sit in Vajrasana or Virasana. People with knee and back injuries can use a chair and back support.
- Elongate your spine and keep it erect.
- Relax your shoulders, neck, and head, consciously rolling back the shoulders slightly.
- Place your palms atop the knees, fingers gently shaped into Gyan Mudra [Index finger touching the thumb].
- Close your eyes and lift your right hand, bending at the elbow.
- Shape the fingers of the right hand into Pranayama mudra. [The thumb will be used to cover the right nostril, index and middle fingers will be bent inward with their finger tips resting inside the palm, the ring finger will be used to close the left nostril, the little finger will point outward].
- Take one round of normal breathing.
- Close your right nostril with your thumb.
- Exhale completely via the left nostril.
- Take a slow, deep inhalation via the left nostril.
- Close the left nostril with the ring finger.
- Open the right nostril and exhale completely.
- Inhale deeply and slowly via the right nostril.
- Close the right nostril.
- Open the left nostril and exhale completely.
This completes one repetition of Anuloma Viloma Pranayama. Do 25 such repetitions to complete one round. Do 3 rounds each of 25 repetitions to reap the benefits.
The benefits of practicing yoga goes beyond the physical realm. While it does renders numerous powerful gifts in terms of strength and memory, it actually shapes you as you grow up. It helps you connect with your inner self, thus enabling you to hold the reins of your life.
So start practicing these kids yoga asanas today itself and give yourself a chance to enjoy a new you…
