Yoga as Therapy for Children
By Levi Noe
Before any discussion on yoga as therapy, or yoga as therapy for children can begin, an understanding of yoga itself must be made. Yoga is not necessarily difficult to put into words. Patanjali, the first to transcribe the ancient oral tradition of yoga, put this thousands of years old system into four concise chapters, or paddas, around 2,000 years ago. His yoga sutras, sutra meaning thread in Sanskrit, describe very specifically and lucidly the process of coming from a state of imbalance and disharmony to yoga, which translates to yoking or union. However, the intellectual understanding of the content of yoga is quite different and incomplete in terms of the practice of yoga and the wisdom offered
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All of this is to say that yoga is readily defined, but by definition it is beyond the comprehension of the analytic, logical mind. Patanjali describes yoga in the first padda and the second aphorism as “yogas citta vrtti nirodhah”, Pat Hansen, a former professor at MSUD, and a practitioner of yoga and ayurveda for over thirty years offered a translation of this sutra: yoga exists in that field of consciousness that is free of all fluctuation. For the purpose of this paper we will not focus as much on what yoga is defined as, but more so on its effects and benefits as a therapeutic practice. This is not to nullify the significance of knowing what yoga is, but yoga is very much a take what you will, or to each their own system. Especially because most who are interested in yoga are not looking to take on a yogic lifestyle and children particularly are not concerned with the underlying principles and fundamentals of the poses and controlled …show more content…
One might feel that yoga goes against their religious beliefs, or on the other end of the spectrum, one might feel that yoga imposes a religious belief on a nonreligious person. Yoga, however, is technically defined as a science. There are many different branches and sects of yoga that may assert a higher consciousness and some that don’t, but the science of yoga is a variety of processes and methods that require no attached belief system. Yoga is tailored to the individual and meant to enhance or help the individual discover his or her own personal truth. An atheist and a Christian can do the exact same pose, the exact same breathing exercise, the exact same meditation, and each come out finding their own faith deeper, stronger, and more real. Yoga is closely tied with the hindu religion, ayurveda, and other Indian belief systems because of its geographic and cultural origination, but yoga itself is its own separate darshan, or insight, which is more or less what the Indian people call their different schools of thought. What this means is that yoga could be practiced with the Hindu religion as its focal point, or it could be practiced with a Jewish or Islamic focus just as relatively. Why one practices yoga, and what one gets out of yoga is completely subjective, completely up to the
Yoga, as a way to achieve higher self-awareness, was around as early as 200 B.C. in India and has been gradually growing in popularity in the western world over the past four decades. Traditional styles of yoga, including Hatha yoga, which consists of thousands of poses, have long been studied as an effective form of complimentary or alternative medicine (CAM).
Yoga is a discipline with a scientific background that was developed over 2000 years ago. In this system of self-development the restless mind is calmed and energy is placed into constructive channels. It is not a religion as some people may be led to believe. It is a philosophy of life. The lessons learned are just as relevant today as they were when they were first created, still keeping the main principle that before you can train your mind to reach a higher consciousness you must first discipline your body. Yoga's popularity is largely due to its wide range of benefits, including therapeutic effects, muscle toning, energy increasing and concentration of the mind.
Yoga is a discipline both involving physical and mental control that originated in India. The word Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word, "yug", meaning union and it means the joining of the individual spirit with the universal spirit. The type of yoga known as Hatha Yoga, ("Ha"- sun, "tha"-moon) is what is most commonly practiced and this yoga involves the path of the mind and body and is the most physical. There are eight limbs or steps of Hatha Yoga, the first step being the five Yamas. There are five yamas and these concern your behavior to the world.
It is the most appropriate yoga for those who are more intellectually or philosophically inclined. This yoga can be broken into three distinct steps. The first step is to learn, this means seeking out teachers and gurus who can pass their knowledge unto you. The second step is to think; this step requires you to separate your true Self from the self you are currently occupying. The final step is to change, that is, to change your self-identification to your true Self. This step can often include referring to yourself in the third person to further drive a wedge between Self and self.
Yoga and Meditation being used as a form of physical therapy has been going on for thousands of years. We, the western society, have picked this up and created a yoga boom doing researches with results showing that it can improve physical health.
Anxiety impacts approximately 25% of 13-18 at some point (Merikangas et al., n.d.). Anxiety that no longer signals danger can become pathological when it is excessive and persistent (Upadhyay, 2016). According to Upadhyay (2016), this type of pathological worry known as anxiety is a major component of an unhealthy lifestyle. Excessive worry is an indicator of anxiety and it is believed that yoga is effective due to its emphasis on focusing on the present moment rather than focusing on the past or future (Khalsa et al., 2011). Yoga outside of psychotherapy can improve emotional regulation and mental health functioning in youth. Participants obtained skills to breathe and use movement to calm down and learned to pay better attention to their thoughts, body, and feelings (Beltran, et al., 2016). Another study conducted by Upadhyay (2016) found that after a 12-week yoga program adolescents saw a decrease in anxiety scores on Becks Anxiety Inventory and reported a decrease in tension, depression, and anger. Another unique form of therapy that is utilized for anxiety is Yoga-Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Y-BT) (Khalsa, et al., 2011). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a theory used in a clinical setting that targets maladaptive thought patterns to seek behavioral change. Y-CBT uses this therapeutic process and also incorporate yoga during the process. This is because CBT trains the individual to identify and replace maladaptive thoughts and yoga and meditation often reduce the tendency for the thoughts to happen in general. The study utilizing Y-CBT saw a significant improvement in anxiety levels and a significant decrease in symptoms of comorbid depression and panic in participants diagnosed with ...
This qualitative case study is an approach to research how yoga can affect the human mind in a positive way and lead to a healthy lifestyle using 2 sources one being a book called The Science Of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards by William J. Broad 2012. And the other being a private interview with a 22 year old male Yogi. This ensures that the issue is not getting explored through one side, but rather a variety of sides which allows for different inputs to be reveled and understood. There are two key approaches that help determine if yoga helps affect the human mind in a positive way. One flourished by William J. Broad (2012) which explores different factors on how yoga contributes to a healthy lifestyle and interviews fellow yogis who give there insight on the matter. And the second being a personal webcam interview conducted by the researcher ...
Yoga is a practice that anyone of any age can complete anywhere at anytime. It originated in ancient India and is estimated to be nearly five thousand years old. Through yoga, one is able to find his or her path to peaceful bliss within him or her self (Finney 25). The mind and the body become balanced with each other, giving one the sense of enlightenment (The Magic of...Meditation). Depending on the styles and poses a person is to choose, yoga benefits a person not only physically, but mentally as well.
In a world full of skepticism towards the alternative, Yoga has created a place of growing belief for itself. As Timothy McCall, M.D. states in his book Yoga As Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health & Healing: A Yoga Journal Book:
Stueck, M., & Gloeckner, N. (2005). Yoga for children in the mirror of science: Working spectrum and practice field of the training of relaxation with elements of yoga for children. Early Child Development and Care, 175(4), 371-377. doi:10.1080/0300443042000230537
Many individuals today are turning towards yoga as a method for keeping up a solid way of life consequently appropriate preparing and direction of yoga and its practice is required. This must be accomplished by a guaranteed yoga educator. Yoga accreditation permits one turn into a piece of the general population looking for a solid approach to keep up adjust of their psyche, body and soul and as one does this, it serves to likewise hone their own abilities and acquire skill. Different advantages of yoga accreditation include: Expanded Credibility A man with important accreditations is more sound than a man without. Individuals will have a tendency to trust in a person who can demonstrate that they have what it takes and specialized know-how
Web. 13 April 2014. McCall, Timothy. A. Yoga as a medicine. New York: Bantam Dell, 2007. Print.
They noticed that the conditions related to their muscular system, respiratory system, nervous system, and the digestive system improved notably. It has been studied and suggested that regular practice of Yoga increases the brain gamma-Aminobutyric acid levels which helps in regulating the excitability of the nervous system and muscle tone as well. This helps in reducing anxiety and improving mood functions, letting people lead much more emotionally balanced lives. Apart from the abovementioned advantages, yoga also helps in keeping cardiovascular diseases in check. The three principles of yoga: asana (exercise), pranayama (breathing), and drishti (meditation) help in monitoring heart activities and keeping it functioning healthily. It does so by reducing blood pressure, speeding up recovery related to heart failures or cardiac arrests, and lower other cardiovascular risk factors that some people might have genetically imbibed in them. Similarly, it helps people with chronic back aches. Regular practice of yoga can bring relief over a period of time, than medications alone. Pain medications for back ache or spine-related spasms generally have dangerous side effects such as gastric problems, nausea, and the relief they provide last for a very short period of time. Yoga on the other hand gives back pain sufferers a much necessary relief through stretching exercises and also by meditating which plays a major role in alleviating any kind of
This week’s analysis is associated with the yoga class provided online to help with stress reduction. The first term that I came across was psychophysiology and how this principle is based on the mind and body being one and how our thinking affects all physiology. This principle was the perfect definition of yoga because yoga focuses on how the mind and body connects with each other. It gives you a sense of relaxation throughout your mind and body together. Furthermore, the yoga that was in the video was a yoga style called hatha. Which practices asana (yoga postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises). According to the book, this practices helps bring peace to the mind and body and prepare our body to do deeper exercises. The art of breathing was mentioned during the exercise and in the book. Breathing is very important when trying to unite the mind, body, and spirit. So, having slow, deep breathes was a main focused during the exercise. Another term that was used in the video was the art of stretching, which allows us to become aware of our flexibility of our muscle while moving. Lastly, the art of balance is significant because it allows us to move into the next form of position on both sides of our body. Some of the workouts pose that was mention in the textbook that I did was two knees to the chest, cobra, and head of cow. Overall, hatha
The goal of this study was to identify the ways in which engaging in yoga practices would alter psychological well being, and allow people to engage more fully in their lives and flourish in health and happiness. The pre and post test set up of this study allowed the researchers to see the ways in which students had been affected by their participation in the yoga teacher training. Yoga training students were engaged in a four week program. They were administered tests and the beginning of the study, prior to engaging in the program, at the end of the program, after completion, and then again at a 3 month follow up. Multiple factors were assessed, however the significant and important ones which relate directly to our understanding of healthy, happiness and wellness and the course content are extremely