February 28, 2018
Kids' Yoga Bayside

Kids’ Yoga, Bayside

Nikki Morris, the studio manager opened Little Warriors, kids’ yoga studio in Bayside to fulfil a life-long dream.

“I’ve always loved yoga and teaching adults. Once I completed my specialist training in kids’ yoga and I started teaching, I’ve never looked back. The enjoyment kids receive from yoga and the calming, positive effect it has, is so inspiring.

Yoga Benefits Kids

“The benefits of yoga has on the kids is seen almost immediately. We’ve be asked to teach yoga to kinders and primary schools on premise, and the response has been really positive. We offer weekly programs within the bayside area. We hold introductory classes, and as the kids enjoy it so much, we are invited to go back every week. They really look forward to it and can use some of the calming techniques and poses during quiet or rest times.

“It’s great to teach kids early yoga poses and breathing techniques, it sets them up for when they experience stressful times. Yoga provides the skills they need to cope with stress and it’s a positive way to empower them.

Working with Bayside Kinders and Schools

“We donate yoga class packs to help raise school funds and work with our kinder and school partners to provide a more holistic schooling program. These giveaways increase awareness of the studio and also provide the opportunity to experience what yoga for kids, is all about.

“We are also actively involved in the community and recently sponsored the mindful walk with Madame Heap as the St Kilda Botanical Gardens in February. It was lovely to be involved, with a great turn out and close to $8,000 raised for mental health. We held a demonstration on kids’ yoga as participants walked around the gardens.

“Our onsite and offsite kids’ yoga programs in the bayside area has steadily increased throughout the past year. Demand for our services is increasing along with awareness of the benefits yoga provides children. We look forward to teaching as many kids as possible the enjoyment and life skills yoga provides. With parents and teachers enjoying those benefits too” says Morris.

About Little Warriors

contact: [email protected]
Little Warriors Yoga gives students the physical benefits of strength, balance and flexibility; combined with lessons in calmness, kindness and bravery.

November 14, 2017

Life these days has become busier and more fast-paced. We have constant access to technology and there is increased inappropriate child-directed media creating un-healthy and unattainable body images in children as young as five. Therefore it is not surprising that more and more kids are displaying symptoms of anxiety, stress, attention disorders and anger issues with The Royal Children’s Hospital quoting the alarming increase in children presenting with these types of issues.

As we see this increase we should also take the time to note the flip side which is a positive. We now have many parents, carers, teachers and early educators out there who are intent on doing something positive for their kids. Finding an outlet where their children feel safe but are also encouraged to be their best, try their best, accept and love who they are and importantly learn skills which they can carry through life and help them deal with the up’s and downs that it will inevitably throw them.

What we are seeing is a growing trend of children’s yoga in the market. It is easy to look around and see this growth. There is an increased focus in newspapers and journals on studies which have proved the positive benefits of yoga for children. We are also seeing health professionals such as medical doctors, osteopaths and physiotherapist actively recommending yoga as a key part to children’s health and wellbeing. A way not to just assist in recovery or management of symptoms but encouraging children to establish a regular yoga practice.

Breathing exercises and mindfulness practices taught to children in age appropriate methods are becoming more and more popular as people realise that simple strategies such as mindful breathing exercises can do wonders in managing not just adults stress levels but also children’s.

Dr Margie Danchin a paediatrician from The Royal Children’s Hospital states that ‘teaching kid’s relaxation and breathing exercises can be a great first step to helping them deal with anxiety. Many Victorian schools are introducing ‘mindfulness sessions’ into the curriculum, where kids learn to calm their thoughts and bodies to enhance their learning.’

No wonder there is the growing trend of children’s yoga with statements such as this from our top children’s health care organisation. More and more yoga schools are opening their doors to our little ones to help teach them values and skills such as resilience, calmness, gratitude and confidence to name a few. We are also seeing yoga classes designed for teens, helping them to manage the stresses that come with VCE and choosing a life path.

With yoga being the fastest growing fitness activity in Australia amongst adults it is no wonder that people are now wanting to bestow these benefits onto the next generation.

Children practicing the art of belly breathing to calm the body and the mind

October 25, 2017

Meditations Effect on the Brain


Meditation has been recognised for its health and wellbeing benefits for thousands of years, and now there is a plethora of science to prove it. With the help of advanced technologies such as FMRI and EEG’s, the ancient practice of meditation is receiving great praise in neurological circles.

Recent findings in the 2017 study conducted by neuroscientists from the Max Planck Institute of Human Cognitive Brain Sciences in Germany, discovered that meditation does more than reducing stress and promoting calmness; it actually reshapes the physical regions of the brain! These changes could be witnessed after just 3 months of meditation. The region developed depended on the intention of the meditation (whether that is breathing, chanting or visualisations). For example, meditation that focuses on breathing and releasing tension resulted in a thickening of the prefrontal cortex – the region of the brain in charge of decision making and problem solving.

 Whether you sit with your eyes closed for 20 minutes every morning or squeeze in 5 minutes in your weekly yoga class, science has validated that there are some pretty good reasons to jump on the meditation bandwagon today.

For more reasons to meditate visit:

https://www.headspace.com/science/meditation-benefits 

Reference:

Pultarova, T. (2017). Different Meditation Practices Reshape Brain in Different Ways. https://www.livescience.com/60609-different-meditation-reshape-brain-different-ways.html.