Skip to Content Skip to Navigation
Education & Curriculum

Benefits of yoga in early years

January 25, 2023
hero--Benefits of yoga in early years

At Green Leaves Early Learning, we believe that yoga and mindfulness are beneficial to improving children’s emotional regulation and physical well-being.

While it’s a much-enjoyed extra-curricular activity across many of our centres, we consciously keep it simple and light-hearted so that the children have fun attempting the different poses.

Teaching children how to reduce stress in a healthy and constructive way is an important life skill that will help them feel more relaxed and comfortable within their environments.

The stimulating and interactive yoga program is a wonderful complement to children’s physical and mental development. Our approach is fun and dynamic. The children are engaged through the use of song, or mimicking postures of animals and nature. By the end of each session, giggles during attempts to stretch into a lizard pose or rock like a happy baby are replaced by a sense of accomplishment as the children relax into the savasana pose as the session comes to a close.

Our little yogis practicing team work

Below are some of the benefits of practicing yoga:

  • Exercise in general promotes physical coordination, strength, flexibility and maximises mobility.
  • The opportunity to stop and focus during yoga helps improve children’s emotional regulation – learn to be present in the moment whilst relaxing and gaining a peaceful state of mind.
  • Emotions are felt in our bodies, whether it is the tightness in our bellies, or a restlessness that needs release – the intentional movement and flow in yoga is an effective way to help children express and release their feelings in a safe and guided manner.
  • Increase body awareness and mindfulness – helps children learn about their bodies and the movements they are capable of.
  • Yoga is a non-competitive physical activity children can participate in, encouraging teamwork, respect, and acceptance.
  • The opportunity to practice listening skills and the ability to focus the mind and improve concentration and memory of repeating movements.
  • Yoga teaches discipline and reduces impulsivity by providing a physical outlet for children to express themselves in a calm environment, helping calm an anxious mind.
  • Yoga helps children manage their anxieties. The breathing exercises and relaxation techniques learned from practicing yoga can help children with stress management.

By incorporating yoga into early learning, we’re able to provide the necessary foundations for children to thrive through various stages of life. The physical, social, emotional, and cognitive benefits of yoga are endless. Our wonderful yoga program is included as part of our all-inclusive fees.

Extra-curricular activities are unique to each centre and also may be seasonal. To learn more about what’s on offer at your nearest centre, please visit https://greenleaveselc.com.au/find-a-centre/.