“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” – The Bhagavad Gita
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How yoga helps for concentration, memory, and focus
Nowadays our kids have a very short attention span, and they get easily distracted by so many factors, which leads to low productivity/performance at school or college. Our kids get bored with their current task and have a tendency to jump from one activity to another. Many kids who have Impulsive behavior and lack of focus are suffering from attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD). Yoga helps our children to focus, to be aware of their body, and the sound of mind.
What can kids get out of Yoga?
Yoga practices particularly pranayama (breath control) and mudra (hand gestures) can help our kids in solving such problems by increasing their brain power, helping them to reduce distraction, and cherish the present moment. Yoga teaches our children to be in the present, to focus their energy, and find balance in their mind. When kids come to the yoga mat, kids feel more relaxed.
Try these yoga techniques as they work wonders to build strong concentration, enhance memory, and focus.
Pranayam (breath control) techniques
Pranayam is a practice to focus on breath as it flows in and out from the body. It is basically a technique to “control the breath”. During Pranayam, flow of oxygen (prana vayu) increases in the whole body. This energy flow increases concentration and brain power.
Here is a list of simple pranayama that helps our kids to achieve better focus:
Bhramari pranayama
This breathing practice helps to calm the mind, releases tension and removes the distraction. During this practice the humming sound induced from the back of the throat which removes the negativity from mind, increases the brain power focus and concentration in our kids.
Steps for this practice:
- Sit comfortably on your mat and close your eyes .
- Place thumbs on your ears, index fingers above eyebrows and rest of fingers over the eyes.
- Inhale deeply from the nostrils.
- Exhale slowly with humming sound.
- Repeat the same process 2-3 times.
Nadi Shodhan pranayama
This is a very powerful breathing technique to calm the mind, reduces stress/anxiety and increase concentration and focus by balancing the brain. This is also known as alternate nostril breathing. It also helps our children to develop self-confidence and emotional stability.
Steps for this practice:
- Sit comfortably on your mat and close your eyes .
- Take a deep breath and focus on your breaths.
- Place your right thumb on your right nostril and right ring finger on the left nostril.
- Press your right thumb to close your right nostril and inhale deeply from the left nostril.
- Close your left nostril with your ring finger and exhale from your left nostril.
- This is the complete one round. Repeat this alternative breathing practice multiple times and relax throughout this practice.
Ujjayi pranayama
This is a very common breathing technique, it helps in relaxing the mind, improving memory and increasing concentration in our kids. It increases brain power and helps in getting sound sleep.
Steps for this practice:
- Sit comfortably on your mat and close your eyes.
- Keep your spine straight and take a deep breath slowly from both nostrils.
- Exhale slowly from your mouth by making a “Hhhaaa” sound.
- Repeat the process several times.
Bhastrika pranayama
This breathing practice increases oxygen supply in the body and improves awareness, focus and concentration by relaxing the mind and body. This practice boosts nervous system functioning and increases awareness in our kids.
Steps for this practice:
- Close the eyes, sit comfortably on your mat, back straight and shoulders relaxed.
- Fold your arms, make a fist and place it near to the shoulder.
- Inhale deeply and raise your hand up and open the fist.
- Exhale forcefully, bring the arm back near to the shoulder and again make a fist.
- This is the complete one breathing round and repeat the process for a few breaths and relax.
Mudra (hand gestures) techniques
Yoga mudras are hand gestures/ positions in yoga and meditation practices to help in channelizing energy and enhance concentration in our kids. It is scientifically proven that madras help in improving concentration and self-confidence in our kids. Concentration and self confidence are essential for our kids in overall development and well beings.
Here is a list of simple madras that helps our kids to achieve better focus:
Hakini Mudra (Mudra of the Mind)
This is considered to be the best mudra for improving memory and concentration. This is also called Brain power mudra. This is beneficial for children suffering from autism.
Steps for this practice:
- Sit comfortably on your mat with a straight spine.
- bring fingertips of both hands together at the centre of the chest, with the palms facing each other.
- Create a triangle shape with the thumb.
- Focus on breath and gesture of hands.
Gyan Mudra (Mudra of Knowledge)
This is an important mudra to enhance focus and concentration in our kids. It is also good for memory and concentration. This is helpful to calm down our kids from anger issues and mania.
Steps for this practice:
- Sit comfortably on your mat with a straight spine.
- Keep your hands on your knees with the palms facing upwards.
- join the tips of the index finger to the thumb and apply light pressure and other three fingers straight.
- Close your eyes and focus on breathing.
Vayu Mudra (Mudra of Air)
This mudra is beneficial for children to reduce anxiety/stress, improve focus and concentration. This mudra helps in getting better sleep after long hours of studies. This gives the best result, when our kids practice this technique in a quiet environment where they focus on breath and moment of hand.
Steps for this practice:
- Sit comfortably on your mat with a straight spine.
- Bend your index finger and press with the base of your thumb.
- Keep the other three fingers straight.
Prana Mudra (Mudra of Life Force)
This mudra is helpful to improve memory, concentration and increase mental clarity. By practicing this mudra our kid’s immune system got strong and they get sound sleep when they got tired after a long hour of studies.
Steps for this practice:
- Sit comfortably on your mat with a straight spine.
- Join the tips of ring and little fingers to touch the tip of thumb, while keeping your other two fingers straight.
- Close your eyes, hold this hand gesture for at least 15-20 minutes and focus on breath.
How to playfully engage kids in yoga sessions
You can make yoga fun for kids with the following playful techniques:
- Start with easy and simple steps.
- Start with short sessions and gradually increase the time.
- Stay positive during parent child yoga practice.
- Establish a regular time to practice.
- Make yoga sessions as a game to entice your child to participate in Yoga. Try these techniques during your yoga:
- Play counting games: Body Numbers Yoga
- Use Stickers: Motivational Stickers for kids, Yoga Stickers
- Use Yoga Cards: The Yoga Garden Game, Educational Yoga Card, The Kid’s Yoga Deck
- Get appropriate yoga gear for your kids. For example: Fun Yoga Mat for Kids, Puzzle EVA Foam Mat for Kids
- Get kids friendly videos and books. There are many yoga videos which are specifically designed to engage kids for yoga sessions. For example:
- Yoga video for kids: Yoga for Kids, A Cosmic Kids Yoga Adventure
- Yoga books for kids: The ABC of Yoga for Kids, Yoga for Children, Yoga for Kids and Their Grown-Ups
Conclusion
Regularly practicing yoga is very important for our kid’s overall well-being. My child is more focused after practicing yoga techniques in this article. Once your kids become habitual of these practices, it will not matter whether they start yoga on mat, their body and mind will train as every breath they take. For more yoga related posts, check out Benefits of practicing yoga with kids.
