Benefits of Yoga at Preschool

When it comes to yoga, Charlottesville is a great place to live! There are so many 'yogi's' here and Charlottesville has many different studios and types of yoga to choose from. We've also noticed that our families at Bright Beginnings really love it! My Mom (founder of Bright Beginnings) Kathe Petchel, has practiced all types of yoga over the years. I remember as a teenager playing lots of sports throughout middle and high school. My parents always encouraged my sister and I to participate in team sports. My Dad coached college football at the Navy and then at the University of Virginia for over 20 years-it was second nature for us to be involved in most active activities! I personally took so much away from the team sports I participated in: the value of teamwork, leadership, discipline, the confidence it built and the friendships I gained. But during this time my Mom also encouraged me to go to a few Sunday yoga classes with her. I found that while it was different from what I was used to, yoga totally resonated with me. Learning the art of being consciously aware of stillness without being uncomfortable was hard for me at first. Being aware of how connected breath and being present are was so valuable to me. I continued yoga off and on throughout college but it wasn't until after college that I consistently started practicing. I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to be exposed to yoga at such a young age- and trying new things at any age is important!

Three years ago my mom and I were talking about what we could add to the Bright Beginnings curriculum that would be different, engaging and valuable to our children. All of the sudden yoga came up. Yoga at a preschool? Well, why not?! We are always bouncing ideas off of one and other but this idea really stuck! Now we offer yoga to our children and the response has been really amazing to see. While we realize our little ones aren't going developmentally grasp the larger concepts of yoga at such a young age, through research we found that exposure to it as preschoolers is hugely beneficial. Here are a few reasons why we believe yoga for children is valuable:

• Builds concentration for children
• Helps develop body awareness
• Increases a child's self-confidence and fosters positive self-image.
• Give's children alternative choices when handling feelings of stress through breathing, awareness, meditation and healthy movement
• Introduces awareness in breath
• Gives children an opportunity to work on balancing which in turn helps with focus
• Enhances flexibility
• Helps teach coordination

Do you know any awesome yoga instructors who would like to come by teach a mini class to our preschoolers? E-mail molly@brightbeginningsva.com