Physical Benefits of Yoga for Teenagers
Why yoga is physically beneficial for teenagers? by ShareLove.Fund’s Rainbow Women Social Enterprise endeavor and sponsored by your generous donations.
Navigating the teenage years can be tough for teenagers with the overwhelming emotional angst and physical growing pains. Add to that schoolwork, homework, college applications, sports, extracurriculars, and relationships and it is no wonder that they are overwhelmed. The physical changes to their bodies don’t help when added to the mix.
In our previous blog post we discussed how yoga helps with the mental and emotional aspect of dealing with all that our teenage years bring. Now, let’s look at how yoga can be physically helpful. It offers plenty of advantages all of which can combine to work out better for your body.
Increased Flexibility– Yoga exercises involve stretching your body. More specifically, they involve stretching muscle groups that we otherwise do not use in daily life. Consistently practicing yoga will work out those muscle groups and greatly improve flexibility for teenagers. While this is great for those who practice gymnastics, it’s also beneficial for others. After all, improved flexibility means lower risk of injury.
Higher Energy Levels – Yoga may seem slow; however, it is exercise, which means it gets your blood pumping. That results in higher energy levels. Since yoga also involves breathing exercises, the increased levels of oxygen mean even more energy. That’s a double whammy! Considering how packed every teenager’s life is with all sorts of activities, increased energy can only help.
Improved Athletic Performance – We’ve already discussed how yoga gives you better flexibility and better energy. Combine the two and you’ve got a recipe for athleticism. Since yoga targets practically every muscle group, athletes can alternate between workouts and yoga and see their performance improve.
Improved Posture – Yoga workouts often target the core, which means regular practice makes for a stronger core. The stronger the core, the more upright the body is. In addition, yoga also increases body awareness, which means more awareness of your posture. Body awareness is a skill taught as part of yoga, which makes you aware of every part of your body and its movements. Therefore, with increased body awareness you will know when you are slumping or slouching so you can correct your posture. This is very important for teenagers who spend the average school day stooped over a desk. Yoga helps you stand taller and even helps avoid fat collecting in the belly area.
Bound Angle – This particular pose is also known as the baddha konasana and places emphasis on correct posture and deep breathing. You can use this pose to give yourself a foot massage or a calf massage. Doing so helps ease the strain added weight puts on you and, of course, boosts circulation.
Teenage years aren’t easy and teenagers can use every advantage they can get. As if the physical changes aren’t enough, there are the emotional swings to deal with. Basically, teenagers are dealing with a lot. Yoga offers a whole slew of advantages – both mental and physical – that can help them work and play better while dealing with all the stress that life can throw at them. Practicing yoga offers them benefits that will help them physically, mentally and emotionally.