Sunday, March 9, 2014

Simple Yoga for Children

Childhood phase is a very important stage in one's life, as it lays foundations for future life. This stage gives maximum scope for development, be it physical, mental or intellectual. So, to get maximum benefit at this stage the child should be taught about Nature and asked to practice yoga. A few simple yoga techniques is presented here for overall growth of child.

When the child wakes up in the morning, he should look at his palms of both the hands and enchant the following mantra

Karagre Vasate Lakshmi, Karmule Saraswati
Karmadhya tu Govind, Prabhate kardarshanam
Meaning:
On the tip of one's palms is Goddess Lakshmi; on the base of one's palms is Goddess Sarasvati; in the middle of one's palms is Lord Govinda. look at your palms.

Significance:
Laxmi, Saraswati and Govind reside on the palm, so one should bow to them with respect, this is the logic behind kardarshan. Of course, with common sense point of view, to get hold of Lakshmi (money) and Saraswati (knowledge) one has to do Karma (Krishna ) with our hands only, to remind one of this principle is the main logic behind kardarshan.

After this he should rub his both his palms together rapidly and massage his face. This will keep him hale and hearty throughout the day. People feel their saliva is useful in transmitting chewed food from mouth to stomach, but it healing effect too. He should apply saliva on his eyes to keep them healthy Then he should get up with a big smile on his face.

After getting up from bed he should perform Namaskaar Mudra by touching the feet of elders with crossed hands and the elders respond by giving their blessings in the form of the Ashirvad Mudra by keeping their right hand on the head of child who is performing the Namaskaar Mudra.  The effect of Namaskar Mudra is that when the child bows and touches the feet with crossed hands, the blood circulation to his head increases. When he touches the feet of elders with crossed hands, positive energy and negative energy of both sides get activated. By this a positive and a happy feeling grows in both of them. This way, the Namaskar and the Ashirvad become mutually beneficial.

A child should remember the code CPS for perfect health C stands for Clap, P stands for Palate and S stands for Sole. In Hindi meaning of Clap is Taali, Palate is Taalu and Sole is Talwa. So, it can be said Teen Ta Se Swasthaya Sharir.

Clap to Healthy health
This is no joke, but a fact. We have more than 5000 nerve endings in our palms. When we clap, these nerve endings get activated and thus activating corresponding body parts. we generally clap our hands when we cheer or encourage someone. We also clap when we are happy and excited. Many people also clap while singing. Clapping hands is fun. So child should be encouraged to do clapping. Lets see how
clapping helps in our health. It boosts the immunity because it strengthens the white blood cells in the body; these protect the body from any kind of illness. It helps to increase skills in child and improve his academic performance. Clapping hands can help train child motor skills may so that he can produce neat handwriting, write better and reduce spelling error.

Massage Palate with Tongue to Healthy health
Palate or Taalu i.e., upper roof of mouth is very important body part. Many people who practice martial arts, meditation and yoga massage palate with tip of tongue. During this process saliva which is produced has healing effect on body. So, our saints had termed it as 'Amrit'. It is recommended that child should always keep their tongue on palate, leaving apart eating food to keep them healthy. While studying child should keep their tongue at a perticular spot on palate. which is called 'Magic Spot' for concentration. It can be easily found by speaking the word 'La'.

Thump Soles to ground and walk barefoot to Healthy health
Sole or talwa i.e., lower part of feet should be given due attention, as it also plays important role in keeping us healthy. Our soles also has nerve endings. When we thump our feet or walk barefoot on natural surface like grass, nerve endings on our feet get activated. Thus. Corresponding body part get activated. This also lead to increase in antioxidants, reduces inflammation. Through this our muscles and cardiovascular system get activated, leading to improving of mental health, reduce stress and support our overall wellness. So child should be encouraged to walk barefoot and thump their feet on natural surfaces like grass, sand etc.