{"id":32490,"date":"2015-09-14T16:16:58","date_gmt":"2015-09-14T20:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=32490"},"modified":"2015-09-14T17:05:55","modified_gmt":"2015-09-14T21:05:55","slug":"4-tips-from-elena-brower-for-getting-your-kids-into-yoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/it\/journal\/4-tips-from-elena-brower-for-getting-your-kids-into-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Tips from Elena Brower for Getting Your Kids Into Yoga"},"content":{"rendered":"

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You might think of yoga as strictly for people in terrific pants on a steady diet of kombucha and Enya, in which case you’d be completely missing the point (although you’re right about the pants). One recent study found that the practice can literally\u00a0grow your brain<\/a>\u00a0and a\u00a0meta-analysis of 37 studies<\/a>\u00a0revealed yoga profoundly improves heart and metabolism health. So, you should really consider giving it a try or picking up where you left off in your single days, when you were trying to impress someone in those pants. While you’re at it, introduce your kid to yoga.<\/p>\n

That’s the advice of Elena Brower, an instructor with 17 years experience, whose yogi guidebook series,\u00a0The Art Of Attention<\/em><\/a>, has been translated into 5 languages. Brower grew up in a home filled with “some volatility and anger,” but yoga gave her a way to become “more creative, solution-oriented, calmer, happier, a better parent, and more steady.”<\/p>\n

If increased intellect, better health, and a calmer, happier you are things you think your kid would be into, here’s how to get them started.<\/p>\n

Show Them, Don’t Tell Them
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Brower recommends laying a mat down and getting into your practice with your kid nearby as early as possible \u2014 even if they’re an infant. That’s the only way seeing Dad sweating and breathing loudly in terrific pants is going to seem normal to them as they get older. They’re probably not going to bite this early on, so scatter a few toys nearby to keep them occupied. “Make the environment conducive so that you have your space to practice and the child doesn’t need your constant attention,” she says. Even if years tick by and Kiddo has yet to inquire why you habitually sniff your shins on a magic carpet, stay patient. They’ll grow curious.<\/p>\n

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Know Your Animal Poses
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“If your kid indicates an interest in yoga, just take yourself back to a seated position or a hand-and-knee position and play between making animal shapes,” she says. Kids will have an easier time relating to what you’re doing if you show them how to be an eagle or a downward dog or a fish than if you start babbling about chakras. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of\u00a0animal poses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once they lose interest, don’t push it. Mandatory yoga is very un-Brower. Instead, transition from lion poses to something that will hold their attention, like drawing lions, reading about lions, or watching\u00a0protective buffalos kick lion ass<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Time Sessions To Their Age
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With age, comes attention span, coordination, and a heightened sensitivity to patronizing\u00a0cow pose<\/a>\u00a0moos, so Brower advises adjusting practice difficulty accordingly:<\/p>\n