The teen years are a great time to begin a yoga practice. Often girls, who consider themselves not athletic and don’t enjoy working out, grow to love yoga. In fact, more gyms and yoga studios are beginning to offer yoga classes designed specifically for teens.
Yoga offers a variety of health benefits to teens. Teenage girls are living in a world of chaotic emotions and yoga provides an inner focus and relaxation that offers a break from the pressures and stress on today’s teens. The stress relief benefits of yoga are perfect for busy, stressed out teens.
Teens are often under pressure at school and from parents to achieve academically. In addition, many are holding down jobs after school and on weekends to pay for necessities and save money for college. A yoga class gives them a stress free space to connect with their inner selves and clear their minds.
Teenage girls feel the pressure to conform to the images of beauty they see in fashion magazines and on television. Yoga tones the body and helps control weight. Even more importantly, yoga helps girls accept, love and honor their bodies. The self acceptance of yoga provides huge gains in helping girls to accept and love themselves.
The regular practice of yoga helps to focus the mind. Clearing the mind and improving focus helps girls with setting and achieving goals, navigating relationships and making choices for their lives and futures.
Yoga classes for teens allow girls to practice with their friends and connect with new friends. Teen classes vary widely, depending on the studio and individual instructor. Some use a combination of traditional yoga music and popular music for portions of the workout.
As in all classes, teen yoga practices end with relaxing and resting the body and mind in corpse pose. This is an essential part of the yoga practice for all students, but offers specific benefits to teen girls. Teenagers are not still, but are always talking, thinking and planning.
The stillness at the end of class provides girls with the opportunity to focus inward and increase their awareness of their bodies, minds and spirits. Students of all ages find that finding this stillness often results in amazing inspiration, creativity, problem solving and stress relief benefits.