Can hot yoga benefit your young athlete?
November 28, 2011
Today’s guest post is by Rhonda Uretzky, hot yoga expert from http://www.myyogasecret.com.
Yoga can build a foundation for a healthy, flexible body needed to keep young athletes at the top of their game, no matter what that game might be.
Some kids are even participating in hot yoga, for a deeper challenge that suits their athletic nature. Some coaches at the high school level are even recommending hot yoga.
In fact, more hot yoga studios are reporting an uptick in attendance of youngsters in adult hot yoga sessions, particularly among tweens.
My own two children started practicing hot yoga with me when they were 14 and 17 and both still practice hot yoga today at ages 25 an 18. Both are athletes – my daughter Carly plays league softball and football and is an avid cross country biker and hiker. My son Zach is a black belt in karate and recently started Capoeira. Both credit hot yoga with years of injury-free athletics.
What is hot yoga?
Bikram yoga or Traditional Hot 26 yoga, is a form of hot yoga done in 105 degrees with 40% humidity, ia 26 pose sequence for 90 minutes. Instructions for the poses are specific and detailed.
In the best hot yoga classes, the teacher does not do the poses with the class; she is charged with keeping everyone safe and challenged to their max while doing hot yoga properly.
For athletes, true hot yoga enhances flexibility, coordination and strength, all of which makes an athlete less injury-prone on the playing field.
In addition, children who practice hot yoga often report increased self-esteem and are better able to handle stress including tests, homework, and a busy after school schedule.
Yoga-kids also tend to better manage the emotional challenges of sports with patience, tolerance, and sportsmanlike behavior whether winning or losing.
When you can handle the challenge of hot yoga, the rest becomes easier.
Hot yoga offers all these benefits for young athletes:
- Reduced risk of injury during sports due to increased flexibility of muscles
- Increase focus, concentration, and attention span
- Positive self-esteem
- More relaxation and better sleep patterns
- Greater sense of peace and contentment
- Better attitude; less anger
At what age can children do hot yoga?
In my opinion as a yoga teacher, age 10 is about the earliest a young student can fully manage the stamina and balance, as well as heat acclimatization needed to full enjoy the 90 minute hot yoga class.
Kids taking hot yoga will need plenty of water – which means going into class already well-hydrated and taking needed water breaks.
Should parents bring their children to hot yoga?
I love seeing parents and their children taking hot yoga together; they truly bond over a shared hot yoga class.
Even when tweens or teens have little in common with their parents, hot yoga can be a challenge they enjoy together, a relief from battling one another.
Yoga teaches balance, body control, it even teaches focus and concentration. These are not only wonderful characteristics of a strong young athlete, they are traits that any youngster can carry well into adulthood. The younger they learn, the more likely these traits will become lifelong habits.
Rhonda Uretzky is an E-RYT (Experienced Yoga Teacher/Yoga Alliance), Certified Radiant Child Yoga Teacher, yoga teacher and practitioner for 40+ years. Find out about hot yoga on her websites, http//:www.riverflow-yoga.com and http://www.myyogasecret.com. Do hot yoga class with your child; a little sweat now and you’ll be smiling together long after.
Time for some online Christmas shopping!
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November 29, 2011 at 2:24 pm
I only did yoga for a few months when I was 22, but it didn’t stick.
I think if I’d started earlier in my life it might have stuck, especially if I had started before I became incredibly inflexible and had a tough time starting yoga. As far as age goes, I’d think it’d be best to wait until they’re in high school. Not sure why, but that just seems like the right age to me.
Look what Adam recently posted: Surviving the Thanksgiving Travel
My kids never tried yoga, I often wonder though if it would have helped them be more flexible. They were and are still not real flexible.
We should enroll our kids to yoga as early as possible because it can help their body to be stronger and flexible. So if ever they’ll engage into sports they’re more likely to play better since their body are healthy.