Family Yoga 101: The Benefits And Poses For The Family

All of us are aware of the fact that spending time together as a family has become more of a planned activity than the norm. Even when the members select a day to spend together as a family, most of the time it is hard to get everyone’s attention away from their mobile phones. Daily family yoga can help the entire family in getting connected and workout together. It will not only benefit your health but will also help in strengthening the family bond which is elaborated later in the article.

Family yoga will help all the members understand their relationship with their bodies. Believe it or not, as much as technology made the life of kids in today’s age easier as compared to that of the ’90s, it has also made parenting harder. If your child has access to the internet or any sort of exposure to the outside world, chances are that they already have an extremely skewed and unhealthy understanding of body image. If they fall for the fake standards of beauty and they feel pressured by the twisted standards of beauty set by the media, at a young age, they might give place to unnecessary insecurities that will inevitably negatively impact their lives. Family Yoga is an amazing way to counter this, and help your child understand their body at a deeper level. Yoga doesn’t only set healthy standards for the body; it strengthens the bond with our deeper self to bring confidence and balance in other aspects of our life too.

Yoga is an activity that gives you numerous benefits in exchange for a few hours of commitment a week. Do you know how positively it affects your values as a family when done together? It sends out a message that your family is serious about physical as well as mental health. This, in turn, strengthens the family bond. I don’t know about you but when I reach a point where I can sit comfortably in silence with a friend, to me that means that we’ve achieved a very high level of closeness and comfort. Now notice that yoga is the next level! You, not only stay silent, but you also make different poses and explore your body in the presence of the family member while they do the same. This makes you feel safer and more comfortable around your family and plays a role in making bonds stronger.

Daily yoga exercise can really help in increasing focus and concentration. This will help you in many aspects of your life. By performing very simple exercises and acts you can bring noticeable healthy changes in your body and daily life. It also refreshes the mind and allows us to focus on things more prominently. Inducing yoga as a family activity is a win-win because it trains the family to be mindful at all times contributing in avoiding incidents where the frustration of work or school comes out on children/spouses/siblings that create bad air and negatively impacts relationships.

Just like a healthy body, a healthy mind is also necessary in order to live a happy life. Yoga can be a great source to achieve peace of mind. Yoga has been proven to work as a get away from things like stress, anger, and anxiety. It will help the family members in relaxing their minds and will allow them to focus on things that matter and prioritize.  

To achieve this pose, first, relax your body and stand upright with feet apart and both your hands resting on your sides. Your weight should be evenly distributed on both feet. Now, while standing straight, shift your weight to your left leg and start bending your right leg with the knee expanding towards your right side and your feet crawling up to your left leg. You can support your right leg by reaching out and grabbing the ankle to rest it either above or below your left knee. Be reminded to not rest your foot against the knee, resting it above or below is pertinent. Move around to adjust the pelvis center directly above the foot that is resting on the ground. Make sure that your right and left hips are aligned. Now, bring both your hands in front of your chest in a praying hand gesture. 

Once you’ve nailed the position, focus on Mindful breathing and set your gaze steadily at one point in front of you. After you’re done with one side, gently bring your right foot down and repeat the process for the same time span with the other side.

The happy baby pose is also known as Ananda Balasana. The pose is suitable for beginners and children because it’s very easy to perform and comes with lots of benefits. It should be included in family yoga sessions as it will help in stretching the hamstrings, regulations of nutrients flow in the body and overall boost wellness and vitality.

To achieve the pose, get on the yoga mat and lie down on your back. Exhale and bring your knees up to your stomach. Now inhale and grip your feet firmly. You can also use a strap loop or grab your calves as an alternative. Spread the knees till they are hip-width and bring your knees towards your armpits. You can close the distance amid the knees if you feel uncomfortable. Now raise your feet up so that it’s directly over the ankles and perpendicular to the floor. The pose should be held for around 60 seconds.

It is an intermediate level yoga pose. This one is not recommended for small children and toddlers. It is also known as Nirvana. This pose is very good for abdominal muscles and helps in building it. It works the deep hip flexors. In order to perform this pose get yourself in a seated position on the ground, bend your knees and put your feet flat on the floor. While keeping your knees bent, try to lift your feet off the floor, make sure to bring your shins parallel to the floor and your torso will slightly fall back naturally. This is called a half boat pose. Your spine should remain straight during the pose. To achieve the full boat posture, you need to straighten up your legs.

This is a fun pose to do with the family at home. With this one, you’re sure to get laughs out of everyone and let’s not forget the numerous benefits! It is very easy to perform and does not require lots of energy. The pose is known to open up shoulders and chest muscles while improving the posture. It’s also great for female family members if they are having menstrual cramps. Frog pose, also known as Mandukasana increases circulation in thighs and hips and stimulates the digestive system. Before trying out the pose, make sure that your ankles are warmed up to eliminate the chances of injury. Also, do not push the body beyond its limit.

Start by going on a crawling position with your body being supported by your knees and hands with your lower legs and feet resting against the ground. Now shift your weight from your hand to your elbows and rest the lower arm comfortably on the ground/yoga mat. Slowly, push out your knees outwards, left knee to the left side of the body and the right knee to the right side of the body, till you’ve reached your limit. Hold the position for about 20 breaths and you’re done!

Yoga is undoubtedly a great way to spend time with your family and work on self simultaneously. Even though this article has highlighted some of the benefits but honestly, there are way more. You can also consider hiring a personal yoga trainer if you can afford one so that the family members take the activity seriously and not skip classes. If you decide to go on without a trainer, start with the ones mentioned above. I challenge you to incorporate yoga with your family for 6 weeks. Once you’re done with the 6^th week, you’d love me for writing this article and I’m pretty sure that you will willingly continue to have family yoga sessions even after the term has ended. I wish you and your family nothing less than healing, health, and spiritual growth. Happy Yoga! <3