Yoga and children: To help them grow from within consciously and healthily. Interview with the expert Christine McArdle

The interest in yoga for children is increasing and we understand it perfectly after this interview with Christine McArdle Oquendo, expert, trainer and author of the book “Om Shree Om. Cultivating the body, mind and spirit of children through yoga “, in which it explains all the benefits that this practice can bring to children, families and the world.

These are his words:

1. For years, yoga is quite integrated in our society as an activity for adults but is yoga and children something compatible? Can children sit still?

Of course children can be still. In fact, many prefer it… kapha-kapha children, for example, love sitting and sitting still. J. But we don't share yoga with children to relax and stay still. No, yoga with children is infinitely richer and more complex than this. We offer you yoga so that you know each other better, so that you know how to handle yourself better in the world and thus truly empower yourself. In yoga classes by, for and with children, they will learn how their mind / body and spirit operates, learn how to "regularize" as Maria Montessori said and thus also maximize. We give them yoga and yogic tools, through "awareness activities" as I call them, to help them grow from the inside consciously and healthily, we give them yoga to empower them.

Receiving this training at an early age, knowing everything we know now about our bodies / minds, is not a luxury, I think it is a duty.

And ultimately, if I know myself better, I can understand you better. This creates peace in the world. This is wisdom.

We also offer you in yoga classes for, by and with children, a sacred space to discover, explore and cultivate your spiritual world in a totally natural way and free of judgments, dogmas and parameters. It is simply feeling it, knowing that it is there too and we celebrate it, we honor it as another integral part of our being, because it is. We are body, mind and spirit. In yoga classes with children this consciousness is cultivated.

2. What does yoga bring in childhood? And his parents?

Yoga brings everything I mentioned above and to parents, it can bring them the same, of course, and something else. For parents who are already yogis, it gives them peace of mind, knowing that their children are feeding on the same source of wisdom as they. So that they no longer say during adolescence, for example, "Is that my parents are a little weird" now they say "When are you going to a yoga class mom?" Or a stressed father can say "I think you need a yoga class ”;).

To many parents, their yogi children help them "wake up" ... I always remember a mother who came to tell me that at home, her son had a thorn in his foot and when she went to take it out with a long needle, his son and yogi told him: "Mom, wait a moment I'm going to relax" The boy closes his eyes and begins to breathe deeply. After a minute or so, when the mother finally wanted to start her work as a nurse, her son says, “Wait mom, I haven't arrived yet.” Thanks to yoga, the boy knew how to perfectly regulate his emotional state. Of course, her mother also wanted to know what her five-year-old son was doing and asked me where she could sign up for yoga classes. But more than encouraging a mother to take classes to "calm down because I'm very stressed, " here her son clearly became her teacher. She taught the mother that she is not always right, that by observing and respecting her son well, she could improve the bond, the relationship between the two and also improve herself. This is effectively principles that foster attachment and holistic education promote. There are other ways to raise and educate children. Yoga by, for and with children reminds us of this. In fact, they are the co-creators of the classes. I follow their needs, their interests, it is an act of co-creation. Education like parenting is a two-way street.

3. From what age do you recommend these practices?

When they are born Yoga mam yyb b s as Tere Puig teaches is an excellent accompaniment for the growth of any child.

4. You just published the book Om Shree Om. Cultivating the body, mind and spirit of children through yoga. Who is it for? What can we learn in him?

This, my first book about yoga and children, was written for many years for the teachers of my training, as a guide or as a reminder of the foundations of what we do in training n of OM Shree OM teachers. It was and remains our teacher's manual. But my training never was and has never been directed solely and exclusively to a yoga teacher with a 200-hour yogasana title. In fact, when I was collaborating with the Yoga Alliance in the USA to create the requirements to accredit and register yoga schools for children, I told them clearly that I would always have my training open to anyone interested in Work with and share with children in this way, whether you are a yoga teacher or not.

In fact, titles never create a good teacher. More than good tools and techniques the best teachers I know have a vocation, they have passion, for them the profession is a call from the heart. If you have this, I will guide you and give you a lot of good pedagogy, technique and experiences to encourage this call. Yogaasana, you can always learn it and yes, you have to learn it if you want to share it with children. I am a fan of good alignment. In fact this year I created another yoga training for adults because there were SO MANY fathers and mothers that were formed with me because they wanted it for their children. EYE, this is almost always a sign of "vocation" ???? Upon completion of the training, they realize that yoga is so deep and beautiful that they want more and more. But what came first, the chicken or the egg? I accept anyone in my training and encourage anyone to take this book, parents, educators, yoga teacher for children of OM Shree OM and any school in the world. We all learn from everyone. The teacher never stops training. I have the books of all my classmates. From each one I have learned something.

In mine specifically, you will learn about why I feel that yoga and education go hand in hand, you will learn about the psychological development of different ages and how I guide them in a typical and non-typical yoga class. I give you techniques of relaxation and pranayama, meditation and mindfulness. I share ideas and inspiration for the topics of your classes and for you to be a better guide. I speak to you about the yoga postures that I recommend and that I do not recommend doing with children and why and I invite you to open yourself to the infinite possibilities of the evolution of yoga in our times.

5. Who is Christine McArdle and what is her path to this day?

Christine McArdle is a mother, teacher, daughter, wife, friend, educator. She is a peaceful fighter, an explorer. He is sensitive and intelligent, he understands that changes sometimes do not occur from the top down, if not from inside and outside. I am somehow one more guide who believes deeply in the change of consciousness we are living and wants to see it accelerated. My path today is firm and decisive. I am creating a better world for my children and the seven more generations that follow us.

6. Why do you dedicate your life to yoga for children?

Because I believe so much in it. I have felt and seen the results. I know it works. I have had children look into my eyes and tell me or not to tell me "Yoga has changed my life" And I know that in many cases, life has not changed them, it has given them life. I also dedicate myself to this because my fellow students, other yoga teachers, other fathers and mothers have asked for it and I don't know how to say no.

7. What do yoga professionals who want to train in this audience have to do?

In Spain there are several yoga formations for children. OM Shree OM is only one of them. If you do not have any experience working with children, I recommend of course that they be trained in a good school where they feel comfortable and well. I recommend that before or during your training you begin to know and observe other teachers of children in action. And I do not mean only yoga classes for children, but also math classes, language, of any subject, the age of children with whom they are interested in working.

Learn from those great beloved teachers, by so many. They are creative, sensitive, open, intelligent, enter their classrooms and watch them very well. Donate your time to help them in what they ask. You will learn what you do not learn in the courses. Given my interest in “alternative” education, I recommend that you meet free schools, Montessori, Freinet, Waldorf, Activa because they carry the spirit of yoga already integrated into their pedagogy.

The yoga classes that we give the teachers of OM Shree OM, are inspired by these pedagogies in their ways and their ways of being and being with children, although I do know that in traditional schools there are also extraordinary teachers, in fact I work with several Right now at the IES of Iznalloz, Granada, knowing the new methodologies created by these times is tremendously revealing and inspiring. And finally I will tell you to look very well inside and to prepare yourself spiritually for your work with the children. I recommend that you analyze your childhood and childhood pains, your fears, your insecurities and you heal yourself ... The children's teacher has to work continuously to be able to give and always be his best. A task of such responsibility could not ask for less. I understood this very young in the way of the teacher and this aspect of my training is fundamental. Techniques, you can read them in a book, but internal preparation is healing. Of course this is an essential part of the OM Shree OM training.

7. What would you advise current parents in this regard?

The same as for yoga professionals, I would only add that they do not give up their yoga practice. They have to take classes. They have to practice, practice and practice as we do yogis. And yes, eventually, if they follow this path, they will want training from an accredited yoga school, in the style they love.

WEB: Christine McArdle Oquendo

BOOK: Om Shree Om. Cultivating the body, mind and spirit of children through yoga

AUTHOR: Christine McArdle Oquendo

SEEN AT: http://www.elblogalternativo.com/2014/12/18/yoga-y-ninos-para-ayudarles-a-crecer-desde-dentro-consciente-y-saludably-entrevista-a-la-experta -christine-mcardle /