More than 15 million Americans participate in yoga. Most of them are over 18-years old, but the benefits of yoga for kids are the same ones enjoyed by adults. These yoga kids can participate in this non-competitive activity and improve their muscle strength, flexibility and balance. Kids, who studies show are experiencing more and more stress, will be able to relieve stress through yoga, too. Studies have shown that yoga can reduce anxiety and depression, which is great for kids who fret about tests and other problems.

Kids who do yoga will not only improve their strength and flexibility, but their young minds learn to concentrate better, too. There are also reports that they build self-confidence and self-control.

In a study of inner-city "yoga kids" in kindergarten through eighth grade, researchers found a 20 percent increase in students who felt good about themselves and a six percent increase in classroom discipline scores. There was also a statistically significant link between yoga participation and better grades.

With these benefits and the rising trend toward teenage obesity, why haven't you enrolled your son or daughter in a yoga class yet?


More Yoga Terms Defined from That's Fit:
Ashtanga Yoga
Flow Yoga
Hatha Yoga
Kundalini Yoga
Power Yoga
Prenatal Yoga
Strengthen With Yoga
Vinyasa Yoga
Yoga Benefits
Yoga Journal
Yoga for Weight Loss

Flow yoga is a type of yoga that connects your movements to your breathing. In flow yoga, the yoga postures or "asanas" flow smoothly from one yoga position to the next on either an inhalation or an exhalation.

Flow Yoga is also called Vinyasa Yoga, which means "breath-synchronized movement." The thought is that the controlled breathing that accompanies the yoga positions in Flow Yoga cleanses the body and creates energy. This philosophy is the basis for other popular yoga styles like Ashtanga Yoga and Power Yoga.

But unlike the predetermined sequences of Ashtanga Yoga, there is no single set of rules or philosophy governing Flow Yoga.
Instructors have the freedom to create unique experiences by linking yoga positions according to their personalities and the needs or mood of the class. This makes Flow Yoga a great option for both beginners and experienced yogis alike.

More Yoga Terms Defined from That's Fit:
Ashtana Yoga
Hatha Yoga
Kundalini Yoga
Power Yoga
Prenatal Yoga

Kundalini Yoga is a spiritual and physical practice closely associated with Hatha yoga that is designed to facilitate spiritual enlightenment. More than just a means to fitness, Kundalini yoga is based on the fundamental principle of awakening the seven chakras through breathing, chanting and meditation. The Kundalini is an untapped source of energy thought to sit at the base of your spine like a coiled snake, and it's through the yoga practice that this energy is drawn up. Full enlightenment is thought to be achieved when the energy reaches the Crown Chakra. Kundalini yoga is relatively new to Western society -- it was introduced to North America in 1969 by the 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization.)

A Kundalini yoga session involves a series (called kriya) of postures (called asanas,) each done with an emphasis on the breathing process. Sessions also involve chanted mantras and meditation. Though it's a highly spiritual form of yoga, don't expect your Kundalini yoga session to be easy -- the practice is very physically intense.

Want to learn more? Discover other types of yoga.

Each week, Debbie will share her goals, challenges, successes and tips on how to fit in fitness when caring for a rambunctious toddler.

I have loved every second of my outdoor workouts this season. I wouldn't trade my spring and summer hikes for the world.

As autumn approaches and I sense the chill in the air, I also fear impending doom.

I know that I can continue exercising outside for months to come, and there was a time I even hiked through the single digits and the feet of snow. But I find myself thinking ahead, knowing that I will likely not get outside as often as I do now.

The thought of inside exercise raises my heart rate, and not in a good way. I loath my treadmill, I flee from my elliptical and the gym gives me the heebie-jeebies. Sure, I love my strength training that I do all year round, but fifteen minutes a day is not enough.

So, in planning ahead for my inevitable indoor exercise incarceration of sorts, it occurred to me that I will finally be able to get in the yoga that I have been meaning to do more often. I'll get out those DVDs and maybe even look for a Kundalini class in my area.

What type of exercise do you look forward to in the colder weather?

Yoga is the perfect mind-body-spirit exercise, in my opinion. The only thing better than yoga is Kundalini Yoga, which I would urge you to try. Not only are some of the better known poses used as part of Kundalini, but it also includes lots of quick moving, repetitive, challenging exercises that sometimes remind me of calisthenics, but surely get to the root of what ails me and redistributes the energy trapped in my body.

The best part about it is that each class has a different theme, from strengthening the immune system, to detoxification, to opening the heart. Each student can work at his or her own pace and assume the pose in the most comfortable way; there is not a focus on pose perfection, which is so freeing to me.

We can classify that as a digression, or you can pause, in awe of the amazing new yoga style that has come into your knowledge sphere. Even if I don't have time to do as much yoga as I would like, these are some poses that I have grown to love and can easily do daily for my yoga fix.