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Teen Time
Yoga for Mental and Physical Health
By Teri Brown
The teen years can be physically stressful on young people. They're dealing with a high influx of hormones and growing like weeds. Much of the emotional havoc this age is known for can be blamed on these physical changes.
Fortunately, there are ways to cope. One way young people can deal with the physical stress is through physical activity. When you're dead tired after a hard game of soccer or a challenging dance class, it's more difficult to get overly emotional about things. But what about the kids who aren't overly coordinated? How can they reap the emotional benefits of physical exercise if they're not the athletic type?
Debbie Crane, mother of three from Vancouver, Canada, wondered the same thing. While two of her children loved fencing and Tae Kwon Do, her 17-year-old son enjoyed quieter activities, but when he discovered yoga, something just clicked.
"I think the whole yoga/meditation thing has been great for Andrew," says Crane. "He is an introvert in a family of extroverts, and I think yoga has given him the tools to center himself, release stress and develop focus."
Many parents are finding that yoga is giving their stressed-out, hormonal teens and preteens a sense of relaxation and focus. Yoga instructors who have taught young people agree. Nancy Wile, Ed.D., is a registered yoga teacher and founder of Yoga to Go, a one-stop, personal yoga shop. In her experience, preteens and teens can gain valuable physical and mental skills through learning and practicing yoga.
"Yoga can help teens, especially girls, appreciate the new changes in their bodies and learn self-acceptance," says Wile. "Yoga can also balance hormonal mood swings, since regular exercise increases endorphins – the body's natural anti-depressant. Rapidly changing bodies can create muscular imbalances in boys and girls. Yoga helps create a balance of strength and flexibility in all the major muscle groups."
