FLASHBACK CIRCA 1978: I am lying flat on the floor and slowly arching my back towards the ceiling, as I stretch my arms and my palms reach the floor. I continue to stretch my body as my toes touch the floor.

My body now forms an upside down ?U? like a rainbow.

At six, I experienced yoga with my parents. Their friend and yoga teacher, Sally Kung, was teaching them chakras, asanas and the importance of meditations.

At this young age, I learned how to meditate and calm myself into a blissful sleep through the ?dead? pose. Too bad my parents didn?t pursue yoga; I soon forgot the poses?the fish, the bridge, the shoulder stand...

Meaningful

As the 2009 summer break approached, I began thinking about what my kids could be busy with.

Then one dinner, my friend Margie mentioned that a friend, Michelle Aventajado, teaches yoga to kids.

Yoga for kids? That was it! Maybe it was my brief encounter with yoga as a child that made me enthusiastic about it, or perhaps just the sheer knowledge that kids going to traditional schools now experience more stress than we are aware of.

I wanted my kids to take a break from the pressure and competition of daily school life. I just wanted them to relish good old peace and love. And after talking to Michelle about YogaKids, I knew there was much more to it than those.

YogaKids was founded by Marsha Wenig in the US in the early ?90s. Inspired by Dr. Howard Gardner?s theory of multiple intelligence, YogaKids was designed as a medium for learning, incorporating storytelling, singing and dancing, as well as arts and crafts.
Through the program, children can learn language, math, reading, science, anatomy, arts and even ecological awareness.

By practicing various asanas or poses and breathing techniques, children learn to be fit, healthy and confident while having fun and being happy. Kids easily learn that through ?bunny breathing,? they are able to boost their energy when they are feeling tired; they can let out anger through ?volcano? explosion sounds.

With ?Take 5? they can take five breaths and relax right before a nerve-wracking test or competitive sport. And through the peace breath, children learn to calm themselves and practice harmony and compassion.

?I always knew I wanted to spend my life with kids,? Michelle shares. With over 19 years of experience working with children through summer camps and counseling, Michelle?s passion for education and kids is easily felt and seen.

Although she found yoga in 2002, it was only in 2006 when she discovered YogaKids?a program she fell in love with as she saw that it reinvented how to teach children.

Self-esteem

Michelle says, ?YogaKids addresses the whole child. It meets not just the physical aspect but also the mental and emotional aspects. Most of all, I know I am taking care of each child?s self-esteem, building confidence and cultivating life skills that can help him or her grow up to be a healthy, confident and successful adult.?

In class, kids practice mantras like, ?I believe in myself,? ?I will always do my personal best? and ?I love and honor my body.? This is every parent?s ultimate confidence-boosting, anti-drugs, anti-alcohol, anti-violence campaign right here.

Imagine your children loving who they are, having fun through exercise and knowing how this can keep them healthy for life.

I couldn?t help but shiver at the stark contrast between this and many traditional schools: to teach by fear and authoritarianism, rather than by building trust, self-confidence, love and peace.

I was truly excited to learn that Michelle holds YogaKids classes as an after-school enrichment. She offers a training program just for educational institutions, called Tools For Schools, so that teachers can bring the wonderful benefits of yoga into the classroom.

Although mainstream schools may consider YogaKids Tools for Schools quite non-traditional, I hope education leaders can open their minds and see how beneficial this program would be in developing the physical, mental and emotional well-being of our children.

A collaborative study conducted by Purdue and Indiana Universities in the US concluded that YogaKids Tools for Schools has a positive significant effect on the academic achievement, general health, personal attributes and relationships of students, from kindergarten to fifth grade.

When asked why she has devoted her life to this, Michelle says, ?Where else can kids bark like dogs, swim like fish and fly like airplanes? Children are gifts, and teaching them yoga is my gift to them.?

For more information on YogaKids Tools for Schools, please contact Michelle Ressa Aventajado at 0920-9472759. She will be teaching summer classes starting May 6 at Tribeca Private Residences Clubhouse located in Sucat, Muntinlupa. To inquire and sign up, please contact Luisa Alab at 8428000 or 0917-8521292.

Why yoga is good for children (and parents)

YogaKids educates the whole child by teaching him to be in touch with his three selves: his body, mind and heart.

Mantras like ?I know I can do it!? cultivate self-esteem, empowering the child to be self-confident and successful?equipping him with life skills necessary to cope with the challenges of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

The child learns he is connected to the web of life, developing love for peace, love for others and love for Mother Nature.

Breathing techniques and poses may help calm children before and during tests and may help kids control tantrums, too. Poses and asanas help kids develop good posture.

Parents learn from YogaKids, too. The physical and emotional health benefits of each pose are explained (i.e., Tarzan?s Thymus Tap or chest thumping revitalizes by stimulating the thymus gland, sending the flow of blood through the carotid arteries to the brain), while kids find that learning is fun, exercise feels great and taking care of one?s body isn?t hard at all.