Children with arthritis can benefit greatly from practicing yoga

Did you know that almost three hundred thousand children in the United States alone have been diagnosed with some type of arthritis? That’s a huge number of children and it continues to grow each day, leaving parents bewildered by treatment options. One method of therapy that has not yet been given the amount of credit it deserves is encouraging children to participate in the practice of yoga disciplines.

A child with arthritis is limited in the activities he can do without pain. Most of these children cannot participate in team sports and often become sluggish from their lack of movement. When these children start practicing yoga exercises, one cardiovascular activity is not enough to harm them, but a proper set of exercises is enough to greatly help their condition. Yoga focuses primarily on the midsection of the body. Work your abdominal and back muscles as well to strengthen them without the need to lift weights, do any resistance training, or use machines. You just move into the set poses and hold them there for about a minute in each pose and while in those poses you also practice breathing techniques. Breathing techniques are what relaxes the yoga student and helps them hold the poses for longer periods of time.

Almost any child with or without arthritis can easily sit with their legs bent in an Indian-style position, they can also usually lean forward and try to touch their toes. These are basic steps in the practice of yoga. As the boy progresses, the number of yoga poses he can engage in will increase and he will begin to strengthen those core muscles and greatly improve her posture as well. Having poor posture is one of the main reasons for chronic back pain. While a child sits and plays a video game or while sitting at his desk at school, he tends not to sit up straight and slouch forward. This causes back, neck, and shoulder pain that can result in a permanent condition. By instilling yoga exercises in children, their posture automatically starts to improve and they will start to sit properly with a flat back after a few weeks of yoga. The increased flexibility that yoga brings is another benefit for young children who also suffer from arthritis. When you move your body through the poses a few days a week, it starts to become much easier to touch your toes and stretch your body into positions you couldn’t even attempt before. Children will begin to feel relief from their pain and may even no longer need their medications. This is the goal of any parent with a child suffering from arthritis, as he does not want to give his child any medication that his body does not need. Older children such as teenagers may enjoy taking a yoga class with a friend and for younger students engaging them in yoga exercises can be simple if you choose a fun yoga video just for kids.