As someone who was given the gift of yoga at fifteen by a very kind and insightful school nurse and is now a mother of two precious souls, I am passionate about the power and the mental strength of yoga.  Yoga is a way of life and so it is such a shame that we westerners are left to chance upon it, if we are lucky.  However, the very essence of yoga is to follow your own path, at your own pace, to find your own truth and some say that it is yoga that finds you. 

Having said that, it can be hard to find when we don’t know what we don’t know.  After bringing you to my sweetie shop and inviting you to choose whatever you desire from my beautiful and varied display, would it be right or wrong of me to then unveil my most precious sweets only to deny you, because you did not specifically request them?

I feel strongly that children deserve the right to be introduced to yoga alongside playing, reading and writing.  I am not talking about sitting cross-legged on rows of mats; I’m talking about being exposed to:

1. How to be with others
2. How to be with yourself
3. How to move your body
4. How to breathe
5. How to filter your surroundings
6. How to focus
7. How to be still
8. How to be satisfied

Oh my golly, there’s the eight limbs of yoga already; now what shall I write about? 

Once exposed, a seed is sown and the individual has a reference point of what yoga is and a memory of the fun they had doing it.  It is my hope that some of those seeds take root and a strong connection is maintained to the soul.  Throughout life, this connection can be relied upon to provide an unshakable foundation of faith and love for oneself and others. 

I would prefer to live in a society where most enjoy the benefits of yoga and are not reliant upon anti-depressants, alcohol and drugs to temporarily mask pain with chemical highs and the inevitable lows that follow. 

Should we invest in building strong children or fixing broken adults?  Should we build water-tight homes or repent at leisure in our leaky homes?  I’m taking the easy option, and the personally more enjoyable option, and teaching yoga to children.  They sit before me wide eyed, full of imagination, ready to try anything, without an ounce of ego and looking for fun.  I’ve also found that they take it home and show their parents.  Some of these parents are those who would run a mile from the path of yoga let alone tread it, and now find themselves roaring like a lion or scratching their armpits like a monkey.  It’s amazing what Little Johnny can get Mummy and Daddy to do!

Introduction

The aim of this research paper is to show how easily Hatha Yoga can become the intelligent choice for an informed society.  This paper recommends the use of the virtues, postures and control of yoga in a fun and interactive way to instil healthy choices, confidence, faith and respect in children.  If parents, caregivers and teachers could work together we can provide our children with a solid foundation of core values and love.  Such security and peace of mind would have phenomenal repercussions, not to mention a slashed health bill and the brakes being applied to the fast disappearing finite resources of mother earth. 

The paper will open with an overview of yoga and its philosophy.  We will discuss the benefits of yoga from birth and through the school years in order to understand the correlation and the impact of the relationship between adult and child on the growing child. 

With the creation of The Yoga Zoo (Appendix A) I am providing a fun experience for pre-schoolers and the feedback is very positive.  These children recognise and understand yoga and happy memories are being created whilst having a lot of fun.  If The Yoga Zoo can sow a few fun yoga seeds before hormones, testosterone, boyfriends, girlfriends etc. get a grip then I shall be very happy.  So many adults are still unsure of what yoga is even after enjoying a weekly stretch!

If Hatha Yoga is actively taught as a way of life we begin to grow a homogenous society of content people, strong enough to face life’s challenges and complete their duties with joy, clarity of mind and loving detachment.  They now have the option to pursue full enlightenment should they desire. 

The Philosophy of Yoga / What is Yoga? 

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali set out to control the vagrant impulses of the mind; to refine the mind-stuff (citta) through ethical conduct and meditation until it is pure enough to reflect the true independent Self.

According to the Buddha, we become what we think; suffering ends when we control desire.  Through the union of body, mind and soul we can connect back to our God source.

In the Bhagavad Gita (refer to the later section entitled Yoga and Literature / Psychology), the meaning of ‘yoga’ is essentially ‘yoking’ or ‘Integration’; the integration of our scattered personality and the yoking of our mind, yoga is the process and the goal.

The yogin (yukta) is united or yoked to the principle being taught i.e. karma-yukta is ‘being united to the principle of action’.

‘Lightness, healthiness, steadiness, clearness of complexion, pleasantness of voice, sweetness of odour and slight excretions, these they say are the first results of the progress of Yoga’. (Dancing with Siva, Mandala 18: Ways of Wisdom)

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras set out eight limbs (parts or steps) of yoga; my explanation of these follow.