Group Pilates and Yoga Classes for your Child
Have you ever watched kids mimic adults?
If not, dude, you should TOTALLY do it one day.
Up until pre-teen(ish) years (give or take a bit depending on genetics and practice, most kids are still mastering walking without falling (heck, I’m in my 40s and I still am working on that skill), let alone anything more challenging like balancing on one foot. That’s why, at any given moment in time, if you look at a young one’s knees, elbows (or, I hate to say it, face) you’ll notice bumps and bruises, scrapes, or probably, bandaid(s). When we are developing and growing so quickly, knowing where our body is relative to space and time is truly a technique to master.
Then, we get to those glorious pre-teen/teen years. (I’m not adding any of my own pictures from that stage, it wasn’t pretty). Between changing body shapes, continued growth spurts, and today, countless hours sitting (as compared to running outside like children from previous generations), what we have is a group of young people with low muscle tone, below average proprioception, and generally bad body awareness. However, that doesn’t have to be the case.
On the flip side, now, more than ever children of all ages have also been experiencing injuries that were basically unheard of, back just 2-3 generations ago. Injuries like repetitive stress injuries, stress fractions, etc are becoming more mainstream because some children are put into highly competitive, high impact sports at very young ages, leading to over use injuries. As a parent, you may be left scratching your head wondering what on earth am I to do?
Regardless of your religious affiliation, you can (and should) consider low impact, low stress, low competitive environments to help your child master movement. Yoga and Pilates can do just that.
Children of all ages, whether they are 3 and 5 (as in these children in the photograph above) or 13 and 18 all thrive in nurturing environments designed to help them succeed in non-threatening, highly rewarding environments. Environments like small group yoga and Pilates classes designed and structured around specific age ranges, where similar abilities and cognitive functions are grouped together to help them explore movement and breath with their peers. The best part is, guess what, parent, rewards don’t have to be candy either. Rewards can be the satisfaction of doing something once thought of as impossible.
From a very young age, my children saw me practicing my yoga and Pilates. Each morning, my mat would roll out, and they’d be busy watching a movie, playing, reading a book, etc while I did my “exercises.” Sometimes, they’d join me (in what was usually a pretty comical mimicking game) for a few minutes, then go back to their play. However, I realize how this is not the norm. Afterall, I know most people don’t own Pilates and Yoga studios.
That’s why starting an age-appropriate program for students became a mission for me and the teachers here at Thrive. I wanted to introduce students from the Hamilton County (and surrounding) area to the benefits of low impact, small group training that will help them feel empowered in their bodies, regardless of their age and current abilities. One of my favorite expressions (or maybe “mantras”) is that Yoga (and Pilates) will meet you on your mat no matter where you are.
We have already begun our pilot session of School Age classes, but if you’re interested in joining our next quarter, here are the details.
School Age Pilates and Yoga Classes
Here are the details about our new School Age Program:
- Each session or Quarter is 8 weeks long.
- You can join us once a week for $36 a month
- You can join us twice a week for $72 a month
- You must commit to 1 quarter (8 weeks, so 8 or 16 classes) for maximum benefits
If you are interested in signing your child up for age appropriate group classes, please do not hesitate to email us or call the studio at 423-290-2326. Semesters start each 8 weeks (with a 1 week break between sessions).