Kid Stress

I was teaching a stress management workshop for kids the other day at a highly competitive private school. Even writing that sentence makes me connect with how extremely stressed so many kids are today. As a therapist, I specialize in working with teens and am constantly reminded of how much pressure is put on adolescents these days to succeed. It seems as if there is very little room just to be a kid.

During the workshop, we focused on breathing techniques, guided imagery, muscular relaxation, and meditation. It was amazing to see how each of the kids reacted differently to the various techniques, with each of them finding a stress relieving method that worked well for themselves. Watching how much tension and anxiety they were all able to release got me in touch with how much we need to manage not just our own stress but also encourage those around us to let go as well.

Perhaps it is part of our work as members of the yoga community to share our experiences about yoga with the kids in our lives, so that they know that there are ways of taking care of themselves and not stressing out.

[tags]Yoga relieves stressful kids, relaxation for teens[/tags]