Last week I was thrilled to be interviewed by a Reader’s Digest writer researching an article on yoga in schools. She was commenting on how little information there was regarding the benefits to kids about doing yoga in schools.
Then over the weekend the PranaMama sent me this great article from Active.comwhich tells of the link between brain function and activity. Charles Hillman, one of the researchers, commented “The fit kids processed information more quickly and performed faster and more accurately than their sedentary peers. Exercise can really affect cognition, just as it affects muscles.” In fact,
According to neuroscientists, exercise increases blood flow in the brain, encourages activity between the neurons, and even promotes new neurons to grow in the hippocampus, which plays a major role in memory and learning.
“Exercise is the single most powerful tool you have to optimize your brain function,” says Harvard psychologist John Ratey, M.D., and author of the book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.
So yes, yoga really will make you smarter and now science is proving it.
This is great news for teachers. Suddenly the DPA Requirement isn’t just about healthy bodies and habits (though those goals are valid in their own right). Its also about how to maximize children’s learning potential.
So crack out the yoga games, get your downdog on, do a few washing machines at your desk, or be majestic as a mountain and know that you are feeding your brain. You’ll feel better, be healthier, and best of all be smarter.
And as a Mom I’m relieved to know that my children are brilliant!
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great article – Of course your kids are brilliant – they take after their mom! : )
This is such exciting news – just one more awesome benefit to getting kids up off the couch. I love yoga for kids because it’s a perfect activity for wintertime (done indoors) but yet it also provides SO many more benefits, such as taming tantrums, relieving anxiety and stress and encouraging team work and acceptance of others.
By the way, I also LOVE the photo here – is it a class of yours?
Great article! I think it’s great to encourage children to participate in activities such as yoga, soccer and dance. It’s great to hear there are learning benefits from it as well.
I included a section in my website for the active toddler with activities to play and learn.
http://www.teaching-tiny-tots.com/toddler-activities-active-toddler.html