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Around the world - Yoga for children CRO

Yoga practice is a circle from intention to breath. We begin with a saṅkalpa, a silent wish repeated three times. Daily life turns attention outward, but yoga asks us to observe inward: our body, position, and feelings. There is no competition; challenges are personal, and progress brings inner satisfaction. Children are engaged through stories and animal-mimicking āsanas, learning which body parts each posture affects. We prepare the body with exercises like the butterfly to loosen hips for prāṇāyāma. The correct posture for breathing is any comfortable, steady seat. The joy is witnessing progress, from restless movement to coordinated control, which refreshes both student and teacher.

"The most difficult for me is rolling, because it is fun and loosens the spine. The hardest part is grinding, because the muscles in the arms and head hurt."

"Often, when I come here after a whole day of work... completely refreshed, I leave after an hour of yoga."

Filming location: Croatia

Let us exhale, relaxed and slow. Inhale, the belly rises; exhale, we release. In this moment, we allow ourselves to wish for one desire or to make a decision. This is called saṅkalpa. You can repeat it silently three times. It is certain to manifest. Throughout the day, the child is turned outward. Its focus is on all the events happening around it, on various activities. Something is always being demanded of it. Even when it chooses activities on its own, these are always activities that direct attention outward. What happens in yoga classes is a form of self-observation. What is happening within me? Who am I? Among other things, I am this body. How do my hands move? How do my legs move? In what position am I? How do I feel? When I come to the yoga class, often before the actual relaxation, I ask them how they are feeling today, what has happened throughout the day. This is so they become aware of the mood they have arrived in, how they feel, and to become aware of how their elbows are on the floor. Good? Now, again, you must be careful not to be too close to the knees, nor too far away, because your body will be in the wrong position. Rather, the upper arms and thighs must be exactly perpendicular to the floor. So, your elbows are here, your arms are vertical, your legs are vertical, and now we stretch the back. Here we do a stretch. One, you look towards your belly. On the inhale we go up, Izabela, and feel how your spine bends. So, now again down and let us return. Inhale, hold the breath, and with the exhale sit down on the heels. Very good. "I have been practicing for 3 years. It helps keep me healthy, and my muscles and head do not ache. The most difficult for me is rolling, because it is fun and loosens the spine. The hardest part is grinding, because the muscles in the arms and head hurt." Let us pause at 3 now. Good. Let us extend our arms, pause at 6. 7, 8, 9. Let us pause at 9. And slowly, back towards 12 again. Now we have made a circle. Let us connect it all together, the entire circle, from right to left, in the direction of the clock’s hands. There is no competition with others, no comparison like in other sports about who is better at something. So, we actually set certain challenges for ourselves, and every time we succeed in something and make progress, an inner satisfaction grows. What delights children in the classes is especially this, particularly when it comes to a younger age group. The children are still motivated by various stories, characters, animals, their pets, and so on. These are āsanas that involve more dynamic movement or āsanas that imitate the movement of animals. Those who imitate certain animal movements then somehow see why that movement, how the movement of an animal or the imitation of such movements benefits their body. What does it mobilize? We always observe which part of the body we are affecting with a particular āsana, a specific posture, or exercise. Now we have loosened up the whole body and will prepare ourselves. We scrape the legs, then together we will prepare for the butterfly. We will do the butterfly exercise to thoroughly loosen the hips and groin, stretch the legs, and then prepare ourselves for the breathing practice, prāṇāyāma. First, we tighten the right or left leg. You may feel a slight stretch in the groins. The back is straight. Let us slightly lift the chest. As far forward as we can. Shoulders back and knees towards the floor. So, tighten your legs and then gently relax them a little so that your muscles loosen, and there is no more tension or tightness. Alright, let us then prepare for prāṇāyāma. So let us take the correct posture for prāṇāyāma. Sit as you wish, in whichever way is comfortable for you. It is important that the posture is comfortable and that you can remain seated in it for some time. The joy I see in them is that feeling of progress. From those small, dynamic, active beings who cannot sit still for a moment or spend time lying peacefully, śavāsana, or who do not control their bodies so their arms and legs fly everywhere—they somehow fail to coordinate movements or prāṇāyāma. It all feels strenuous and difficult to them; they do not have mastery over their body. And every time I notice any progress or satisfaction in any of them, some positive motivation, that is truly what brings me genuine joy. Often, when I come here after a whole day of work to a yoga class—and I usually work with children both professionally and personally, as I have three children myself—and then I come to the yoga class and I am with children again, but what happens here is something special. Sometimes I come tired, at the end of my strength, and completely refreshed, I leave after an hour of yoga. Thank you, you have been very good, you have practiced very beautifully. I hope you found it harmonious today in the stance of nature. See you next Friday, enjoy. Thank you! Thank you!

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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