Yoga must be taught early in childhood

July 26th, 2006

The most difficult person for me to initiate into yoga so far has been my own daughter, Diya.

My seven year old has all the reasons why she is unable to follow the regime every day seven days a week – “father if I get up early I sleep in the class while ma’am is teaching; then I feel sleepy in the afternoon after I return home, and I’m unable to do my homework if I go off to sleep; in the evenings I’m playing and then I am packing my bag, preparing my uniform and polishing my shoes for the school; so it’s late and I cannot get up early in the morning.”

Diya says all this and more in a single breath

But while she continues to be the most difficult person to involve in my own yoga practice, I continue to be perhaps the most difficult father to give up on those often forceful arguments – “reduce your playing hours, go to bed early, and if you do that you will need to spend less time learning; because when you do yoga you concentrate much better, hence you learn faster and then you have all the time to play”, is my refrain everyday after I wake her up to join me in the yoga practice at half past five in the morning.

Diya had been wearing specs to correct her left eye squint ever since she joined her school four years ago. She would break her expensive specs almost every month and I had a difficult time taking her to the eye specialist and optician more than 40 miles away. This was an expensive monthly grind.

The most disappointing part was that her squint had worsened so the doctor had suggested some eye exercises to complement the glasses she was using for the purpose.

But all that is a history now.

She has not had any new specs ever since she broke her last pair in May this year. The recent check up has confirmed that she does not need to wear her specs all day long as her squint has been reduced by 80%.

Diya has been practising yoga since May though she did not practise consistently at first. Her doctor believes the exercises he had suggested had worked. But honestly I never cared for his new prescription as I feel that Yoga had corrected her sight problems.

I keep reminding her how she got rid of her specs she has worn for as long as she can remember. And I encourage her to follow my yoga instructions as we proceed in our morning practice. But only for about 10 minutes or so as she is too talkative to concentrate properly.

Children must be initiated into yoga early. It’s a discipline which can set firm foundations for a responsible childhood and a basis for a thoroughly mature adulthood.

Entry Filed under: Yoga