1. Yoga calms anxiety and tension.
Anxiety is a response to stressful circumstances that can cause physical and emotional distress. For young teens, this can cause stomachaches, muscle tensions, fatigue, and discomfort. In this period of their life, some teen girls are at a moderate to high stress level when taking into account there school and personal challenges. Yoga can help with this. Using deep breathing methods and learning ways to regulate stress, teens can learn to control their anxiety in a calm, thoughtful way.
"Meditation, visualization, and focusing on breathing can help with letting go of worry and fear. The overall practice of yoga can elicit the relaxation response, allowing both the body and mind to gain a sense of calm and ease.”
Katharina Star, PhD. Counsellor Specialising in Anxiety
2. Yoga improves self-esteem and body image.
Teen girls have many struggles with body image and self-esteem issues due to social media, cyberbullying, and some family environments. When girls participate in yoga, they are in a safe place where there is no judgement and you can fully be yourself. This will cause the brain to be more accepting of your body image as you feel more comfortable with yourself and others.
3. Yoga increases fitness and health.
Even though teenage girls are more flexible and have more mobility because they are younger, yoga is still an amazing way to get them active and more connected with their health and body. With a great yoga class, you can leave feeling more coordinated, stronger, and more connected with your body. This causes an improvement in how you feel in your everyday life!
4. Yoga improves sleep.
With stress and anxiety, teens have many issues with falling asleep and staying asleep. Yoga can help relax the mind and body to improve sleep quality which is key to tackling school, peers, and extracurricular activities.
5. Yoga helps with trauma.
Unfortunately, there is a range of teen girls who have experienced some kind of trauma or have had a troubling background in their life. This can cause behavior differences, emotional triggers, and outbursts that can be very difficult for a teen to control. However, yoga has created a way for these girls to be able to take a breather and handle these trauma-responses. With different exercises, teen girls are more relaxed, have a stronger body and mind connection, and have a reduced overstimulation.
6. Yoga improves focus.
School can be very hard to focus on when teens have a million other things running through their mind like family problems, academic worries, peers, and sports. Yoga can put their mind to ease and center their focus. This will lead to a better attention span and a longer concentration period through the day.
Gentle Yoga
Yoga is essential in creating a safe, fun space for young teen girls to feel un-judged, stress reduced, and feel like they can start letting go of trauma. This is key in creating a great mental health state! Stars That Shine has a yoga session called Gentle Yoga which is partnered with a local company called Moving Mountains Yoga! They are amazing in creating an experience where teen girls can meditate, relax, and problem solve. Moving Mountains Yoga serves areas like Jefferson County and Martinsburg WV. Come join us for an amazing yoga experience!
References:
Aacap. Your Adolescent - Anxiety and Avoidant Disorders, https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Families_and_Youth/Resource_Centers/Anxiety_Disorder_Resource_Center/Your_Adolescent_Anxiety_and_Avoidant_Disorders.aspx#:~:text=Teenagers%20who%20suffer%20from%20excessive,discomforts%20associated%20with%20pubertal%20changes.
“About.” Moving Mountains Yoga, 10 Mar. 2022, https://movingmtnsyoga.com/about-us/.
Health, INTEGRIS. “Benefits of Yoga for Kids and Teens.” Integris, https://integrisok.com/resources/on-your-health/2021/june/benefits-of-yoga-for-kids-and-teens#:~:text=Yoga%20helps%20teenagers%20improve%20their,%2C%20balance%2C%20strength%20and%20coordination.
Khan, Abdullah. “Abdullah Khan.” Playground, Surfacing, Parks, Athletic, Aquatic, Play Professionals, https://playgroundprofessionals.com/athletics/fitness-and-exercise/benefits-yoga-teens.
Mason, Heather. “Yoga for Anxiety : How Does Yoga Reduce Anxiety?” The Minded Institute, 26 Jan. 2022, https://themindedinstitute.com/yoga-for-anxiety/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CMeditation%2C%20visualization%2C%20and%20focusing,sense%20of%20calm%20and%20ease.%E2%80%9D.
T., Cara. “Benefits of Yoga for Youth Who Have Experienced Trauma.” OG Yoga, OG Yoga, 8 Feb. 2018, https://www.ogyoga.org/resources/2018/2/8/benefits-of-yoga-for-youth-who-have-experienced-trauma#:~:text=The%20core%20elements%20of%20yoga,and%20reactivity%2C%20and%20encourage%20relaxation.
Understanding Traumatic Stress in Adolescents Fact Sheet. https://www.isbe.net/Documents/traumatic-stress-fact-sheet.pdf.