Yoga in Montessori Schools
How appropriate is yoga in Montessori schools? Yoga offers a unique opportunity for children to enjoy and celebrate the blossoming of their budding potential. Today, schools offer yoga to children in their Montessori sections. Yoga, like Montessori education and yoga, is a process of discovery. The philosophy and practices of yoga are compatible with the Montessori curriculum. Montessori education and yoga are deemed as highly important by both parents and teachers.
The concept of Yoga in Montessori schools is gaining popularity across the globe. This eastern concept of exercise is equally popular with young and the old. Today, this holistic form of exercise is taught to children as young as 4 years old.
Schools are introducing this holistic way of living in their Montessori education and yoga centers. Both teachers and young students learn to incorporate nature themes into a basic routine that includes movements in all directions. During the session children enjoy imitating various animals while learning how their bodies feel in the different poses. Yoga cards are extensively used as a part of Yoga Kit for Kids that expresses the 12 basic postures in a child-friendly manner. Yet another way to introduce Yoga in Montessori schools is to incorporate poses into the actual lessons so that children use their bodies as kinesthetic learning tools. For example, many alphabets can be created with the body; this way a child not only learns the alphabet but also learns a yoga pose.
Yoga in Montessori schools offers a healthy alternative to organized sports, because it’s not competitive and provides a complementary form of training for young athletes desiring to enhance their performance. A well planned yoga curriculum works wonders for these budding balls of energy.