Tag Archives: aerial yoga

Health Benefits of Summer Camps

Aerial Yoga, Mindfulness, Social and Emotional Skills, Uncategorized, Yoga

Kid’s today face daily stresses on the mind and body. Summer camps are a great way for kids to unplug from technology, reduce stress and enhance physical and mental health. Way to go summer camps!

Here are some of the recognized benefits that our yoga + mindfulness summer camps can provide your child:

  • Boosts Brain Power! Science tells us yoga and mindfulness can promote healthy brain development and boost resilience.
  • Builds Life Skills. Yoga and mindfulness helps children learn self-control, kindness, gratitude, patience, and other important life skills.
  • Cultivates Learning. Children need to move to learn. Cross-lateral movements integrate both sides of the brain, which enhances learning.
  • Reduces Stress. Mindfulness teaches kids to be less reactive to daily stressors. Deep diaphragmatic breathing is quick way to calm the nervous system. The best part is kids can do it anytime and anywhere.
  • Promotes Strength and Flexibility. All of your child’s bodily systems are supported by movement. Yoga strengthens and stretches your child’s entire body.
  • Inspires Happiness. Research tells us a consistent yoga and mindfulness practice produces GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a neurotransmitter that plays in an important part in your child’s mental health. Increased GABA leads to feelings of relaxation and happiness. Yay GABA!

This blog focuses on the benefits of our Mindful Child camps, but camps, in general, are a wonderful way to promote health and reduce screen time. Regardless of the camp you choose, most summer camps have many character building experiences and offer exercises that build confidence and self-esteem. They are also a great way to explore different hobbies without a long term commitment.

Top Five Ways Aerial Yoga Decreases Children’s Anxiety

Aerial Yoga, Anxiety, Uncategorized

The combination of breathing, movement, and mindfulness is a powerful way to help your child de-stress.  Aerial yoga like all forms of movement moves emotions. The mind, movement, and breath are all connected to the relaxation response.  Children can reduce their anxiety through aerial yoga poses, breathing, and focus of the mind.

Here is some of the recognized benefits that aerial yoga at Mindful Child can provide for your child’s mental health.  Aerial Yoga:

  • Activates the quieting reflexes of the brain and nervous system. At the end of every mindful child aerial yoga class, children lay in fish pose. Fish pose provides sensory input in the form of tactile (touch), proprioception (deep pressure), and vestibular (movement), which, in turn, reduces stress and tension.
  • Encourages deep breathing. Using language that resonates with kids, incorporating the senses, and making breathing part of a story or obstacle course motivates kids to breathe deeply.
  • Enhances the relaxation response through movement and poses. Going upside down, when supported through the aerial yoga hammock, is calming to the central nervous system.
  • Introduces children to mindfulness. Simple mindfulness activities, in the aerial yoga hammock, provide children with tools to assist them in counteracting stress and anxiety in their daily lives.
  • Builds adaptive skills such as self-esteem and confidence. Aerial yoga requires strength and lots of practice to climb to poses.  When children see their effort pay off by being able to climb up the hammock – it teaches them that with persistence and effort they can achieve any goal!

If you want to learn more ways aerial yoga can decrease anxiety and enhance your child’s well-being sign up for a free trial class at Mindful Child Aerial Yoga.

5 Ways Mindful Aerial Yoga Improves Your Mental Health

Aerial Yoga, Anxiety, Mindfulness, Stress, Uncategorized

Mindful aerial yoga decreases stress, increases happiness, and enhances focus.

If you think you are frazzled by over commitments, multi-tasking, and digital-age stress, imagine how your children must feel. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), teens are the most stressed out demographic in the United States.  Fortunately, teens and children are drawn to mindful aerial yoga and can reap a multitude of benefits from a consistent practice, especially when mindfulness is added in. Hmmm…I wonder what Kansas City aerial yoga studio is known for combining aerial yoga and mindfulness…

Here are some of the recognized benefits that mindful aerial yoga can provide for you and your child’s mental health:

  • Aerial yoga decreases stress. Research on the biological effects of meditation and yoga found that individuals that practiced mind-body activities, such as aerial yoga, had decreased inflammation in the body.  Even just 10 minutes of mindful aerial yoga can decrease stress and be beneficial to you and your child’s health.
  • Aerial yoga makes you happier. Aerial yoga releases “happy hormones.” Happy hormones are neurotransmitters.  Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that play a major role in mood regulation. Science has found that the practice of activities such as mindfulness and aerial yoga triggers neurotransmitter production.  These neurotransmitters reduce the symptoms of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, while increasing overall happiness and well-being.
  • Mindful aerial yoga enhances focus. When you are in the present moment, you can not dwell on the past (depression) or worry about the future (anxiety).  When children unplug and experience the art of paying attention on purpose, they reap the benefits of the mindfulness and aerial yoga activities—they enjoy being present, aware, and in the moment, which are important life skills.
  • Mindful aerial yoga increases resiliency. Electrical changes have been noted in the left frontal portion of the brain following mindfulness training, which scientists believe is linked to enhanced resilience. Resilience is the ability to cope in challenging situations and bounce back from adversity. Mindful children can deal with difficult emotions without shutting down and are able to bounce back quicker from disappointment .
  • Aerial yoga and mindfulness change the brain for the better! The brain’s ability to adapt is called neuroplasticity, meaning the brain has pliability and can change with experience. A consistent practice of mindfulness and aerial yoga can create new pathways in the brain, resulting in improved mental health, physical health, and well-being. Way to go aerial yoga and mindfulness!

The evidence from science, indicates mindful aerial yoga is an effective way to reduce stress and anxiety, and best of all there are not ANY side effects. It may also be considered preventive medicine.  This means, that with practice, mindful aerial yoga is a good defense against stress and mental health issues that may arise as the result of stress. It is highly recommended that EVERYONE, both adults and children, reap the benefits of a mindful aerial yoga practice.

Want to learn specific ways to introduce mindfulness and aerial yoga to your child? If you live near Kansas City, register for a mindfulness-based aerial yoga class.   For those outside of the Kansas City area, buy my book, Mindfulness for Children,  and begin your journey to happiness!

References

Daniel, T., Mindfulness for Children. Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2018

Krishnakumar, D., Hamblin, M. R., & Lakshmanan, S. (2015). Meditation and Yoga can Modulate Brain Mechanisms that affect Behavior and Anxiety-A Modern Scientific Perspective. Ancient Science, 2(1), 13–19. http://doi.org/10.14259/as.v2i1.171

Kjaer TW, Bertelsen C, Piccini P, Brooks D, Alving J, Lou HC. Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change of consciousness. Cognitive Brain Research. 2002;13:255–259. [PubMed]

 

 

What is AntiGravity Aerial Yoga?

Aerial Yoga

Mindful Child Aerial Yoga is officially a licensed AntiGravity studio!  This means our instructors have completed AntiGravity training , we use Harrison AntiGravity Hammocks, and  we meet the safety standards associated with being an AntiGravity studio.

What is AntiGravity Aerial Yoga?

AntiGravity is an aerial yoga fitness technique designed to improve one’s health and fitness while having FUN!  AntiGravity uses the Harrison AntiGravity Hammock as a yoga prop to support you as you learn aerial yoga techniques and inversions.  This unique combination of exercises is intended to decompress your spine and align the body while stretching and strengthening your muscles.  Seriously?  What more could you ask for in a fitness class!

Who is Christopher Harrison?

AntiGravity was founded by Christopher Harrison.  He is a former Broadway dancer and world-class competitive gymnastics specialist.  At the age of 20 he suffered a major injury that required eight surgeries to reconstruct his knees.   Christopher Harrison spent the next two years rehabilitating himself through rigorous physical therapy and Pilates.  His resilience led him to discover, “In life, hidden in the forces that pull us down is the energy to lift us.” In the early 90’s he created AntiGravity, the first aerial yoga practice!

What are the benefits of AntiGravity?

AntiGravity has many beneficial effects on overall health in adults and children.  Christopher Harrison personally guarantees: If you can “suspend your disbelief: I guarantee I can make you healthier, happier, and taller, in just one session.

Here are a some of the recognized benefits of a regular AntiGravity practice:

  • Increased muscular flexibility
  • Muscular tension release through self-massage techniques
  • Core strengthening
  • Upper and lower body strengthening
  • Increased joint mobility
  • Self-esteem enhancement through the process of conquering basic fears
  • Enhanced mindfulness
  • Decompression and re-aligning of the spine
  • Refreshes the endocrine, lymphatic, digestive, and circulatory systems
  • Releases “happy hormones” such as dopamine and serotonin
  • Increases neuroplasticity of the brain (creating new brain pathways)
  • Glowing skin: inversions enhance one’s complexion

These are just a few of the many benefits of AntiGravity.  While it is great read about the benefits the true magic is in experiencing them first hand.  Join us a for a class!  After all, who doesn’t want to be healthier, happier, and taller?!?

 

 

 

Kindness for Happier, Healthier Kids

Social and Emotional Skills, Uncategorized

Kindness can boost happiness, resilience, and the immune system.

Kindness is being friendly, generous, and considerate. Small acts of kindness have a powerful impact on others.  Science demonstrates that completing kind acts, even if it’s as simple as smiling at a friend, can boost happiness.  This means being kind is contagious, when your child does a kind act for someone it leads to them doing another kind act. Research indicates random acts of kindness can lift your child’s mood, reduce stress, and build the immune system.

Our first rule in aerial yoga classes is to be kind. We teach kids to not only be kind to others, but to the environment, and to themselves.  Cultivating kindness helps your child develop social and emotional skills, confidence, and resilience.  When a child becomes more aware of their own kind behavior it improves their overall well-being.

Three Ways to Teach Kindness to Children:

  1. Read About It. There are several books that teach kindness to young children and stories are a great way for children to learn social emotional skills.  “Have you Filled a Bucket Today” is a story that demonstrates how kindness can fill buckets and make others feel good.
  2. Sign-Up for a Random Acts of Kindness Challenge. Scientists have shown that doing random acts of kindness for two minutes a day can train your brain to be more positive. Kindness challenges can be downloaded for free online.
  3. Kindness Coins. Kindness coins can be purchased inexpensively online. Kindness coins help children build compassion and empathy. They also reinforce positive behavior and kids love them!

Kindness, takes practice, which is why we make it a rule.   Being kind can be taught in the home, classroom or even during an aerial yoga class.  it can be simple and only take a few minutes, but it is important to build it into your child’s day.

References

Kathryn E. Buchanan & Anat Bardi (2010) Acts of Kindness and Acts of Novelty Affect Life Satisfaction, The Journal of Social Psychology, 150:3, 235-237, DOI: 10.1080/00224540903365554
Isen, A. M., & Levin, P. F. (1972). Effect of feeling good on helping: Cookies and kindness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21, 384–388.

Mindfulness + Aerial Yoga Improve Executive Functioning

Mindfulness

What is Executive Functioning?

Executive function is a term for the cognitive-based skills involving mental control and self-regulation. It involves working memory, perspective taking, decision making, emotional regulation, problem-solving, planning, and impulse control.  Wow.  Executive functioning is pretty important!  So important, in fact that it provides the foundation for all educational and social activities. This means executive functioning is something your child needs to successfully navigate life.

When children are under stress it is harder for them to make wise decisions. Chronic stress impairs executive function, which can lead to problems with learning, memory impairment, and behavior issues. The good news is mindfulness and aerial yoga significantly reduce stress and enhance executive functioning.  Way to go yoga and mindfulness!

How does Mindfulness Help?

Science has proved that with mindfulness, executive functioning is strengthened. A repeated mindfulness practice actually builds neural pathways in the brain. A consistent mindfulness practice changes neural pathways to neural superhighways, making it more accessible to children in times of stress bolstering their executive functioning.

What are the Benefits of Mindfulness and Aerial Yoga?

Mindfulness and aerial yoga improve working memory (temporary storage and managing of information to carry out cognitive tasks).  Research shows that mindfulness and aerial yoga teaches children to reflect before they react, which, in turn, reduces impulsive actions.  Mindfulness and Aerial Yoga, the Mindful Child way, builds emotional intelligence (ability to notice and manage your own emotions). Once children are more aware of their emotions they are better able to regulate them. Mindful Child teaches mindfulness in a fun, play-based manner that kid loves.

What are you waiting for… Sign-up here!

References

Van de Hurk, P.A.M., Giommi, F., Gielen, S.C., Speckens, A.E.M., & Barendregt, H.P. (2010). Greater efficiency in attentional processing related to mindfulness meditation. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63 (6), 1168

Tang, Y. Y., Ma, Y., Wang, J., Fan, Y., Feng, S., Lu, Q., . . . Posner, M. I. (2007). Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104 (43), 1, 17152 -17156.

Turn Your World Upside Down: Benefits to Hanging Upside Down

ADHD, Aerial Yoga, Anxiety, Behavior Management, Uncategorized

The UP side of being Upside Down in  Aerial Yoga.

Children love to hang upside down!  If you go to a playground you will see  children hanging precariously from the monkey bars.  But did you know that being upside down is actually good for your child’s brain? In aerial yoga, going upside down is called an inversion.  Inversions, which get your feet above your head have healing and mood benefits. These happy faces definitely show Mindful Child Aerial Yoga inversions are a mood changer!

Here are a few of the recognized benefits that aerial yoga inversions can provide for your child’s health:

  • Going upside down, gives your heart and mind a break, which keeps your child in the present moment.  This allows them to see life from a new perspective.  Perspective taking is an important social emotional skill that we teach in our kid’s yoga classes.
  • Inversions such as inverted lotus pose (pictured here) promote calm and relaxation.  At Mindful Child Aerial Yoga we encourage kids to calm their breath and relax their minds to reap the rewards of being upside down.
  • Handstands and headstands even when supported by a yoga hammock or wall require core strength, focus, and resilience.  All of which are needed to successfully navigate life.
  • Children as young as two-years-old naturally go into Down Dog Pose.  This innate desire to be upside down is your child learning to regulate their central nervous system.  Being upside down provides the sensory integration children need to help regulate their behavior and bodies.
  • Being upside down increases blood flow to the brain.  More blood flow means more oxygen and nutrients to the brain. Healthy brains are important for learning and self-regulation.

The UP side of  purposefully hanging upside in aerial yoga is that it is beneficial to your child’s overall health.  Inversions improve posture, circulation, strength and flexibility.  Being upside down can enhance mood, teach perspective taking, and build self-regulation skills.

Always use props such as a wall and spot your child if he is attempting headstand and handstand on the ground. Simple poses such as Down Dog Pose also invert the head. Down Dog Pose is fun and can be done almost anywhere! What are you waiting for? Have your child take a deep breath, plant their hands, lift their feet, and gain a new perspective! Ah…

How Mindful Child Aerial Yoga Soars Above the Rest

Aerial Yoga, Uncategorized

We Rise By Uplifting Others. ~Robert Ingersol

Mindful Child Aerial Yoga is one of only a handful of aerial yoga studios in the world that incorporate mindfulness, therapeutic tools, and sensory integration strategies into their aerial yoga instruction.

Our unique classes use yoga poses and strategies that science demonstrates as therapeutic to the brain and body. We also make sure our classes are filled with social emotional learning and FUN!

Below are just a few of ways we uplift children and soar above others.

HIGHLY QUALIFIED STAFF

Mindful Child Aerial Yoga staff has the credentials to teach children, not only yoga, but social and emotional skills. When you send your child to school or the doctor’s office, you rest assured knowing that your child’s teacher and doctor have degrees in teaching and medicine. They have the adequate credentials to teach your child. In the yoga business, this is not always the case as there is no governing board. Scary, right?

At Mindful Child Aerial Yoga our staff (except for Kennedy who is pre-med at KU and Suzanne who is an occupational therapy graduate student at Rockhurst), not only have degrees, but are licensed professionals working with children. Dr. Tracy is a former psychologist, who has worked with children for over 20-years. Sarah and Abby are early childhood special education teacher. All have spent years in school earning their graduate degrees. Additionally, the staff at Mindful Child Aerial Yoga have all attended Dr. Tracy’s rigorous yoga training programs.

SAFETY

Before opening Mindful Child Aerial Yoga  a structural engineer inspected and reinforced our ceiling. We also spent more money on our aerial yoga hammocks. We only buy safety test aerial yoga hammocks and equipment. These hammocks have been safety tested up to 1300 pounds! Lastly, we have special yoga flooring called Zebra Yoga Flooring that is padded. If your child falls out of the hammock it doesn’t hurt. We spared no expense to make sure your child is safe.

RESEARCH-BASED

Our aerial yoga program is brain-based, therapeutic, and research-backed. Everything from the music we play to the yoga movements we introduce are beneficial to brain development with proven therapeutic results. Go us for making aerial yoga not only fun, but brain building!

MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness is incorporated into all aspects of our program. The Mindful Child Aerial Yoga curriculum teaches children how to build mindful awareness, which helps them reflect before they react. Problem behaviors decrease while executive functioning, and adaptive skills are enhanced.

REGISTERED

Mindful Child Yoga Teacher Training is a registered yoga school. Our 95-hour children’s yoga teacher training is approved and registered with Yoga Alliance. It is the only approved 95-hour yoga teacher training in the Midwest. We are also a continuing education provider for yoga instructors. This means we know a lot about yoga!

SPECIALIZE IN CHILDREN

We only teach children. Unlike other yoga studios we focus ALL of our attention on making our yoga program unique and beneficial to children. Since that is all we do, we are really good at it!

When looking for aerial yoga for your child don’t be afraid to ask questions. Make sure the teacher is a licensed professional who works with children. Also, ask about the safety of the equipment. Has it been safety tested?  Were the hammocks hung by a licensed contractor?  Is there a padded flooring? After all your child will be suspended in the air hanging upside down like a monkey…

Frequently Asked Questions About Aerial Yoga Hammocks

Aerial Yoga, Uncategorized, Yoga Resources

Is your child is hooked on our amazing aerial yoga classes?  Are they begging for their own hammock for home use?   If so, this is the blog for you!

WHY BUY A HAMMOCK

Aerial yoga gives children the feeling of safe, weightless flight. Participation in an aerial yoga class has a wide range of benefits for children of all ages, such as cognitive, neurological, motor, and developmental.

There are multiple therapeutic and sensory benefits associated with aerial yoga.   Children are having fun while strengthening their minds and bodies. Yoga in the aerial hammocks is a great tool to regulate the central nervous system, increase body awareness,  and help children become aware of their own social and emotional needs so they can self-regulate their behavior.

WHAT TO BUY

Single Point Hammock. Mindful Child Aerial Yoga uses the single point instead of a double point hammock.  The single point allows for lots of spinning and hours of fun and is better suited for the style of aerial yoga we practice in our classes.

Swivel. Rotational devices or Swivels are not necessary for Aerial Yoga Hammocks, but they do allow an additional spinning component to hammock use, and they also decrease the force placed on the attachment point.

Mindful Child Aerial Yoga uses swivels in our studio to allow versatility with hammock use, full movement in all planes, decreased twisting of hammock straps, smoothness with movement and extra fun!   Most kids love how the swivel adds a sense of flow to movement in the hammock and allows a spinning component, but some kids can be overwhelmed by spinning, which can lead to nausea.

WHERE TO BUY

Not all hammocks are created equal and do not move the same.  Dr. Tracy recommends buying hammocks from the Mindful Child Aerial Yoga website.  Sorry, we are a little bit biased.  We use Yogapeutic hammocks, which have been safety tested to 1300 pounds.  These aerial hammocks are machine washable and can be in the dryer for 12 minutes, which is important if you want to kill viruses lurking on the material.

Purchase One Here!

Or to buy a hammock on our website go to MindfulChildAerialYoga.com and click on “Services” a drop down menu will appear.  Click on “Yoga Hammocks” and it will take you to our affiliate, Yogapeutics.  We absolutely love our hammocks! They may be a little pricier, but they are worth it!

If you want to try another type of hammock Dr. Tracy has bought hammocks through aerial fabrics in the past.  They are good hammocks, but require knots at the top, which can be tricky if you are not familiar with aerial equipment.  This brand also needs to be washed and dried by hand so they require more work.

Aerial Fabric Acrobats Link.

When buying a hammock avoid Amazon and companies that do not specialize in aerial equipment – invest in a good quality hammock to ensure the safety of your child.

Once your hammock is ordered be prepared for reduced stress, improved happiness and hours spent moving, creating and playing!

 

Sensory and Cognitive Benefits of Aerial Yoga

Aerial Yoga

AERIAL YOGA BENEFITS ALL CHILDREN

Aerial yoga has the same benefits of typical yoga, but there are also additional sensory, cognitive, and health benefits. Aerial yoga gives the body more room to stretch. Since gravity isn’t an issue the spine is decompressed, muscle tension is released and blood circulation is enhanced.

WHAT IS AERIAL YOGA?

Aerial yoga uses a yoga hammock that is suspended from the ceiling.  The material is super stretchy and strong.  The instructor helps the student move into different poses much like a typical yoga session only the student is suspended in the air.

HOW IS IT THERAPEUTIC?

Aerial yoga provides a calming sensory experience for children. The therapeutic poses are designed with an emphasis on the central nervous system, which promotes sensory integration and self-regulation.

WHAT ARE THE SENSORY BENEFITS?

  • Self-Regulation. Inversion is a great tool for self-regulation.
  • Deep Pressure. The suspended yoga hammock provides deep pressure, which is instantly calming to the central nervous system.
  • Body Awareness. The hammock promotes motor planning and working memory while engaging in the poses.
  • Sensory Integration. The hammock provides sensory input in a tranquil, fun, therapeutic environment.

WHAT ARE THE COGNITIVE BENEFITS?

  • Attention and Focus. Aerial poses require more steps than land-based yoga. Children have to focus, otherwise they fall out of the hammock.
  • Executive Function. The complex poses require working memory, motor planning and awareness, which are higher level cognitive skills needed to self-regulate behavior.
  • Aerial yoga improves the ability to be less reactive and more mindful of thoughts and speech.
  • Reduced academic problems. We are building neuropathways every time we practice a new skill.  Thus, in each class, when we practice social emotional learning, mindfulness, and aerial skills we are literally building networks in the brain!

There are a multitude of benefits associated with our style of aerial yoga, so many in fact it will take several blog posts to list them all.  Stay tuned for an upcoming blog on physical and social emotional benefits.

Sign-up soon. Our classes are so fun and unique they tend to sell out with a wait list.  Go us for making yoga and mindfulness so fun we can’t get kids to leave!