Yoga in Pediatrics

Yoga, a 3,000-year-old tradition, is now regarded as a holistic approach to health in the Western world. The aim of a yoga practice is to connect the mind, body, and spirit. Today, unlike generations past, children and adolescents experience stress and mental health challenges due to various demands including daily distractions of technology, reduced downtime, pressures from their peers, overscheduling of activities, overvaluing productive time and greater pressure to succeed academically. There is evolving evidence showing yoga and other mindfulness-based practices are paramount for today's children. Yoga can improve resilience, mood, and self-regulation skills pertaining to emotions and stress. Thus, yoga can serve as an important life skill tool for children and young people to cope with stress and self-regulation in a lifelong perspective. [.