Yoga For All Ages
Yoga For Teenagers:
As children, we had kapha’s perfect skin, placid outlook and natural grace – not that we cared. Within a few years, we’re wondering what happened to those desirable attributes and wishing we could get them back. But by then we’re already moving onto the pitta stage, which will last until menopause. Transitions are always a challenge, and – after birth – adolescence is the first big one. With depressive kapha and fiery pitta energies in conflict, our moods lurch from rage to despair. Since blood is a pitta element, the start of a period banishes premenstrual syndrome by reducing excessive pitta energy – but then hormonal changes make the skin erupt with acne and hair turn lank. Yet this is a time of excitement and discoveries, as we move towards independence. Yoga if practiced regularly helps in many ways.
Getting Started:
Carrying out this set of asanas everyday should help clear your skin, keep your weight steady and give your body image a healthy boost. When you have time and energy, do all the positions instead of making choices. Keep your movements strong, feeling the energy coursing through your body and out to the tips of your fingers and toes.
- Start in Namaste then move into the Tree, to improve your balance – especially useful for days when you feel clumsy. Or move into the Eagle pose, to improve concentration and stretch the muscles of your back, counteracting the effects of working at a desk. Optional: Return to the Mountain pose and do a Standing Side Stretch.
- Try the Warrior Pose, to shape legs and increase inner strength, helping you cope with mood swings and PMS, or the Lightening Bolt, for more energy.
- Perform the Forward Bend, staying down for as long as you feel comfortable – upto 30 seconds – to stretch your hamstrings and bring fresh oxygenated blood to your face to clear skin blemishes.
- Lie down and perform the Cobra.
- Turn over and move into the Lying Down Twist, to tone your waist and let your hips swing as you walk.
- Move into the Corpse. While you’re relaxing after your workout, try to let your mind go blank and feel as if you’re sinking into the floor.
