yoga mats : Yoga for the younger set
Sasha Manzetti, 5, of Madeira and Max Shirley, 7, of Symmes Township squirm restlessly on their mats in the large, open space of the yoga studio, waiting for their class to start. When Molly Bortz, their 25-year-old instructor, enters, the boys run to the prop shelves, pulling down exercise blocks and thick blankets.
"They love using props," Bortz says.
YogahOMe, a traditional yoga studio on Wooster Pike in Plainville, offers yoga classes to children as young as 5.
Kids are disconnected from their bodies these days," says Katy Knowles, 46, co-owner of YogahOMe.
Yoga provides children with breathing techniques, stretching exercises and a time to unwind - a moment to "stop and come into their mind and body," Knowles says.
Dr. Jonathan Mumma, a pediatrician at Group Health Associates in Anderson Township, agrees that yoga is a good exercise for children.
"I know that there isn't an age too young. The benefits are in the stretching and strengthening. It is a great exercise for any age."
Bortz asks the boys to settle down for a moment of quiet. Max curls himself like a sausage in his green tie-dyed blanket; Sasha wraps a purple sheet around his shoulders. Both giggle.
"This is the hardest part for them," the instructor whispers.
Bortz's class isn't structured. In the large yoga studio, on the smooth hardwood floor, the kids make the rules.
"How about we do the wet noodle?" Max asks, running in circles, his back bent, his arms hanging down in a limp pose.
Sasha and Bortz imitate him.
"It's very animal based," Bortz says, taking out pictures of farm animals she uses with the kids. "Sometimes they act out skits, sometimes there are partner poses."
Over the course of an hour, the boys hop like monkeys while making monkey noises.
They fly into the crow pose, crouching low, their knees on their forearms, feet in the air.
They are fearless and flexible. And their attention spans are short.
Before class starts, before the boys become geckos and try to climb the walls, Bortz asks them one question: "Is there anything you want to share today?"
Max, at first eager, quickly buries his head in his blanket. Sasha tells a story about a puppet show he saw the day before.
Yoga "caters to all learning styles," Bortz says. "It helps with confidence. There is no right or wrong."
BY YASMINE NOUJAIM
"They love using props," Bortz says.
YogahOMe, a traditional yoga studio on Wooster Pike in Plainville, offers yoga classes to children as young as 5.
Kids are disconnected from their bodies these days," says Katy Knowles, 46, co-owner of YogahOMe.
Yoga provides children with breathing techniques, stretching exercises and a time to unwind - a moment to "stop and come into their mind and body," Knowles says.
Dr. Jonathan Mumma, a pediatrician at Group Health Associates in Anderson Township, agrees that yoga is a good exercise for children.
"I know that there isn't an age too young. The benefits are in the stretching and strengthening. It is a great exercise for any age."
Bortz asks the boys to settle down for a moment of quiet. Max curls himself like a sausage in his green tie-dyed blanket; Sasha wraps a purple sheet around his shoulders. Both giggle.
"This is the hardest part for them," the instructor whispers.
Bortz's class isn't structured. In the large yoga studio, on the smooth hardwood floor, the kids make the rules.
"How about we do the wet noodle?" Max asks, running in circles, his back bent, his arms hanging down in a limp pose.
Sasha and Bortz imitate him.
"It's very animal based," Bortz says, taking out pictures of farm animals she uses with the kids. "Sometimes they act out skits, sometimes there are partner poses."
Over the course of an hour, the boys hop like monkeys while making monkey noises.
They fly into the crow pose, crouching low, their knees on their forearms, feet in the air.
They are fearless and flexible. And their attention spans are short.
Before class starts, before the boys become geckos and try to climb the walls, Bortz asks them one question: "Is there anything you want to share today?"
Max, at first eager, quickly buries his head in his blanket. Sasha tells a story about a puppet show he saw the day before.
Yoga "caters to all learning styles," Bortz says. "It helps with confidence. There is no right or wrong."
BY YASMINE NOUJAIM
