The power of yoga to improve the quality of life for our children is starting to dawn on parents throughout the western world. Although yoga has has been popular with adults for many years, only recently have kids yoga classes started to make their presence felt.

Children's yoga can increase self-awareness, build self-esteem and strengthen young bodies. It can help coordinate brain functions, balance right and left brain and aid relaxation. Yoga has also been proven to improve concentration, so around exam time a course of children's yoga sessions could make all the difference. Anxious children also see the benefit, so again, a children's yoga course around stressful times of the year could have a significant positive impact.

Although the benefits that children experience with yoga mirror the experiences many adults have with regular practice, you can't expect your five-year-old to hold the poses of an adult's class. Instead, the focus must be on play and fun.

Kids yoga classes use songs, music and stories to take children through the yoga postures of animals and nature. Sessions ignite the children's imaginations with well crafted tales of wondrous adventures; they become cobras slithering through tunnels, space men walking through the clouds, brave climbers of the highest mountains and swimmers diving through the oceans. Kids yoga must be daring, exciting and imaginative.

As well as the active yoga postures that work on strengthening the physical body, it's important to keep in mind the holistic nature of yoga which nurtures the mind, body, emotions and spirit of the child. For a children's yoga session to be balanced it is important to introduce calming and focusing techniques.

Breathing exercises see children becoming big balloons and filling up with air, then emptying slowly to extend the exhale. The rise and fall of their chest is the waves on the ocean. For older children alternate nostril breathing has a wonderful calming effect.

If there aren't any classes nearby, consider using a site such as http://www.activeunlimited.com to arrange a private yoga session at your home. Private kids yoga classes can be tailored for your child and will fit around your schedule. Instructors come to your house at a time that works for you and the family. An early evening yoga class could make all the difference at bed-time!

Many parents use yoga to relax, refocus and de-stress. They are now starting to realise that if it works for them, it must work for their children. And if it works for their children, it automatically works for them!