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La vida yoga

By on August 31, 2009

It’s that time again! Children sniff in the manila-scented air as they drag their backpacks to school for a brand-new year. It’s always a stressful period for the young ones, for they are faced with homework, foreign subjects, and the social pressures of scholarly life. And in an adult-centered city like Tokyo, finding a healthy outlet is quite difficult to do.

Enter Yoga: The exotic practice of balancing the mind, body, and spirit.

Yoga has been the heightening vogue through recent years. The practice’s stress-relieving effects continue attracting many. You’ll find mothers everywhere passing by a studio for a daily dose of relaxation, and read about celebrities’ self-declared fondness for it.

As such, Yoga is often mistaken for a “grown up” activity. Little is it known that children can benefit from it, too. Yoga allows kids to relax their mind and bodies, while improving their flexibility. It helps regulate moods in a healthy way, thus decreasing the likelihood of early depression or angst.

LITTLE NAMASTE offers children a taste of nirvana. The first of its kind in Japan, this Yoga studio is just for kids and babies. The laid-back studio serves as a haven for the young ones to shake off the stresses of daily life and mingle with like-minded children.

The classes are fun and playful. Children achieve shanti (or inner peace) through games, music, and meditation in the company of Namaste’s friendly instructors: founder Angie Bow and her Japanese assistants. The children learn more about Yoga between sessions with assigned light homework.

Babies can be enlightened, too! Namaste’s Baby Yoga class is quite popular with infants aged from one month to three years. Here, parents are taught to massage their babies and help them learn poses. As such, ties are strengthened between mother/father and child through skinship, a rarity in the hustle and bustle of today.

Another advantage of Namaste’s classes is the all-English environment. English-speaking students will feel at ease in their verbal comfort zone, while non-native speakers can learn the language at a relaxed, enjoyable pace and put it to use during both class and interaction.

The enrolled children themselves enforce Namaste’s diversity. The classes cater to boys and girls from all walks of life. Many of the children are international, bi-racial, and/or from expatriate families. It makes it easier for the younger ones to be exposed to new cultures and new views. Much like the mind, body, and spirit unifying in meditation, the children themselves become one.

If the kids are looking for a positive new activity, let them clap their hands together and say “Namaste!”

Little Namaste Devadasi Studio

5-8-20 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku

4-1-18 Villa Aoyama, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

E-mail: info@littlenamaste.com

www.littlenamaste.com/english/ 

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