On teaching kids/kids learning Ashtanga

02-01-2006, 09:22 AM

If I remember correctly, David Swenson said something about this during one
of his trainings... and forgive me if it wasn't him (could have been Doug
Swenson or David Williams)...

I believe that at least one of these men said that Pattabhi Jois won't start
teaching asanas (ie., the ashtanga sequence) to children younger than 12...
altho' I know that Manju started to study yoga at 7 (but who knows if that
included sequenced asana, playful asana, or neither - ie., eg., he studied
other limbs of ashtanga besides asana - just a possibility).

Also, this policy could have changed and/or it could depend on the child.
That is, for example, some 12-year olds have bodies that are fairly
developed, while others don't.

On the following link is a little snippet about what Nancy Gilgoff thinks
about kids doing yoga:

http://www.alanlittle.org/yoga/munich/nancy.html

Otoh, I've read summaries of studies done on kids who learn to meditate
(iirc, as young as kindergarten-age), and it significantly and positively
influences their abilities to concentrate, and consequently, they do better
with their schoolwork.

I'd be interested to read if anyone finds a link to a site that talks more
specifically about how Pattabhi handles children/teens these days. I'll be
studying with an authorized teacher next week, and I'll ask him what the
current policy is.

-Heather Marie