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Next Generation YOGA

By: Kathy Gilbert
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Chanting, shaking a rattling egg, running around the room yelling, rolling across the floor and, finally, resting.

A children’s yoga class unravels more noisily than adult versions of this ancient Indian practice.

“There are a lot of active poses,” said Claire Mooney, a certified Next Generation yoga teacher and instructor at North Shore Yoga in North Chattanooga. “The children are practicing yoga, but they don’t realize they’re practicing in the traditional sense.”

With their natural flexibility, children seem to pick up yoga poses easily, Ms. Mooney said.

While nearly all adult yoga poses can be adapted for children, adult manners cannot. A child’s yoga class will include constant movement, with a few simple lessons in breathing, chanting and doing the poses.

Children, for example, prefer wildly gyrating sun dancing to stylized sun salutations.

“It’s fun,” said class member Lauren Carrelli, 8. “I like the adventures, it helps me with other sports, and I can be more flexible.”

Some children’s yoga classes, though, do focus on peaceful meditation.

“I do it every day with the 3-year-olds, and it’s usually a really quiet time,” said Brittany Wilkins, a teacher at Northside Learning Center who leads classes informally.

“I’ve also introduced them to the idea of meditation — sitting quietly, making one noise and focusing on one thought. They really respond to it. It helps everybody calm down,” she said.

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