Dr. Shamanthakamani NarendranM.D. (Pead), Ph.D. (Yoga Science)

The Basis of Behavior A child’s behavioral problems represent a

conflict between his developing personality and that of his parents, teachers, and siblings and of other children with whom he comes into contact.

What determines child’s behavior

Factors before conception (pre-conceptional factors) i.e. age of parents, intensity of their desire for a child, etc.

Factors during pregnancy (prenatal factors) i.e. maternal diseases, psychological stress, preterm delivery, etc.

Factors after birth (postnatal factors)

Children are also getting extremely stressed these days – both at home, at school, at examination hall, and at playground.

Some of the important psychosomatic disorders in children are

Asthma, Obesity, Rheumatoid arthritis, Abdominal pain, Juvenile Diabetes, Migraines, Enuresis (bedwetting),

Anxiety disorders, Stammering, Vocal cord defects, Poor memory & poor IQ, Emotional upsets, Eating disorders, etc.

Other behavioral problems like Thumb sucking Nail biting Mud eating (pica) Hair plucking Phobia Shyness Stealing Lying Rocking and head banging Anger spasms Temper tantrums

Hyperactivity Tics Enuresis Fecal soiling Stuttering/stammering Sleep problems Attention seeking Child under peculiar

circumstances Effect of step parent The only child

Conditions like ADHD, Learning disorders, Mental deficiency, Back pain, Muscular dystrophy, Visual errors,

Can be helped enormously by yoga intervention

Adolescence is a very stormy period both for girls and boys, and they are prone to many stress-related disorders.

Dimensions of psychology

Social psychology Cognitive psychology Developmental psychology Comparative psychology.

Developmental psychologists investigate key questions, such as; Whether children are qualitatively different

from adults or simply lack the experience that adults draw upon.

Other issues that they deal with is the question of whether development occurs through the gradual accumulation of knowledge or through shifts from one stage of thinking to another; or

If children are born with innate knowledge or figure things out through experience; and

Whether development is driven by the social context or by something inside each child.

Erik Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development

Attachment theory describes kinds of interpersonal relationships

Lawrence Kohlberg describes stages in moral reasoning.

Stages of human development

Ecological Systems Theory Microsystem: Immediate environments (family,

school, peer group, neighborhood, and childcare environments)

Mesosystem: A system comprised of connections between immediate environments (i.e., a child’s home and school)

Exosystem: External environmental settings which only indirectly affect development (such as parent's workplace)

Macrosystem: The larger cultural context (Eastern vs. Western culture, national economy, political culture, subculture)

The role of mothers Traditionally mothers (and women generally)

were emphasized to the exclusion of other caregivers.

This has begun to change, with the emphasis now placed on a primary caregiver (regardless of gender or biological relation), as well as all persons directly or indirectly influencing the child (the family system).

Studies are showing that the role of the mother/father are more significant than first thought as we moved into the concept of primary caregiver.

The role of fathers Because the traditional role of the father was

more the breadwinner, and less the direct caregiver of an infant, he has been traditionally viewed as impacting an infant indirectly through interactions with the mother of the child.

Stages of developmentPrenatal

The prenatal development of human beings is viewed in three separate stages:

Germinal (conception through week 2) Embryonic (weeks 3 through 8) Fetal (week 9 through birth)

Enuresis bed wetting

Mud eating

Head banging

Child crying

Children under peculiar

circumstances

Eye blinking

Eye poking

Hair plucking

Nail bite

Self damage

sleep and its problems

Stuttering and Stammering

Throwing food

Thumb sucking

The richness of the heritage of yoga and spirituality is gaining sharper focus through modern scientific research.

The wisdom of the East is being restated in a terminology that is familiar to the west.

Dissemination of research findings has played a vital role in establishing the efficacy of the integrated approach of yoga therapy.

New insights into the needs of children in their growth and development and physical, mental, emotional and also spiritual progress is in the forefront.

There is a shift in our approach to human health problems giving increasing attention towards behavioral and social aspect of child health.

Parents and guardians need to be educated and learn to be calm and stress free in all situations.

Ride your Bumpy Camel Begin by sitting with your legs crossed. Take

hold of your outside ankle. This is your saddle. Breathe in deeply as you stretch your

body forward, chest and stomach out. Breathe out as you slump back, spine

is curved, chest is caved in. Keep moving this way and get faster

and faster. Bumpy Camel gives you a flexible spine. Keeps your back muscles relaxed and

strong. Helps you digest your food.

COBRA POSE

Lie on your stomach. Put your hands on the floor under your shoulders.

Stretch your upper body up high, with your arms straight and your stomach resting on the ground.

Stretch your head as far back as you can and HISS! You are a very fierce cobra snake! Keep stretching and hissing on the exhale for a minute.

Then breathe in and lift your tail up. Try to bring your head and tail close together.

ELEPHANT

Stand up. Bend forward with your arms

hanging down. Clasp your hands together, with fingers

interlocked. Now walk around the room, bent over, and

swinging your trunk. After a minute, stretch your trunk high up into

the air, lean back and let out a big elephant sound like a horn!

FISH POSE

Now let’s relax like a lazy fish. Sit on or between your heels. Now gently lie back so that your back and head

are flat on the ground. Let your arms be relaxed by your sides. Breathe and feel like a cozy fish in the water. Relax for a minute.

Train Let’s take a train to a jungle far away from here.

Sit with your legs crossed. Bring your arms to your sides with your elbows

bent. Make fists of your hands. As you punch one arm

out straight in front, breathe in. As you punch the other arm out, bring the first

arm back to your side and breathe out powerfully through your nose.

Keep switching arms and punching out. Listen to your breath--does it sound like train

wheels? Now breathe in deeply, and breathe out, as our train arrives at it’s destination.

Air Walk

Lie down on your back. Begin to walk in the air. Keep your right leg

straight and lift it up as you lift the left arm. Breathe in as you lift, breathe out as your arm

and leg go down. Then inhale again and lift the left leg and the

right arm together. Exhale down. Keep going. Stretch straight up toward the sky. Air Walk balances the two sides of your brain,

and helps you think better.

To Be Is To Breathe One thing that everyone does is breathe. You don’t even have to think about it--it just

happens! But have you ever taken a deep breath on

purpose, say, to smell a beautiful rose? That is called being aware of your breath. When you do it often, you feel happier and more

relaxed. Here is a breathing exercise for you to try.

Birthday Candles

Sit with your legs crossed and

your back straight. Breathe in deeply. Imagine seeing your birthday cake with all its

bright candles, and blow them out, breathing out strongly through the mouth.

As you inhale through your nose, stretch the arms up and out.

As you blow out strongly through your mouth, bring them back together at the center of your chest.

Candle Pose This is also called shoulder stand. Lie down on

your back. Lift your legs and lower back high into the air. Support your back by putting your hands on

your back near your waist with your elbows on the floor.

Push yourself up so that you are resting

on your shoulders. Be a very straight candle.

Breathe in and out and keep straightening by walking your hands further up your back.

If you need help, ask someone to "spot" you.Make sure when you come down that you roll out

slowly. Inch your back down first, then your legs. Exhale as you come out. (Hold for 15-30 seconds)Candle Pose relaxes your stomach, heart, lungs

and all your inside organs because they get to "float" upside down for a while.

Make sure to relax your shoulders and neck while in this pose.

Deep Relaxation Now lie down onto your back with your legs

straight and arms at your sides. The palms of your hands are facing up, and

resting on the floor. Close your eyes and breathe gently.Imagine you are lying on the beach. The warm sand feels so comfortable on your

back. Feel the sun warming up your whole body.As you breathe in, listen! It sounds like the

waves coming up to the shore.

As you breathe out, imagine the waves going back out to sea.

Keep breathing with the waves for another moment or two.

Now, in your open hands, imagine you have some birdseed for the seagulls.

Imagine the seagulls circling around you. They want to come down and take the birdseed,

but they feel a little afraid. Make yourself very peaceful and quiet so they will know you are a friend.

Breathe and relax for a minute, allowing the seagulls to come.

Deep relaxation after yoga helps to enhance the effects of the exercises.

It also promotes rejuvenation right down to the cellular level.

Meditation allows children to express all their negative and positive feelings.

Jogging Through the Jungle

First we will jog through the jungle. Stand up and begin jogging.

Lift your knees high and breathe deep. We are jogging through the thick green jungle. Let’s keep jogging for a minute.Stop! What is that animal up high in the tree?

It’s a COBRA SNAKE!Come into Cobra pose. Lie on your stomach. Put

your hands on the floor under your shoulders.

Stretch your upper body up high, with your arms straight and your stomach resting on the ground.

Stretch your head as far back as you can and HISS! You are a very fierce cobra snake! Keep stretching and hissing on the exhale for a minute.

Then breathe in and lift your tail up.

Try to bring your head and tail

close together.

MEDITATION

Sit with your legs crossed or in lotus pose, and put your hands on your knees.

Keep your spine straight and feel like a mountain, or pyramid. Close your eyes.

Think of all the times you wanted to say "no", and say it now.

Say it fast, slow, soft, loud;

however you feel like it.

Go on for a minute or two. Then inhale, exhale and do the same for "yes".

Get out all your "NOs", then all your "YESes", and feel GOOD! Really let yourself feel each no and yes.

Get into it and go! Inhale deeply to end, then exhale and relax. Feel refreshed!

Sliding Board

Sit with your feet in front of you and your hands in back on the floor.

Breathe in and push yourself up into a kind of backwards push-up.

Make yourself into a perfectly straight sliding board by pushing your stomach up and point your toes away from you.

Sliding Board makes your arms,

legs, and stomach muscles strong.

PASSIVE YOGIC EXERCISESInfants below 3 to 4 years.

Children with neurological or muscular disabilities who are unable to do active asanas

There are two ways to live your life.

One is as through nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

PASSIVE YOGIC PRACTICES

1 to 4 MonthsGRIP

CHEST CROSS

3 to 4 MonthsBICYCLE

5 to 6 Months

PULL-UP ELBOW STAND

7 to 8 Months

TOE TO EAR WHEELBARROW

9 to 11 Months

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING

12 to 22 MonthsLAY-BACK

TOUCH AND HUG

SQUATTING

HIP LIFT

12 to 22 Months

HEAD-TO-TOES

TRAIN TRACKS

BOARD WALK

BALL TOSS

23 to 36 Months

HUG YOURSELF

BALANCE BEAM WALK

BASIC PUSH-UP

ANGRY CAT

JUMP IN THE HOOP

JACK-IN-THE-BOX

TOE TOUCH

ROWING

HILL WALK

YOGA PRACTICES FOR CHILDRENInclude: Age groups 6-8, 9-11, & Above 12 Dialog Yoga games & skits Story telling Bhajans, Kirtans, Sanskrit slokas Shanthi (peace) chanting Garden yoga Diet Hygiene

PRACTICE

SITHILIKARANA VYAYANA: Jogging Front jogging Side jogging Forward & backward bending Neck movements/rolling Twisting Rotation of arms Tiger stretch Pavana Muktasana (Energy release pose)

YOGIC SUKSHMA VYAYAMA: Kapola sakti vardhaka (for rejuvenating the

cheeks) Karna sakti vardhaka (for ears). Developing the elbow, forearms, arms, wrists,

back of hands, palms & fingers Developing the chest

YOGASANAS

STANDING: Tadasana (palm tree) Ardha kati chakrasana (side wheel) Ardha chakrasana (half wheel) Padahastasana (palms to feet) Trikonasana (triangle pose) Parivrtta trikonasana (twisted triangle) Prasarita padottanasana (spread out intense foot

strech) Veerasana (warrior pose) Suryanamaskar (sun salutation)

SITTING: Vajrasana (thunderbolt) Sasankasana (moon pose) Sputa Vajrasana (swimming fish) Ardha Matsyendrasana (yogi’s pose) Pascimathanasana (posterior stretch) Ustrasana (camel pose) Vakrasana/Marichasana (twisting) Sukhasana (comfort) Padmasana (lotus) Baddhakonasana (butterfly) Malasana (squatting) Upavista Konasana (dead bugs pose)

PRONE: Bhunjangasana (serpent series) Makarasana (crocodile pose) Salabhasana (grasshopper series)

INVERTED (CONTROVERSIAL): Viparitakarani (half shoulder stand) Sarvangasana (clown hold) Sirasana (head stand)

SUPINE: Matsyasana (fish) Pavanamuktasana Kriya (rocking chair series)

RELAXATION: Instant relaxation (IRT) Quick relaxation (QRT) Deep relaxation (DRT) Savasana (corpse pose) Yoga nidra - modified for children (pyschic

sleep)

BREATHING PRACTICES: Hands in and out Hands stretch Ankle stretch Dog breathing Rabbit breathing Sectional breathing – abdominal Lion roaring (Simha garjana 2) Sighing tree “Ha” breathing

BALANCING ASANAS: Vrikshasana (tree pose – variation) Natarajasana (dancer pose – variation) Parvathasana (mountain pose)

PRANAYAMA: Surya anuloma-viloma Candra Bheda Nadi Suddhi (purification of nostril breathing) Cooling – Sitali (tongue tubing) Cooling – Sitkari (tongue rolling) Cooling – Sadantha (teeth breathing) Bhramari (bee humming) Ujjayi (throat breathing) Bhastrika (bellows breath) Kapalibhathi (alternative nostril breathing) Complete yoga breathing (sectional breathing –

diaphragm, thoracic, clavicle)

KRIYAS: Mukha dhouti Trataka I Trataka II Vama Jatr type Dakshina Jatr type Agnisara Urdhva & adhomuckha Trataka

BANDHAS & MUDRAS: Cinmudra Cinmaya Mudra & Nakaskar Mudra Adi Mudra Uddiyana Bandha Mudras (Sastanga Namaskara) Jalandhara Bandha Aswini Mudra Shambhavi Mudra (closure of all outlets in the

face)

MEDITATION: OM – AAA, UUU, MMM Silence

PRAYER:

THANK YOU

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