As the school year progresses, you and your girl may feel pulled in many different directions. Yoga can be a wonderful way to create moments of stillness and silence amid your busy days. You don’t need to be an expert yogi to experience its benefits; yoga can easily be modified to suit any skill level! Here are some advantages of incorporating yoga into your daily routine to enhance both your mind and body.

A Way to Connect

Whether you use yoga to start or end your day, it can be a wonderful opportunity to connect with your girl. While breathing or stretching, encourage her to share one good thing that happened during the day! Incorporating this practice into your bedtime routine can stimulate conversation and help you both wind down for a good night’s rest.

Teaching Self-Regulation Skills

Slowing down your breathing during yoga is what makes it unique. One valuable lesson in the Girls on the Run curriculum is “Stop and Take a Breather.” Cueing your girl to pause and take three deep breaths demonstrates effective management of stress and emotions. Practicing diaphragmatic breathing—placing your hands on your stomach, filling it with air, and then slowly releasing it—can reset the body and refocus the mind.

Increasing Flexibility and Improving Posture

Many of us spend the day seated, which can decrease our joint flexibility. During yoga practices, coaches guide girls through a series of static and dynamic warm-up stretches. Preparing the body before physical activity is essential for reducing the risk of injury! Regular yoga can also lessen soreness after a long day at work or an intense workout.

Listening to Your Body

By allowing time to pause, yoga enhances awareness of how your body feels. Model this for your girl with questions like, “How do your arms feel? Is your breath fast or slow? Are you experiencing any pain or tightness?” Helping her articulate her feelings will empower her to advocate for her body’s needs.

Poses to Try with Your Girl

Here’s a simple flow to cycle through in three moves:

1. Cat/Cow: Start on all fours. Inhale while pushing your belly to the floor, lifting your head and neck, and tilting your head back. Pause for a few seconds, then exhale, arching your back like a cat. Repeat this cycle three times.

2. Down Dog: Start on your stomach. Tuck your toes under and push up with both hands and feet, forming an upside-down V shape. Hold the pose and breathe!

3. Cobra: Begin on your stomach with your palms on the ground next to your ears. Slowly push off your hands until your arms are straight, feeling the stretch in your back.

Partner Poses to Do Together

1. Seated Twist: Sit cross-legged back-to-back with your girl. Raise both arms to the ceiling, then twist your spine while reaching your opposite arm to your opposite knee. Hold for a few seconds, then switch sides.

2. Double Tree Pose: Stand next to your girl. Place the sole of one foot against your inner thigh, balancing carefully. Raise your opposite arm as if giving a “high five” to your girl, and connect hands. Help each other maintain balance and hold the pose as long as you can!

3. Double Boat Pose: This one might bring some laughs! Sit facing each other, feet matching. Hold each other’s hands for stability, then try to straighten your legs in the air while enjoying the stretch in your hamstrings.

The Internet offers a wealth of yoga videos that you can follow together!

For more information on yoga, additional poses, and its health benefits, visit these links:

• Johns Hopkins
• The Cleveland Clinic
• Yoga with Adriene: Collaboration with GOTR