Being a teenager is hard, the physical changes, the mental struggles, and now they are overwhelmed with social media. Teenagers now-a-days have so much on their plates. Yoga is an incredible tool that teaches teens how to slow down, listen to their bodies, and process their feelings.

Yoga is guided by your breathe, and in this fashion helps to connect your brain to your body. In our everyday lives we shut off or ignore the signal from our body to our brain telling us something is wrong, or to take it easy, so that we can do more, be faster, be more productive, and as harmful as these traits are we are teaching our teens to do the same. Yoga teaches you how to listen to these signals and how to process them. Learning how to process these signals will create a happier, healthier, more balanced, life for your teenager.

Loneliness, sadness, fear, anxiety, stress, all have a physical response within your body. You can use your breathing to help you access these physical responses and work through them. For example, lets say your teenager has a lot of anxiety and that causes them to have stomach aches, headaches, or extremely inflexible body parts (hamstrings, hips, shoulders, or neck), these are all physical responses are caused by stress. In yoga we do flexibility poses that require you to trust yourself, and through out all of them we use breathing as a natural rhythm to guide you through. These mental and physical techniques can be used off the mat as well.

These practices help teenagers to understand what their bodies are telling them, how to process those signals and ultimately better understand themselves and reacting to the world around them. Teenagers need more than just instructions in physical activities, they need a guide, a mentor, and someone working alongside them. One-on-one (private) yoga is great way to get your teenager the mentoring, guidance, and emotional support they need. In one-on-one sessions with me, I talk your teenager though what we are doing, ask them lots of questions around how they are feeling, what they are experiencing, and how they think they could use these things they are learning when they are home, or in school, or in hard situations.

My approach to working with teenagers is to let them guide the topics, build trust, and let them lead in what they need. I also use aromatherapy. Essential oils are an amazing tool that teenager can use anywhere to help them process their emotions and manage their mental health. Scent is the most powerful on the five senses, every memory you hold is associated to a smell. Essential oils can help guide your emotions and help you manage your mental health in support with yoga techniques.

In sessions with me I listen and learn what your teenager needs and create diffuser blends and rollers to help your teenager use scent to help them move through the process of managing their emotions. I also teach them how to use essential oils with breathing techniques to enhance the effects.

Think about this, your breathe is with you everywhere you go, so if you forget your essential oils, or you forget the stretches, you have your breathe. Teaching teenagers how to use their breath to calm themselves, to relax their body, to quiet their mind, is a tool they can use no matter where they are.

If you have a teenager that could use help with managing their emotions and mental health, use the contact button below and let’s connect. I’d love to help.

Love, Light, and Wellness