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 Yuva Yoga: Yoga for theTeenager

Rishi Arundhati Saraswati(Satyanandashram, Ontario, Canada)

Rites of passage

Previously, in all old societies, when a child reached the stage of pubertyhe was initiated by his elders into society as a child becoming an adult.Some of these customs are still practised today, for example, theBarmitzva: the ceremony that all young Jewish boys go through for

acceptance as an adult into society. This formal recognition that gave thedeveloping adult the rite of passage – “I will treat you as an adult fromnow on; therefore, it is your duty to accept your role as an adult within thesociety” – does not exist in most industrialized countries today. There aresome activities that are seen as rites of passage such as schoolgraduations, communion in the Catholic Church, but these are not thesame as rites of passage. These recognitions are associated more withacademic achievements and moral maturity than with advancement intothe social structure as an adult.

Physical growth and development in adolescence

Accurate knowledge of the normal growth and development of childrenand youth is essential for those who want to teach yoga to children.

Body growth in boys and girls is a continuing process throughoutchildhood and adolescence. It is exceedingly rapid in the first two years of life and less so during the middle years of childhood. However, maturationof organs and glands continues to take place during this time. From theages of twelve or thirteen there is a spurt of growth in relation to pubertyfollowed by cessation of growth when adult height and organ developmentare complete.

It is thought that puberty begins when the hypothalamus becomes lesssensitive to the fold-back mechanism of the small quantities of sexhormones produced during childhood by the gonads. Luteinising hormone(LH) releasing (LHRH) therefore increases the blood levels of LH andincreases follicle stimulating hormone (FSH).

FSH in the male stimulates production of spermatozoa by the testes. Inthe female it stimulates follicular development in the ovary and oestrogensynthesis by the follicles. LH in the male stimulates Leydig cell functionand testosterone synthesis. When it reaches the target organ it isconverted into dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by the enzyme 5a reductase.

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DHT is metabolically more active than testosterone and its formation isessential if full masculinization is to take place. LH in the female alsostimulates oestrogen synthesis. It induces ovulation and hence theformation of corpora lutea which produce progesterone.

Slow-moving yoga asanas for burning fat cells are ideal for obese children. The systematic practice of yogasanas also helps to keep the glandularsystem balanced and functioning well. When practising asanas, there isstimulation and balancing within the thyroid gland, which is the secondmost important gland in the body and controls all the lower glands.

Psychological growth and development in adolescence

Adolescence refers to the period of transition from childhood to adulthood.During this period the young person develops to sexual maturity,establishes his identity as an individual apart from the family, and faces

the task of deciding how to earn a living. A concept of who he is andwhere he is going helps to formulate standards of conduct and forevaluating the behaviour of others. He must know what he values asimportant. He also needs a sense of his own worth and competence. Young people are not given many adult privileges until late in their teens.In most countries they cannot work full-time, sign legal documents, drinkalcoholic beverages, marry or vote. Freedom from parental authority andfrom emotional dependence starts in childhood, but the process of emancipation is greatly accelerated during the early years of adolescence.

 To function effectively as an adult the adolescent needs to begin to detachhimself from his family and develop independence in behaviour, emotions,values and beliefs. Problems of rebellion and resistance to parental controlduring adolescence are almost invariably a continuation of problems thatbegan earlier in childhood.

According to Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, at the time of adolescence there is the need for establishment of identity. The parentsbecome less a role model for developing attitudes, tastes, etc. Peergroups and outgroups are more important models of leadership. At thisstage the adolescent is striving to be himself and often sees parental

guidance as an effort to make him into the parents’ image rather thanallowing him to be himself.

Sexual development like any other form of development follows adifference in rate of onset, with those who are late maturing being themost vulnerable to feelings of low self-confidence and independence. Latematuring males face a particularly difficult adjustment because of theimportance of physical prowess in peer activities. Studies indicate thatmales who mature late tend to be less popular than their classmates,have poorer self-concepts and engage in more immature attention-seeking behaviour. The effect of late maturation on personality in females

is less striking. A few personality differences between early and latematurers persist into adulthood, long after the physical differences have

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gone.

During adolescence one begins to re-examine many of the beliefs one hadpreviously considered to be immutable truths. New experiences and newcognitive abilities that emerge prompt one to challenge some of the

values and beliefs received from parents. This re-examination in earlyadolescence may be due to moving from a small neighbourhoodelementary school to a larger more heterogeneous junior or senior highschool and therefore being exposed to a wider peer group and theincrease in development of the cognitive abilities to the point where hecan think in more abstract and relative terms.

Individuals vary in their need for conformity, whether to parental or peerstandards. The more self-confident and assured the young person is, theless he will feel the need for blind adherence to norms. He can evaluatefor himself what is important among the various views proposed and

arrive at conclusions. This is the essence of finding one’s identity.

 Yoga for transition to adulthood

Developing one’s own identity, dealing with sexual maturation anddevelopment, emancipation from home, re-examination of beliefs are themajor psychological developments for the adolescent. A method forproviding the major necessities for a healthy, confident lifestyle should beintroduced to the adolescent, if not before adolescence. So yoga for theteenager is ideal for introducing what we call the three Fs of education.

Fitness, Felicity and Focus, the three necessary qualities of education toensure capable transition to adulthood with self-confidence, positive self-image and self-control, a well-rounded personality capable of excelling.

Fitness

 Yoga asanas are an ideal way to bring about fitness. The postures not onlyhelp to strengthen bones and muscles, but when one reaches theadolescence stage, the execution of the postures is done with more timeand awareness than when one is younger and the body is still developing.Physical movements from one posture to another provide strength,

flexibility and health in general to the bones and muscles; maintaining thepositions for a period of time brings about internal, hormonal and cellularchanges. Slowing down of the maturation of sex glands and hormonalactivity may produce psychological ill ease during this important time of life, but research has shown that females in particular who are active ingymnastics have a later onset of menarche and have a lesser tendencytowards breast cancer as adults.

From ages fourteen to twenty-four, education is a very important activity.So the yoga activity needs to be one that is easily remembered and doesnot take a lot of thought or time. This is the time of life when one can

make great use of asana sequences. Most sequences, e.g. suryanamaskara, ardha chandra namaskara, poorna chandra namaskara,

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chandra namaskara sequence, chandra sequence or warrior sequence(see Yoga Education for Children, published by Yoga Publications Trust) arenot just asana practices, but also include pranayama (breathing practices)and involve the mind. The value of the sequences is that they are well-rounded sets of asanas that have been put together to bring about the

maximum state of health with minimum effort. The breath andconcentration that accompanies the postures makes them a completesadhana.

Felicity

Whichever system we use to develop the individual, it should includemethods for developing and directing their emotional states. According tothe dictionary, felicity is defined as a condition of supreme happiness;blissfulness, prosperity; appropriateness. According to yoga philosophy,the basis of our nature is bliss. So how can one help the adolescentexperience this level of himself? Due to the extreme changes in hormonesduring this time it is probably difficult to get the teen to even consider thisa possibility.

 Yoga gives us a technique whereby we can rapidly reduce thephysiological symptoms of stress such as fast heart beat, fast breath andexcessive adrenaline introduction into the blood stream, and at the sametime helps induce clarity of thinking. It is as simple as a complete breath,a slowing down of the whole breathing process and utilizing the total lungcapacity. We are not only calming down the internal processes with control

of the breath rate, but also improving oxygenation and the resultingbenefits to the lungs, skin, etc.

A second form of pranayama which is very important is nadi shodhanawhether you practise only happy breathing (alternating without retention)or you go on to develop your own ratio of, say, 1:4:2:2 of inhalation-retention-exhalation-retention. Research done in 1988 using an electroencephalograph (EEG) showed that when the right nostril is blocked andthe breath is drawn in through the left nostril, activity in the brain wavepatterns in the right side of the brain rose while the same side brain, i.e.left brain hemisphere was quiescence. The opposite was also true; air in

the right nostril raises left hemispheric activity.

From research in psychology we know that the different brain hemispheresstore different types of information. The left hemisphere is wherelanguage abilities, mathematics, etc. are stored whereas the righthemisphere stores information to do with spatial perception, appreciationfor arts, music, etc. Studies have also indicated that the majority of thetime, either the right or left nostril is dominant in terms of the amount of air entering the lungs through the nostrils. One nostril will be flowingfreely and the other slightly engorged. They also noted that approximatelyevery 90 minutes nostril dominance changes. There is usually a short

period of seconds when both flow freely and then the dominance changesto the other nostril.

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At exam time it is important to be able to be aware of the nostrildominance and understand ways to bring about the free flow in thenostrils and, therefore, stimulation to the side of the brain necessary forexam performance. This can be learnt from a competent teacher.

So the key to felicity is breathing. The more one practises it the more itbecomes a natural state.

Focus

Probably the most important question for the adolescent is how to developthe ability to focus the mind. If he wants to play sports, the coach givesexercises to build muscles and stamina. The teachers teach sciences andphilosophies, ask him to learn this or that, concentrate on what he isdoing. Yet they fail to teach exercises that can build mental muscles forlearning, memorizing and concentrating. The primary aim of yoga is to

develop consciousness, and there are many yogic techniques for helpingto develop dharana and dhyana (concentration and absorption).

Like many other body rhythms, on an average, concentration runs fairlywell for about 90 minutes. Then it drops off radically and reaches a pointwhen nothing is going in. It is important that a 10-minute break be takenat this point. When studying is resumed thereafter, the concentration isback at its previous level. These are things that teachers should be awareof.

Relaxed alertness (yoga nidra)What is important if relaxed alertness or yoga nidra is being used as alearning tool is that then whatever the child wants to memorize should beavailable on audio tape or disc. The relaxation part of the practice isusually about 10 minutes long, which is followed by listening to thematerial required to be memorized or learnt. Of course, important to thetechnique is the instruction: to repeat mentally what is being said. Inpsychology this is called subliminal rehearsal, and this is a method forstoring information in long-term memory.

Relaxed alertness is a great way to learn and prepare for exams,especially if the child has been working hard or actively engaged in sports,and is physically tired. After some time he can bring about the same stateof relaxation as while sitting with this practice. It has been shown that weare capable of absorbing more information if we are relaxed.

Fixed gazing

 Trataka, the practice of fixed gazing at a point, a candle flame, amongother objects, is one of the shatkarmas or cleansing practices. The eyesare fixed on the object and held without blinking or shifting until they start

to water. Then the eyes are closed and the tears wash the eyes. When thispractice is used to improve memory and concentration, the student is

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asked to close the eyes before the eyes get tired. At the first stage, theeyes are opened again and one looks at an area above or below the objecton which the gaze was fixed, for the counter image. The second stage of the practice is to close the eyes before they are tired and just look insidefor the counter image on the retina. One of the best objects for this

practice is a candle flame. The height should be so that the flame is highenough to rest between the eyebrows. The distance to sit from the candleis determined by the visual acuity of the practitioner. Those with myopianeed to sit closer than those with far vision in order to have a clear image. The wall behind the candle or whatever is being used for the practiceshould be as plain as possible. A busy wallpaper will be seen in thecounter-image as well and make it more difficult to fix on one spot inside.

When watching the counter-image, it will change colours, spin, have dots,fade and move away to one side or up or down. When the counter imagestarts to move, if you can really watch your mind, you will see that

another thought is coming into the mind. So when the counter-imagestarts to move away, bring it back to the centre and steady it again. Withthis practice you are not only able to watch your concentration, but alsointensify it.

 Trataka is also especially good for tackling insomnia. So when one hasbeen studying hard and needs a rest, a bit of trataka will get a goodnight’s sleep.

Nada yoga

Nada yoga has been found to be very effective if used for about five to tenminutes before major operations in reducing the amount of anaesthesianecessary for surgery. For the adolescent, this practice is very goodbecause we all love to sing and create sounds and by using nada yoga weare able to bring about a state of relaxed alertness within ourselves.

 The basic practice of nada yoga is to close the ears and inhale deeply andexhale by humming out or by chanting Ommmm... One listens to thesound from the moment it explodes until the sound totally disappears.After about five to ten minutes, the humming can be stopped, the ears are

still closed, and one simply listens. Finally, one may relax the arms, openthe ears and sit quietly for a few minutes before opening the eyes. Thishas a specific effect on the brain wave patterns. When we chant O or AUbeta rhythms dominate, when we chant M, alpha rhythms dominate. So, along O and short M gives alertness and is great for morning chanting.Short O and long M induces introversion and relaxes alpha rhythms in thebrain so it is perfect for preparing for meditation or for going to sleep.

In Vienna, nada yoga was taught by a secondary school teacher tochildren. What he found was that after practising nada yoga the spellinggrades of the students improved. They were listening more closely and

were able to discern the correct spelling. Listening is an absoluteprerequisite to learning to read. So the nada yoga not only brings about a

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very deep state of relaxation, but can also help facilitate one of thefundamental behaviours necessary for learning to read, that is, listening.

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