While we often think of stress as something that can only be experienced by adults, the feelings of pressure and worry are not alien to youngsters either.

Which is why a series of classes is being aimed at children to help them unwind and release their stress through practising Yoga moves.

Yoga teacher Katie Brennan of Greater Manchester devised the relaxation programme to combine song, games, playtime and simple unwinding techniques to help out stressed little ones, Metro reported.

Susie Lopez of Bent On Learning, a US-based charity that advocates Yoga for kids, told the newspaper that children make ideal pupils for the stretching classes because they live completely in the present.

"Yoga provides a firm yet flexible foundation for developing a healthy body and mind, for life," she explained.

"School days can be long and challenging; peer pressure, stresses at home or in a busy social life can build up and debilitate even the most grounded of students. Yoga is a guide to life and its lessons can be ascribed to any goal; as I like to remind my kids, ’focus your mind, count your breath in time, practice every day and all will come your way.’"

With the annual exam season almost upon us, getting children to lie down on Yoga mats and focus on their breathing could be a great way to get rid of all the stress associated with revision and tests.

Meanwhile, research published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pedriatrics has revealed that Kripalu Yoga classes could help secondary school students let go of their mood swings, tension and anxiety while improving their resilience, control of anger expression and mindfulness.

"Yoga may serve a preventive role in adolescent mental health," commented lead author Jessica Noggle of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Posted by Freya Harper