{"id":6319,"date":"2009-03-06T08:05:39","date_gmt":"2009-03-06T13:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=6319"},"modified":"2009-03-05T17:54:50","modified_gmt":"2009-03-05T22:54:50","slug":"gywneth-paltrow-and-bent-on-learning-teach-kids-yoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/gywneth-paltrow-and-bent-on-learning-teach-kids-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"Gywneth Paltrow and Bent On Learning Teach Kids Yoga"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gwyneth<\/a>

Gwyneth Paltrow at the Bent on Learning charity event.<\/p><\/div>\n

It is not just adults who are down-dogging these days, it is also kids. And\u00a0kid’s yoga is proving to be a huge hit\u00a0for\u00a0these young yogis.<\/p>\n

Bent on Learning is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance physical, emotional and cognitive abilities in New York City-based school children through yoga. With support from yoga devotee Gwyneth Paltrow<\/a> and Donna Karan’s<\/a> Urban Zen Foundation, Bent on Learning is bringing yoga into select New York City public schools and also\u00a0offering workshops to teachers to incorporate simple yoga techniques and mindfulness training into their teaching.<\/p>\n

With the support of some of New York City’s most accomplished and passionate yoga instructors, Bent on Learning is holding weekly classes at select NYC schools. Each class teaches\u00a0yoga postures, or asanas, breath work and meditation. The program is also\u00a0aligned with New York state and national physical education<\/a> standards.<\/p>\n

The organization first started as a volunteer effort in 2001, just\u00a0after 9\/11 in order to\u00a0help children heal and manage post-traumatic stress. During the past eight years, the program has grown rapidly. It now reaches more than 1,000 students across 10 different NYC schools each week.<\/p>\n

While this 5,000 year-old Indian tradition has been met with open arms by Westerners, most yoga classes in the country are geared to adults. But programs like Bent on Learning teach kids how to incorporate the benefits of this ancient mind-body-spirit practice into their young and very hectic\u00a0lives.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A Bent on Learning class at Lyons Community School.<\/p><\/div>\n

Kid’s yoga not only encourages physical activity, which most Western kids don’t get enough of, but yoga’s non-competitive nature doesn’t leave kids striving to be faster or better than their classmates. In fact, it does just the opposite. Yoga engenders a sense of self-acceptance and cooperation. One important study showed that young women who did yoga displayed less symptoms associated with eating and body image disorders<\/a> and they also exhibited greater appreciation for their own bodies. Given the societal pressures that young kids face to look and\u00a0dress\u00a0a certain way, yoga can help curb the blade of the external forces and encourage the child’s confidence and self-esteem.<\/p>\n

Bent on Learning is also using yoga to help children stay more focused, whether it’s concentrating on their math homework, reading a book\u00a0or eating dinner with their family. Yoga fosters the ability for us\u00a0to be in the moment, which for many kids (and adults) can be a challenge, but over time, as the child learns how to stay in tune to their immediate surroundings, they can develop\u00a0focused mental and cognitive function that will have positive effects in all aspects of their lives from school to family to their relationships.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, over the next few years, we’ll see additional\u00a0programs like Bent on Learning<\/a> reaching out beyond New York so that children all over the country can receive the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of this old, but very applicable, practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is not just adults who are down-dogging these days, it is also kids. And\u00a0kid’s yoga is proving to be a huge hit\u00a0for\u00a0these young yogis. Bent on Learning is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance physical, emotional and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1367,3695,18],"tags":[1090,314,3691,3677,193,29,1091,30],"class_list":["post-6319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-childrens-health","category-diet-and-nutrition","category-fitness","tag-bent-on-learning","tag-childhood-obesity","tag-children-fitness","tag-diet-tv","tag-gwyneth-paltrow","tag-nutrition","tag-urban-zen-foundation","tag-yoga"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6319"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6361,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319\/revisions\/6361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}