Andrey Bokatov Sergey Sergeev Children's yoga

Introduction

Dear reader!
The book you are holding in your hands is unique in its kind. It, perhaps, for the first time outlines the method of applying the most ancient science in the world - yoga - for the harmonious upbringing of children, understood as the development and improvement of not only the physical body, but also the soul and spirit.
We hope that this book will be useful for parents who want to raise their children as natural and free personalities, and for kindergarten teachers, and school teachers, and professional yoga instructors who teach in children's groups.
This book is primarily a practical guide. The book contains a huge number of practical techniques tested in kindergartens, schools and yoga groups in the cities of Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk, Minsk, Nesvezh, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, etc.
Part one, chapters 2.one–2.3, 2.5–2.7, 3.one–3.one2, 3.30–3.32, four.one–four.one2, four.2one–four.22 were prepared by S. Sergeev.
Parts 5, 6, chapters 2.four, 2.eight–2.one0, 3.one3–3.30, four.one3–four.20 were prepared by A. Bokatov.
We express our gratitude and appreciation to all those who in one way or another helped in writing this book and its publication.
I wish you success in fulfilling a difficult but noble task - educating a new generation!

Part one
Harmonious development of the child

one.one. Harmonious development of the child — что это такое?
After all, all adults were children at first, only few of them remember this.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"The little Prince"

The great philosopher, who, according to the Strugatsky brothers, was “unlucky with admirers,” Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: “Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the superman.” Most sages, despite the differences in the teachings they preach, agree that man is not at all the top of the evolutionary ladder. Man is one of the rungs of this ladder, and by no means the last. Perhaps we "delayed" at this stage (although the time of the "conscious development" of humanity on the scale of the Universe is negligible). But if our soul passed the steps of the same evolutionary ladder to the human being to some extent unconsciously and individual perfection meant little in this case, then the transition from the “human step” to the next one is possible only through conscious work. each individual above himself.
It is already extremely difficult (although not impossible) for adult people reading these lines to consciously evolve to the next stage, and most likely this is already the prerogative of the next lives. However, you can help your children become a harmoniously developed personality, because only the person whose body, soul and spirit are developed to approximately the same level at a high level will be able to move to the next rung of the evolutionary ladder.
So, the harmonious development of the child includes the development of the body, soul and spirit.
Body development - physical development, a strong and enduring body, excellent health, and hence the ability to perceive various energy flows (and remain healthy at the same time).
The development of the soul is sensual and emotional experience, mastery of the arts, perception of art (communication with Beauty).
The development of the spirit is the knowledge of the world and oneself.
All these three components are in fact closely interrelated and complement each other. Development only in one of these areas without the development of others is possible only up to a certain level. Therefore, if you nevertheless decide to help (namely help, it is impossible to force in this case) your child to develop harmoniously, then it is advisable from the very beginning of education to pay attention to the fact that there is no excessive development of any of the components to the detriment of others.
And here the most ancient science in the world can come to the aid of adults - yoga, which, with a competent approach, gives harmonious development and contributes to the development of not only the body (as is often believed), but also the soul and spirit.

one.2. When to Start Education

It has already been proven that early childhood, infancy, is decisive for the formation of the intellectual abilities of the individual. It is already too late to engage in the development of a child at the age of three to five, this is no longer the beginning, but the middle of intellectual development.
In Philadelphia (USA), the Institute for the Study of Human Potential concluded that the most “correct age” at which a child should be taught to read is one and a half to two years, and in Japan a school for gifted children has been created, which accepts four-year-old children.
Scientists note (according to Professor Blum) that a child acquires 20% of future intelligence by the end of the first year, 50% by four years, eight0% by nine years, 92% laid up to one3 years.
The following example speaks of the importance of education from a very early age: the girl spent only six months with wolves - from a year to a year and a half. Then she lived with the researchers for foureight years and during this time she learned only a few dozen words, in addition, every night she went to the kitchen and howled. Apparently, wolf "education" took precedence over human heredity. Moreover, such facts, when children were found “raised” by animals, are not so few (from the time of Ancient Rome until one9four0, more than 30 cases were recorded in different countries when children were fed by animals). In almost all cases, during their life with animals, the mental development of these children ceased. They developed physically, but not mentally. All the "Mowglis" found died before reaching old age, without becoming people.
To the question of when it is necessary to start raising a child, there are many answers in the literature. Most of them boil down to the fact that the process of education begins from the moment the child is born. However, in our opinion, it is even better if parents start raising a child from the moment they find out that a woman is pregnant (by the way, among some peoples, in particular the Mongols, the beginning of life was counted not from the moment of birth, but from the beginning intrauterine development).

one.3. Education before birth

Recently, more and more often you can hear about the upbringing of a child even before his birth. However, among many peoples such education has been practiced for a long time or was practiced before.
For example, among the Lao (Laos) peoples, the upbringing of a child begins when the fetus is in the mother's womb, and she must constantly remember this. The well-being of a woman during pregnancy indicates that the unborn child will have a long life, and on the contrary, various ailments and disturbing dreams portend dangers in his life. During pregnancy, a woman must refrain from certain activities that may harm the unborn child. For example, it is forbidden to eat bee larvae (the child will be restless, like a bee); the desire of a woman to pay too much attention to her hairstyle and clothes is condemned (the child will grow up proud); it is not advisable to sit on the bottom step of the stairs (childbirth may be delayed), etc. (sympathetic magic - like attracts like). These beliefs of the Lao seem somewhat naive to us, but many of these actions make sense, because the mother is inextricably linked with the unborn child, and everything that she does, feels, thinks, in one way or another is reflected in the child.
Also among the Lao, a pregnant woman is instructed every morning to strike herself three times on the small of her back with clenched fists, while repeating: "Let the placenta fall, let the shell that covers the child be removed." In the evenings, after washing the body, it is recommended to massage the abdomen and run the tails of eels over it so that the child, like an eel, can easily come out into the world. Again, despite the seeming naivete, this is not only a massage, but also a great way of self-hypnosis.
An interesting custom exists among the peoples of North India. According to their beliefs, it is useful for a pregnant woman to admire small healthy children, and every morning, be sure to look at her husband so that the child looks like him; in the absence of her husband, look at herself in the mirror.
And here is how education before birth was understood in ancient China.

“After becoming pregnant, every woman should do good deeds, avoid bad spectacles, not listen to bad speeches, appease lustful thoughts, not curse and not vilify, not scold and not scold, not be afraid and