The Importance of FUN (in Life & in Yoga)!

People speak about the importance of health and exercise, the importance of education, the importance of discipline… but what about the importance of fun?

Fun is an element in the lives of adults and children alike, which is often neglected and dismissed as unimportant.

But incorporating fun into our lives has many benefits:

  • It makes you happy and therefore healthy! Woo-Hoo! Endorphins!
  • As opposed to fear, it’s a much safer environment to learn in.
  • It helps us to release tension.
  • It creates space to explore and release unprocessed emotions.
  • It creates an atmosphere where we can freely interact and communicate.
  • Because fun always involves interaction with other people, we learn to play and live under certain rules of mutual respect, which is the only way to keep the fun going!

So dude, have some fun!

The critical importance of happiness for health and well-being is supported by modern medical science and psychology. Physical, mental and emotional health are all affected by our level of happiness; therefore, patients are commonly prescribed Prozac and other mood stabilizing drugs for the management of chronic pain and illness. However, evidence suggests that this same effect can be achieved in a much more holistic way (Monroe, 2012). 

New, innovative fields of medical treatment are emerging in response to the recognition of the critical importance of happiness in general well-being. These include Medical Clowning and Laughter Therapy. Research is increasingly revealing that the power of fun is not to be underestimated; a recent Israeli study has revealed significantly higher success rates for in-vitro-fertilization in women who were visited by ‘medical clowns’ during the recovery time following the procedure. This research was developed following studies which indicated the health benefits associated with laughter as a stress-reducer, and conversely, the adverse effects of stress of health. The results of the study are attributed to the reduction of stress hormones during fertilization (Friedler et al., 2011). Evidence also suggests that laughter and happiness assist in strengthening the immune system, increasing longevity, and improving the way patients cope with illness, just to name a few (for a review see Monroe, 2012). 

Considering the medical evidence supporting the incredible stress-reducing benefits of laughter of our health, imagine how this simple act can change our lives by supporting our emotional and physical wellbeing. When we have fun, we step away from our worries and our entrenched thought patterns. So having fun can be a kind of meditation and a medication!

Having fun is an indispensable element of true social cohesion. Western societies increasingly put a higher value on work and productivity and entirely neglect the importance of fun and happiness. Because fun and happiness create avenues of social engagement, when we have good healthy fun we inevitably make other people happy too. A greater focus on fun and happiness promotes global health and well-being.

Families and communities cannot thrive without fun being a part of their routine. Fun is simply the best way to relieve tension in any relationship whether personal or professional.  Fun is an attitude rather than an action; making a commitment to maintaining an attitude of fun in our lives goes a long way in preventing the accumulation of tension in our relationships. If we all made this single commitment, we could create world peace.

Some spiritual teachers believe that people learn faster through suffering; but fun, security and happiness are a much more nurturing environment for learning to take place. Why can’t the same lessons be learnt through joy? Predominantly we learn through our own experiences, the hard ones and the joyful ones. And what makes those experiences hard anyway? Isn’t it our attitude? So why not approach life with a fun attitude?

Yoga is really a practice of attitude; if you do yoga poses while thinking about how much you hate someone, you are not doing yoga at all. On the other hand, if you are simply jogging or even making love passionately with your partner and your mind is completely tuned to the present moment, you are practicing yoga. Yoga is in the mind. Yoga is what you think rather than what you do.  Yoga is why you do it. Yoga is your attitude.

Happiness is an attitude too. And like yoga, it is something that needs to be practiced, especially if we have cultivated the opposite habit throughout our life.

Commit to doing something fun every day! If gloomy thoughts come, shake them off with some more fun. Don’t let sad feelings possess you; the longer you let them stay the harder it will be to uproot them. It’s not that hard to get rid of little weeds, but it’s a different story once they strike deep roots.

One of the best ways to stay happy is not to have time to think about how sad you are. Keep yourself busy with having fun and bringing happiness to the lives of others. Either way, being happy is a selfless pursuit. Being sad and solemn focuses our attention inward and its negative effects can be contagious; however, when you are happy you are a light in everyone’s path making their hearts light and their faces shine with smiles.

I’ve seen a lot of unhappy people in my time in the Ashram and in many other places. And of course, I’ve experienced my share of unhappiness. It’s a kind of mood you sink into when your purpose is not clear, when you are not sure anymore why you are doing the things you are doing.  It’s a valid feeling, but it’s also a very difficult one. It doesn’t benefit anyone, especially not your-self. Sometimes you need to take extreme measures to get out of it, and sometimes you just need a good friend. So how do we take those first steps in shaking it off? You can start tonight, with a little tiny step forward… just go out there and have some fun!

Spirituality is not measured by how often you meditate, if you wear white or orange, or if you say Namaste. All these things are a bunch of useless pretense. Happiness is a powerful force, a presence within and all around you. Happiness permeates our hearts and minds and the world all around us. Come on, grab hold!  Let it shine!

People need to lighten up! Oh, I’m so heavy sometimes… that’s why I love teaching kids yoga, it reminds me that life is about playing, exploring and having fun!

In yoga we say that the divine is Ananda, or bliss in English. The happier you are the closer you are to that absolute bliss, to divinity, to yourself! Don’t let yourself be bound by rules and pretense. Break free! Live your life how you want to live it! Let this bliss burst out of you like a rising sun!  This is the true essence of yoga.

And this is why and how we teach Rainbow Yoga...

 

References

Friedler, S., Glasse, S., Azani, L., Freedman, L. S., Raziel, A., Strassburger, D., Ron-El, R., Lerner-Geva, L. (2011). The effect of medical clowning on pregnancy rates after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Fertility and Sterility, 95, 2127–2130. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.12.016, Monrow, M., (2012). The happiness factor. Idea Fitness Journal, 9, 36- 49.

 

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MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE WITH YOGA AND MINDFULNESS

Rainbow Yoga trained more than 30,000 Kids Yoga Teachers since 2007. We make yoga fun for children and young people of all age groups and for the whole family too! Our yoga consists of many poses and stretches that have different physical benefits for our health and well-being, breathing, relaxation, meditation and mindfulness exercises for our minds, and social interaction, playfulness, meaning, deep life lessons and fun for our spirit.

Thinking about the impact of all those amazing certified yoga teachers, educators, parents and therapists we have trained to teach yoga to children and yoga for teens; we are making a huge difference for the next generation bringing peace, love, kindness and resilience into their lives. Education departments, schools, health programs and individuals in many countries have adopted yoga as a form of exercise and a method to decrees stress and increase wellbeing. We are the biggest and most-loved kid’s yoga teacher training in the world and we are here tp provide you with everything you will need to teach successful, exciting, meaningful, engaging and fun yoga to children, teenagers and families.

THE BEST ONLINE YOGA TEACHER TRAINING – LEARN TOOLS TO HELP KIDS AND FAMILIES FIND CONNECTION, RELEASE STRESS, INCREASE RESILIENCE AND BRING ON A SENSE OF WELL BEING AND MENTAL BALANCE

Rainbow Kids Yoga offers the most comprehensive, practical, and engaging children yoga teacher training certification in the world! Our course will enable you to deliver children yoga classes that will connects your students to themselves, each other, and the environment. Through unique and engaging practices of mindfulness and yoga your students and community will be able to find connections, enhance well-being and thrive as grounded, integrated and well balanced individuals.

At our training, all while having fun, you will become a children yoga instructor through a lot of experiential practice, insightful theory, yoga poses and sequences, mindfulness practices and relaxation. You will learn how to build fun, engaging, and fitness-level-appropriate children yoga classes for all ages, from toddlers to teenagers. At our kid’s yoga teacher training you will find over 300 videos presenting how to make yoga poses accessible and fun! Believe it or not, yoga can be extremely boring for children and for adults too… In Rainbow Yoga, we make yoga in a fun so that children learn easily and want to do more of it. Yoga is so good for you, but for children to want to want to do yoga you will need to learn to spice it all up and this is what our kid’s yoga online teacher training is for!

This is the perfect resource for yoga teachers, parents, educators and therapists to find and discover hundreds of yoga poses, yoga games and mindfulness practices for children in a way that makes it is easy to learn and easy to enjoy.

Yoga poses for kids: Yoga encourages a positive and healthy lifestyle for the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of children as it helps in the development of strength, stamina, and endurance, high levels of positive energy, resilience, focus, self-awareness, and awareness of our environment.

Yoga for children empowers them with increased concentration, calm, peace, and contentment at a mental level leading to inner and outer peace and harmony. The Rainbow Kids Yoga Teacher Training includes a digital manual (a hard copy that can be purchased) as part of the course. This is specialized online yoga teacher training. Here we will focus on how to teach yoga to children and teens, and how to help them release stress, relax, stretch, energize – All in creative and fun ways while taking into consideration their unique needs, whether they are physical, social, mental, or emotional. 

You will learn to teach the youngest yogis and those with emotional and mental challenges techniques to assist them with impulse control and self-regulation. Our courses provide a platform and a foundation to promote the healthy development of the hearts, bodies, and minds of young individuals.

The Rainbow Kids Yoga Training is the largest and most well-regarded Kids Yoga Teacher Training in the world. Our graduates teach everywhere using our diploma including schools, kindergartens, daycare centers, early learning centers, Yoga studios, gyms, fitness centers, birthday parties, private and group classes and more.

 

AFFORDABLE LEARNING AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Join our Yoga Revolution and become a kids’ yoga teacher today through our online yoga teacher training or in-person yoga certification courses. You will be left with a smile on your face, a wealth of knowledge and an ignited spirit to spread the love and joy of yoga.

For our online training, you can allow 24 hours to receive your access and for physical products such as the Rainbow Kids Yoga Book, you can allow 2-4 weeks to receive it by mail. The books are printed on demand before being shipped, but it is worth the wait 😊

HISTORY OF RAINBOW YOGA

Rainbow Yoga is a fun and constantly evolving family mission and lovingly born in 2007, to give people the tools to teach fun, engaging, and creative in=person and online yoga classes for kids, teens, families, partners, and communities. Rainbow Yoga is interactive and social and all about connection; we touch, hug, move, breathe and co-create together our yoga magically and playfully.

Rainbow Yoga offers a variety of unique and comprehensive teacher training certification courses all over the world offering a well-rounded, in-depth learning experience through a combination of play, practical theory, and fun.The Rainbow Yoga Teacher training is renowned for being captivating, dynamic, loving, and life changing. It is condensed with a lifetime of knowledge and hands-on experience from the Founders of Rainbow Yoga, Gopala, and Angel Yaffa. Delivered by world-class faculty around the world.