Yoga for Self-Esteem & Empowerment in young girls

How does yoga promote a healthy development in teen girls?
And, why do we teach it in SERniña (By REALgirl)?

The short answer

• It promotes girls’ connections to their bodies

• It promotes self-love and self-respect

• It equips them with skills to help them develop emotional regulation and find their own peace

• It instills within them the importance of self-reflection

• It offers the opportunity to relax and just be. Time for one’s self is often not given value but it is crucial to healthy development

• It reinforces the ‘My Powerful Female Body’ module in which we speak about their menstrual cycle as a powerful gift we have as females and their ‘power center’ being a very magical and powerful part of their body.

A girl’s connection to her body
For many, many centuries, girls and women have been bombarded and disempowered with messages of shame surrounding the female body, their magical, cyclical and reproductive capacity and their powerful sexual energy. Deliberate at one point in history and now simply part of the fabric of most cultures around the world, these messages of shame and inferiority may be more responsible for the deterioration of self-value in girls and women than any other single ‘root’ of the problem. 1

 From a very early age, girls are overwhelmed with messages from the media and society telling them how their bodies “should” look. They learn that their body’s primary importance is how it looks externally. They learn their bodies are there to be an object, an ornament to simply decorate the world. When their body does not look the way they or society want it to, many girls begin to disconnect from their bodies and tear down the appreciation they have for themselves, leading to plummet in their overall self-esteem and sense of self-worth.

When girls learn to appreciate and love their body, no matter the size, colour or shape, girls are also learning to love themselves and to be proud of who they are. When girls see their bodies as vessels to contribute to the world, instead of simply as ornaments to decorate it, they feel empowered to take control of their lives and  believe in their power to create change and become leaders.​

“I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself.”
​Oprah Winfrey

aSERniña (by REALgirl)’s Approach to Yoga for Self-Esteem
 
Because the SERniña curriculum is dedicated to addressing the issues of low self-esteem at their root and building a lasting sense of empowerment from the inside out, re-connecting girls with their bodies through a basic knowledge and the experience of yoga & meditation has proven to be very effective.
 
The SERniña yoga practice is not just a fitness class. Before and during each session we talk about how yoga can help us connect to our bodies, the importance of connecting with our breath, the significance of particular poses and during meditation we offer messages of encouragement and through guiding questions nurture a practice of self-reflection. The aim is to encourage the girls on a path of self-discovery and self-knowledge, to value themselves, and their bodies, on a more profound level and to discover their skills and interests in order to create their own path in life. 

Some of the poses we love and their meanings

​DANCER POSE
This pose is about celebrating life, it is symbolic of our innate ability to dance through the chaos and disappointments of life. We are reminded that we are responsible for creating our own happiness. In this pose you should feel secure, powerful and proud. This pose increases your confidence and the strength in your legs.

​TREE POSE
Trees have a lot of symbolic significance. They are strong and always maintain stability through their roots. This pose helps us find stability, tranquility and strength as we focus on our roots. It helps us relieve emotional tension and arouses a sense of calm.

​WHEEL POSE
This a powerful heart-opener, you must remember to breathe profoundly. By staying connected to our breath, this pose gives us energy, helps relieve stress, depression and anxiety. It opens up our heart centre, which allows us to connect more freely with others and that others connect with us. This pose also nurtures our self-esteem and confidence.

​GODDESS POSE
By opening our chest as much as we can this pose breeds a sense of pride. This is a vulnerable pose as we are expose who we are, but this vulnerability gives us the courage to create our own path in life. It helps us embrace our inner goddesses and innate power as females.

​ So, everyone go out there and get bendy. Practice yoga with your daughter and encourage the women around you to share in the practice as well. When we love our bodies, we love ourselves, and when we love ourselves, anything is possible.