12 Year Old Yoga Instructor Ivan Nolia, Washington, D.C.

We reached out to 12 year old Ivan Nolia to find out what yoga means to him, and since he is a certified yoga instructor, he knows a few things about it. Ivan became certified at age 9.

Enter Ivan

What actually is yoga? Yoga is about the enlightenment in the mind. For some people this part helps them be calm, and be united with God. For the people who don't believe in God, they can look at the subject by thinking of unity with everyone coming together.

Yoga is also about moderation, being just in the middle. For example, being not too happy or not too sad because if you are too sad then you will be able to retain some of that sadness and if you are too happy you may forget to be careful in life.

Can asanas, or physical practice of yoga, affect our actions? The asanas can release stress which can change our moods and that can affect our actions. In yoga asanas, holding the body in a certain position requires patience and strength. This strength goes to our mind to handle hard times in everyday life.

Yoga is great for my body, it keeps me healthy, calm, and keeps me in good shape especially when I am in school. Other kids should benefit the same from yoga. I would recommend yoga to people of the world that are not that flexible or to people that don't do any sports at all.

Yoga for me is an introduction to calmness and health, and other kids can benefit from this. 

Being flexible is important because you don't get hurt easily, for example, when you fall from a monkey bar. As I started doing yoga, I felt like I could not do anything but basic poses.  Yoga has boosted me to be very flexible in a very short time.

Yoga makes me feel calm and relaxed, and I am more loose in my body and healthy. I know that I am healthy because I never miss a day of school and I work hard everyday with homework and various after school activities.

Even though I am already a yoga teacher, sometimes I also get in trouble just like other nine year old kids, but when I do, my mother and my teacher remind me that I should have stronger self-control. If you are a yoga beginner, the best type of yoga for you is called Hatha yoga because it focuses on basic postures and how to make that position very comfortable.

If you want to increase strength, Power yoga is the best for you.

How does power yoga help build muscle? Deeper and more focused participation is required because most poses are held by five full breaths instead of the regular which is three whole breaths.

Yoga teaches me how to have self-control, be healthy, and live in moderation. These benefits of yoga are the same for all kids.

Namaste

Special thanks to Purnima at Yoga District for making this happen, and of course, thank you to Ivan's mom!