The Rhythm of Living

I’ve always loved research. It’s been a way for me to link the health benefits of yoga to unknowing or doubting parents. One thing is certain over the last 16 years since I started It’s Yoga Kids, parents want the best for their kids. That will never change.

Historically, teenagers have been the most affected age for mental healthy concerns including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression and suicide. As a result of the pandemic, these concerns have scaled down to younger children and up to adult children. Here are couple of recent articles that piqued my interest regarding mental health for all ages.

8-Year-Olds in Despair: The Mental Health Crisis Is Getting Younger.

“The number of children who need urgent mental health care has been on the rise for years, and spiked during the pandemic. In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study that compared how often children came to emergency rooms in the United States for mental health reasons versus other types of concerns. The agency found that between April and October of 2020, there was a 24 percent increase in the proportion of mental health emergency department visits for kids ages 5 to 11 compared with the same period in 2019.”

How to Support Adult Children with Mental Health: Expert advice on how to gently offer help and compassion.

“The American Psychological Association’s 2020 Stress in America survey found that 34 percent of those 18 to 23 said their mental health has worsened compared with before the pandemic, a number higher than any other generation. Risa Garon, a licensed clinical social worker in Silver Spring, Md., and executive director of the National Family Resiliency Center, has seen in her practice that the pandemic has caused many young adults to lose “the rhythm of living,” she said.”

I was was struck by the term, “the rhythm of living.” In yoga, I learned a term from Larry Schultz, Founder of It’s Yoga. He would always say, “go with the flow.” While he taught that on the mat, it transferred to my life off the mat. Learning to go with the flow has been a mantra for my life. It’s helped me as a parent through pregnancy and raising my children. It’s helped through massive loss and recovery. It’s helped my family find confidence, resilience and joy. It's my "rhythm of living."