Still need summer camps for the kids? This one is full of mind-body benefits
- shelettab
- Apr 29
- 2 min read
Researchers at Harvard say yoga offers a long list of benefits for kids.
Their research shows it improves balance, strength, endurance and aerobic capacity. The mindfulness aspect of yoga can improve a child’s memory, grades, self-esteem and even reduce anxiety and stress, all reasons a new summer camp for kids in St. Paul might be worth your focus.
“We’ll be learning a yoga sequence that they’ll be able to teach their parents as well as just building confidence within themselves,” said Shontel Booker, founder of Dream in Color Healing, which is hosting an eight-week outdoor yoga session for kids ages 7 to 12 years old this summer.
Booker is a certified yoga teacher, Reiki Level 1 practitioner, and spiritual life coach who believes in the power of movement, mindfulness, and connection to transform lives. She just celebrated three years with her company Dream in Color Healing, which is located inside the YWCA St. Paul. There, her welcoming spaces have helped individuals heal, grow and thrive in a place with open access to holistic and healing practices. This is the exact foundation on which Booker built her new summer yoga camp for kids called Sunshine & Self-Expression: A Summer of Colorful Confidence.
“This is new for us, our first year,” Booker said. “What better way than to do yoga outside?”
The evening session is held weekly at Boyd Park near YWCA St. Paul starting in mid-June. Campers will explore confidence through colorful movement, creative storytelling, interactive games and calming breathwork within a supportive, healing-centered environment.
“It’s called Sunrise and Self Expression because kids need to enjoy the sun and learn how to express themselves and communicate,” Booker explained. “Sometimes even us adults could do a better job at that.”
The yoga camp also offers parents a way to get kids off screens this summer. According to new research by Common Sense Media, by age 2, 40% of kids have their own tablet and by age 4, more than half do. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry reports that, on average, children ages 8 to 12 spend 4 to 6 hours a day watching screens, with teens spending up to 9 hours. Too much screen time can increase a child’s risk for obesity, irregular sleep, behavioral problems and poor school performance among other problems, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Even more reason to schedule a weekly screen-free yoga session designed to encourage mindfulness and movement. “We can enjoy summer and still have a little fun because it’s not too serious,” Booker added.
The summer yoga camp Sunshine & Self-Expression: A Summer of Colorful Confidence includes evening sessions on Tuesday or Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., starting June 17 and running until Aug. 7. To learn more and register, please go to Dreamincolorheaing.com.
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