Does yoga have benefits for children?

Research suggests that yoga may have several potential benefits for children.

• A 2016 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that yoga appears to be promising as a stress management tool for children and adolescents, with very low reports of adverse effects. It also said that yoga may have positive effects on psychological functioning in children coping with emotional, mental, and behavioral health problems. The report noted, however, that studies of yoga for children have had limitations, such as small sample sizes and high dropout rates.
• A 2020 review of 27 studies (1,805 total participants) of yoga interventions in children or adolescents found reductions in anxiety or depression in 70 percent of the studies, with more promising results for anxiety. Some of the studies involved children who had or were at risk for mental health disorders, some involved children with physical illnesses, and others involved groups of children in schools. The quality of the studies was relatively weak, and the results cannot be considered conclusive.
• A 2021 review evaluated 9 studies (289 total participants) of yoga interventions for weight loss in children or adolescents who were obese or overweight. Some of the studies evaluated yoga alone; others evaluated yoga in combination with other interventions such as changes in diet. The majority of the yoga interventions had beneficial effects on weight loss and related behavior changes. The studies were small, and some did not use the most rigorous study designs.
• A 2016 review looked at 47 studies that evaluated school-based yoga programs. The evidence indicated that implementing yoga in school settings is feasible. However, most of the studies were preliminary, so definite conclusions could not be reached about whether the programs were beneficial.