It may be a rare sight to see an American child practicing yoga.

But starting kids off early with yoga helps them develop skills to manage stress, relax, and improve concentration and self-esteem, a local instructor says.

Besides, children already have an advantage over adults taking up yoga: flexibility.

"Physically, children are already flexible so it helps them to maintain that flexibility that they already have; it helps them get stronger and have healthier bodies," said Linda Masuhara, an instructor at the Yoga Seed Collective in midtown Sacramento.

Masuhara advocates yoga for children with attention deficit issues or who are on the autism spectrum. "It helps to develop a longer attention span," she said.

Instructors teach kids breathing exercises that have a calming effect.

Masuhara is one of three instructors leading a yoga kids' camp at the Yoga Seed studio this week.

The Yoga Seed is a nonprofit organization. Anyone can walk in without any funds and take a class.

For 16 years, Masuhara was a teacher in Orange County, and she began teaching kindergarten students in 1998.

In 2006 she attended a conference in the Bay Area, and a session on yoga for stressed-out teachers and kindergartners prompted her to try it out on her students.

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Yoga helps children focus, relieve stress and concentrate at school