Down syndrome (DS) results from an extra chromosome added to an individual’s genetic makeup and is the most frequent chromosonal disorder occurring in 1 in 800 live births. DS is caused by an error in cell division at conception. Individuals with DS will have developmental delays which need to be taken into consideration, but they are more like others than they are different.

Yoga can help individuals with Down Syndrome by stimulating both physical and mental abilities. For many with DS, yoga can serve as a personal physical therapy routine which can be practised alone, with a partner, or in groups.

Some of the benefits for yoga in regards to DS include:

• improving the central nervous system
• toning the body
•  increasing strength
• developing concentration & memory
• balancing hormones
• regulating sleep/wake rhythms
• developing discipline
• improving balance
• teaching decision making with respect for self  & others
• increasing body awareness
• providing a safe and fun form of exercise
• improving self-esteem

Parents, teachers and care givers need to pay strict attention to individuals with DS when they are practicing yoga poses so as to ensure that they do not overstretch. The loose nature of their muscles and ligaments allows for more flexibility than normal. This combined with their exuberant nature and lack of knowing their own limits may lead to injury. Please proceed carefully following guidelines and working safely.  Also keep in mind that yoga poses may need to be modified to accommodate shorter limbs and smaller stature common with DS.

Hypotonia (or low muscle tone) is characteristic in most children with DS. Yoga poses will help strengthen the muscles, tighten the ligaments, and tone the overall body. Standing poses such as Mountain, Triangle and Warrior II are especially beneficial for unstable knee caps, weak ankles and flat feet.

Twists will assist in massaging internal organs and relieving digestive ailments and constipation. They work by compressing the organs while performing the twist, then bathing then in oxygen rich blood upon release. Twists will also help promote good posture and teach how to move with the breath, improving oxygen absorption and body awareness. A number of safe and easy twists are explained in Yoga Twists for Kids.

Thyroid dysfunction, which affects growth and metabolism, is often a concern for children with DS. A regular yoga practice will stimulate the thyroid gland via jalandhara bandha, a restriction of the throat, and practicing Bridge Pose and Shoulder Stand. Please be certain that no atlantoaxial instability exists before attempting these poses. It is recommended that these be taught under the supervision of a certified yoga instructor familiar with the physical challenges of DS.

Sound therapy through chanting, mantras, drumming, etc. is especially beneficial. Sound vibrations have healing qualities and children respond readily to any activities involving instruments or singing. One such example is Singing Stuffies.

Yoga practice also stresses breathing exercises or pranayama. These exercises will help ease pulmonary hypertension and provide a safe workout for children with congenital heart defects often associated with DS. In addition, they will ease nasal congestion and help protect against pulmonary problems and infections by building the immune system. Two exercises which are beneficial are Observing the Breath and Air Walk.

Relaxation techniques, such as guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation, are especially enjoyable during Corpse Pose. Engaging in these activities, children can empower themselves, create calm, reduce tension and improve concentration.

For further information, or to find a support group in your community, visit the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. You may also enjoy the real life information found at Down Syndrome Facts & Fictionwith their monthly ezine The Extra Gene or the social network DownSyndrome.com

Benefits of Yoga Twists

Twists are some of my favourite yoga poses. Yoga twists require the work of the abdominal muscles, oblique muscles, spine, neck, shoulders and pelvis. They help to balance the body and improve posture. Twists exercise the spine from the coccyx all the way to C1, gently creating space between vertebrae, releasing tension in the muscles and lubricating the joints. In addition, twists massage the internal organs, increase energy, aid with digestion, and release fatty deposits in the abdomen. They invigorate the body and get the blood flowing. B.K.S Iyengar, yoga guru, describes this action as “squeeze and soak.” You compress all the internal organs during the twist, squeezing out the toxins. Then when you release, fresh blood flows in carrying with it oxygen and nutrients. Somewhat similar to an internal bath.

Most kids, however, don’t care about all these benefits. They like how twists feel. And they feel terrific!

One of the most effective uses of twists in the school setting is similar to wiping a black board clean after finishing one topic before moving onto the next. By taking five minutes to perform a simple seated twist in between subjects or activities, kids are able to erase previous tension, clear their minds, and prepare themselves physically and mentally to move on to other endeavours.

When teaching twists I use the image of a wet towel. To effectively wring out the towel you must twist from both sides. So when twisting, you must ground yourself in one direction while rotating in the opposite direction. For children who are tactile learners you can even use this as an object lesson.

Yoga Twists for Kids

Simple Seated Twist

Sitting on a chair or cross legged on the floor, ground the left hip by imagining it super-glued to your seat. to the right. Inhale and sit up tall, lengthening the side body. Exhale and begin to twist deep in your abdomen.  Inhale a second time, exhale twisting through the torso, trying to get your shoulders to line up parallel to the long side of the yoga mat. You can use your left arm to help pull your body to the right. Be sure to keep your shoulders away from your ears as you inhale a third time. Exhale and look behind you, taking the twist into the uppermost portion of the spine. If you want, you can even employ some Face Yoga and twist your mouth and eyes toward the right. Otherwise, gaze gently behind you. Inhale and return to centre. Remain here for one breath. Repeat the entire process on the other side.

washing machine pose

 Washing Machine Pose

Sitting cross-legged, cross your arms over your chest placing hands on opposite shoulders. Twist left and right while saying “swish, swish, swish.” Continue for one minute. An alternative name to this is Sprinkler Pose where the hands are placed on top of the same shoulder and while twisting say, “pssh, pssh, pssh” immitating water coming out of a sprinkler.

These two seated twists are easy to use anytime, anywhere and will really help clear the mind and refresh the body.

Standing Twist

Stand 6 inches to a foot away from a wall, with your back to the wall. Inhale and actively ground your left foot into the floor. Exhale as you twist to the right. Initiate your twist in the lower body. Inhale lengthen, exhale twist  through the chest, reaching your arms behind you to touch the wall. Inhale, keep your left leg actively working, exhale and complete the twist through to the crown of your head. Inhale and return to facing forward. Repeat on the other side.

This is a great twist to do while standing and waiting in line. It will help keep overactive kids engaged instead of allowing them opportunity to nudge, poke, kick, and otherwise bother their neighbours.

marichiyasana iii

Marichiyansana III

Sit with your legs straight in front of you. Bend the right knee, placing the foot along the left thigh a hand’s span distance from the leg. Activate your left leg, reaching the ball of the foot away from you, spreading the toes, and engaging the quad. Inhale, hug the right knee to your chest, exhale being certain that you’re sitting on your sitz bones by giving a little wiggle to feel them connect with the floor. Inhale, circle the right arm over head and reach it behind you onto the floor as you exhale. Inhale lengthen the body and reach the left arm up, exhale bend the arm and place the elbow on the outside of the right knee if possible. If not, continue to hug the knee. Inhale, sit tall maintaining the activity in the left leg. With the exhale twist to the right. Remember that you begin the twist deep in the belly. Imagine lifting each of your internal organs ( kidneys, pancreas, liver, stomach, intestines, etc) and placing them individually over to the right. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, twist the center chest to the right using the contact between the left arms and right knee to help push yourself into the twist. This feels really good. Inhale, lengthen. Exhale, look behind you.

Now that you’ve perfected your twists, crack out the Twister game and get twisted.

Watch next week for Part II in this series on twists when we’ll take twists up a notch and discover Yoga Twists for Teens.

The word chakra literally means ‘wheel’ in Sanskrit. In yogic terms chakras refer to energy centers, often depicted as wheels or flowers, which receive and transmit energy enabling the body to function. There are seven chakras in your body, corresponding to locations on the body running from the base of your spine to the crown of your head. Chakras are associated with our physical, mental and emotional health. Each has an associated colour and gland.

When your chakras are balanced you function at your best. When there is imbalance you feel sick, sluggish, and simply ‘out of whack.’

1st – red– Root or Base Chakra (Muladhara)
Located at the base of the spine here resides our life force. The lessons learned from this chakra are about survival and potential. This chakra corresponds with the adrenal gland responsible for dealing with stress.

2nd – orange– Sacral Chakra (Swadhisthana)
Located in the lower abdomen this chakra connects to sensing and feeling energy. Sexuality, creativity, procreation, need for approval, and self-acceptance are governed by this chakra. This chakra corresponds with the gonads or reproductive organs.

3rd – yellow– Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)
 Located above the navel this is the location of our mental energy and personal power. When you get a ‘gut’ feeling it is coming from your 3rd chakra. This is the location of your sense of humour, curiosity, and will-power. This chakra corresponds with the pancreas which controls digestion and produces insulin.

4th – green– Heart Center (Anahata)
 Located in the center of the chest, the heart center contains emotional energy. Here is the expression of love and compassion, peace and renewal. This chakra corresponds with the thymus gland which produces white blood cells and combats disease.

5th – blue– Throat Chakra (Vishuddha)
Located in the throat and providing the right and ability to express oneself, this communication centre helps us to understand, develop creativity, and face truth and fear. This chakra corresponds with the thyroid gland which regulates metabolism.

6th – indigo– Brow or Third Eye Chakra (Ajna)
Located in the forehead, between the eyes, the Third Eye refers to intuition. Here we learn wisdom, develop our memory, and trust in personal insights. This chakra corresponds with the pituitary gland which is considered the master gland as it stimulates all the other endocrine glands.

7th – violet – Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)
Located at the top of the head, the crown chakra is the location of inspiration and spiritual energy. Developing a personal connection to the universe stimulates this area. This chakra corresponds with the pineal gland which produces melatonin responsible for sleep-wake patterns and seasonal functions.

Here is a brief Chakra balancing video. Simply sit back, relax, and focus on the colours and the related body regions that are mentioned as they come into view. Remember to breath.

For lots more information about chakras visit ChakraEnergy.com. I especially like their chakra chart.

This week at my Yoga Sampler Class, a class where each week we focus on a different body part (hips openers) or style of yoga (intro to Kundalini), the topic was Yoga for Face, Feet and Hands. This class has been anticipated ever since a student demonstrated a few face yoga asanas at a dinner party some months ago.

The Theory of Face Yoga

Face Yoga became quite the rage in 2007 with the publication of The Yoga Face: Eliminate Wrinkle with the Ultimate Natural Facelift by Annelise Hagen. The concept being that if exercising the body produced longevity and health the same is true for the face; that by performing various yoga postures you could erase the ravages of time and develop a “beaming, joyful, bright-eyed” countenance.

The Reality of Face Yoga

That’s wonderful and may easily be the case. However, the reality is that most of us have developed nasty habits in regards to our facial expressions and these exercises may just be what is needed to develop awareness, relieve tension and tone the myriad of muscles which compromise the face and neck. Kids and teens can also benefit from face yoga by increasing awareness of their face, reducing stress, and learning not to take themselves too seriously. Add to that the humor factor of purposefully making funny faces and you’ve got a fun and beneficial yoga class waiting to happen.

How to do Face Yoga

Some insist on performing face yoga in front of a mirror as this helps to make sure you are doing the exercises properly. However you can do them anywhere, anytime, even standing waiting for the bus. Keep in mind you may get a few odd looks from those passing by, so either get over your possible embarrassment or keep your yoga face routine for a less public location.

In class, face yoga always elicits the same response … giggles. You may think you are immune but just wait until the students facing you start pulling Jim Carrey look alike contests. My kids actually play this as a game to see who can last the longest without giggling. And of course, during our weekly sampler class we didn’t last very long either. Every student enjoyed a good belly laugh watching the facial antics of others. So whether it was from the face yoga, or from the laughter, we all felt better and had a smile on our faces when we left class. If that doesn’t make everyone feel and look their best I don’t know what will.

Face Yoga Exercises

Here are a sampling of some face yoga exercises you can try. Take five minutes, do a few, and see how much better you feel. These are great to use before performances (ie: school concerts, speeches, etc.) or exams as they take very little time, help refocus the mind, relieve stress, and increase circulation.

• Lion Face: clench every muscle in your body tight, then let it all go while sticking out your tongue, opeing the eyes wide, repeat 3x
• Cheek Pinch: the age old method of adding colour to the checks without rouge, lightly pinch all over the cheeks enough to increase blood circulation
• Satchmo: fill both cheeks with air, pass the air back and forth from cheek to cheek, continue for 1 minute
• Vowel Exaggerations: in turn repeat the soft vowel sounds (ah, eh, eei, oo, euw) while exaggerating and holding the facial patterns this makes, relax your tongue and eyes making your face (cheeks, lips & jaw) do the work, repeat a few times
• Tongue Rolling: roll the tongue, stick it out and bring it back repeatedly, a genetic exercise as some will not be able to perform this activity
• Angry Smile: smile while tensing the muscles in your face as if your children have done something horrific in public and you really cannot lose your composure at this moment
• Surprise: lift your eyebrows high and open the eyes wide imitating shock and surprise 
• Brow Smoother: using your fingertips slowly and lightly pull the eyebrows away from one another
• Jowl Stretch: cross your arms and place them at the base of your neck, like you are choking yourself, while gently pressing down with your hand, stretch your chin up and away, hold the stretch for 10 seconds and relax, repeat
• Horse Lips: on an exhale, relax your lips and let the air pass over them as if you were a horse, you can even shake your head gently and neigh slightly to really get into it, repeat
• Inversions: downdog, wide angle forward bend, headstand, etc are all beneficial to the face as they increase blood flow to the head
• Twists: include in your twist a facial twist
• Facial Massage: using your middle and ring fingers massage all around your face, in gentle circles, paying specific attention to the jaw hinge, brow,cheek and jaw bones
• Palming: Rub your hand quickly together generating heat, gently cup your palms over your eyes and let them rest and relax

You can find more information about other face yoga exercises at Yoga Eyes Teaches Kids How to Tell Time and Yoga for the face and neck from Yogababy.tv

yoga helps children with cerebral palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a group of injuries caused by damage to the brain and is the most common permanent disability of childhood. Compromised posture, tight muscles, and restrictive movement are characteristic of Cerebral Palsy. 

For children and teens with Cerebral Palsy yoga may help stretch and realign the spine, increase flexibility, and augment range of motion. Holding yoga poses in a gentle stretch helps relax the muscles, reducing high muscle tone, and exercising areas of low muscle tone.

Twisting poses are especially beneficial. A simple seated twist begins while sitting, rooting into the pelvis, inhale as you extend the spine/sit tall, exhale as you twist. Repeat two more times working deeper into the twist with each exhale. The last thing to rotate should be your neck with you gazing behind you. Release and return to centre. Repeat the process on the opposite side. This same exercise can be performed while lying on a mat or the floor.

There are numerous other yoga asanas which may prove especially helpful. Modify the poses as necessary, even performing many while lying on a mat or supported by an adult. Remember the goal is not a perfect pose, but the integration of body, breath, and mind. Some suggestions include:

• Standing poses (Mountain, Compass, Warrior, Chair)
• Inversions (Downward Dog, Dolphin, Rabbit)
• Backbends (Cobra, Dancer, Camel)
• Yoga Eyes
• Foot Massage

Yoga will exercise the spine in many ways, lengthening the space between vertebrae and relaxing the pressure on nerves. As a result, nerve function is enhanced and muscle tension released, providing greater range of movement, increased coordination, and flexibility.

An exercise which is highly beneficial for children with Cerebral Palsy is to make a bolster out of a rolled-up blanket or large pillow. Have the child lie back on it with their arms resting by their sides. Gently roll and rock the bolster back and forth. This is a wonderful way to energize the spine and open the front of the body.

In addition, a focus on breathing exercises will increase spinal movement and strengthen stomach and back muscles while stimulating internal organs. Learning to use a complete breath will loosen muscles throughout the torso and increase respiratory control.

Chanting and using music will also provide needed stimulus and is most enjoyable. Often activities involving moving to music, or sitting quietly and feeling the reverberations of “Aum,” are the ones which bring the greatest happiness and contentment as the connection with sound becomes more vital than any physical limitations.

An example of yoga for children with Cerebral Palsy as well as other special needs is here from the Special Yoga Centre in London. They are doing amazing work.

Sonia Sumar’s book Yoga for the Special Child is an essental resource for those wanting to use yoga for children and teens with Cerebral Palsy. In addition read this terrific article by NCPAD with video attachements of yoga exercises for children or youth with Cerebral Palsy.

For a more compelte understanding of Cerebral Palsy read What is Cerebral Palsy?

When diagnosing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) three symptoms are considered: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Children with ADHD have one primary challenge – focus – whether lack of, fluctuations in, inability to refocus, or obsessive focus. Yoga asanas (poses) and breathing techniques can dramatically improve the ability to focus and can be used anytime, anywhere. 

Students with ADHD who regularly engage in yoga are able to develop coping skills. Their self esteem improves as disruptive behaviours are reduced. They are also better able to understand themselves and appreciate who they really are, and the contributions they can make.

Yogic practices of visualization, affirmations, and relaxation can prove especially powerful as behaviour therapy techniques. These can help increase attention span, improve the ability to relax, help regulate emotions, and teach stress management skills. In addition, they will reduce stimulus overload by providing a sense of calm and inducing the relaxation response.

Partner and group poses further yoga’s effectiveness in helping students with ADHA as they provide a forum for social skills training. The controlled environment with a short specific task, followed by positive reinforcement is ideal for teaching the application of social skills.

Children with attention-deficit challenges benefit greatly from regular practice. Two to three times a week is optimal. Use pose cards such as The Kids Yoga Deck: 50 Poses and Games by Annie Buckley or make your own using drawings or pictures of the poses (a dog, a snake, a mountain). Children can then pick different groups of cards or poses for each session.

More information on how to assist students with ADHA can be found at the Canadian Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Resource Alliance (CADDRA) and the Centre for ADD/ADHD Advocacy, Canada.