Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) will benefit from yoga since it addresses both the physical and emotional symptoms of the disorder.
The typical gross motor delay, low muscle tone and impaired coordination of ASD often result in low self-esteem and lack of confidence which can extend to other areas of life. Yoga is an appropriate and enjoyable physical program which improves strength and tone in the muscles, develops balance, and increases body awareness. Even fine motor skills will be improved as yoga emphasizes being in tune with the entire body, hands and fingers, feet and toes.
Children with ASD may also suffer from sensory issues including sensitivity to light, noise, taste, texture, or smell. Furthermore, they may repeat movements that seem uncontrollable (stim behaviours). Yoga can help with these symptoms by soothing the nervous system and allowing pent-up energy to be released from the body in a non-competitive, peaceful manner.
The breathing techniques and guided visualization exercises also assist by reducing stress, teaching coping techniques, and providing a sense of calm and acceptance. Once a child has learned some of these exercises they can use them anytime, anywhere.
When teaching yoga, take things slowly, introducing poses incrementally as comfort levels allow. Work on basic poses (Mountain, Tree, Cat, Warrior, etc.) and breathing exercises. Build one pose at a time, gradually adding more options.
To create visual stimulation and connections, line up stuffed animals or pictures of animals at the front of the room. Follow the line of animals, doing the pose for each in turn, creating an effective pattern. A similar exercise is to place the stuffed animals or pictures in a pile and have them picked at random, doing the corresponding pose each time.
Music is also a powerful tool for children with ASD because it provokes engagement and interest. Drumming, chanting, singing and moving to music are effective ways to engage individuals and helps to stimulate the emotional center of the brain.
Watch for more articles on this important topic with expert in yoga for children with autism Rachel Greb of Yoga Sprouts. Subscribe through RSS or e-mail today so as not to miss a single one.
Whenever I teach yoga to kids and teens I talk anatomy. What part of your body is working in this pose? Can you feel that in your abs? Which part of your body do you use when your breathe? are all standard questions even for Pre-School and Kindergarten aged students. I keep the questions and discussions age appropriate realizing that 5 year olds and 15 year olds have different frames of reference and comprehension levels.
I am a firm believer in being familiar with the body in order to understand how to best keep it healthy and happy. As individuals come to understand and appreciate the many functions their body performs, they are better prepared to take care of it. For example, understanding that a complete breath begins in the abdomen, permits the diaphragm and ribs to perform their functions, assists in getting adequate oxygen into the body, and helps reduce stress.
Knowledge of anatomy brings consciousness to yoga practice and helps individuals talk about their body without embarassement. In fact, recently I taught a group of 20 teenage girls aboutmula bandha or Root Lock. You should of seen them all blush. It was great! We’ve all got these parts, we’d better know what they do and how to take care of them in order to use them properly, avoid injury, and maintain good health.
Here are a couple on-line resources to help reinforce the topics and activities from yoga class which teach kids/teens anatomy.
Anatomy for Kids
A complete site with movies, word finds, online quizzes and activities is How the Body Works on KidsHealth.com. Kinetic.com also has a fun anatomy game called InnerG where body parts (ie: liver, heart, teeth, blood, etc) need to be placed into the body. As you do so, supporting information and recipes to keep that part strong and healthy are provided. My seven year old daughter thoroughly loved testing these sites out.
Anatomy for Teens
For Jr and Sr High School students more detailed anatomy learning games can be found at Anatomy Arcade with Whack-a-Bone and Poke-a-Muscle, among numerous others. The top level of these games are challenging and a great interactive way to learn anatomy. If you really want to get into anatomy including reviews of iPod and iPhone apps, dissection videos, and learning inter-actives visit Think Anatomy.
During your next yoga class with kids/teens be sure to take the time to teach anatomy whether for basic understanding or more in depth comprehension of how the body works. Its quite a miraculous thing. How do you teach anatomy to your students?
Today children are inundated with poor food options. From chicken nuggets to processed treats, its all readily available and marketed to the hilt. One of the worst culprits is school lunch. School cafeterias often don’t have a single ‘from scratch’ option made without preservatives and chemicals. Where are the fruits and vegetables that are supposed to make up the largest portion of the daily intake? And ketchup is NOT a vegetable!
Educating children about healthy eating is critical. There is much we can do to promote fresh, healthy, delicious food. It is essential to change children’s relationship to food so that they understand that what they put into their bodies effects how their bodies feel and perform.
Here is a 20 minute talk by Ann Cooper, the renegade lunch lady, who is passionate about changing what kids eat for lunch. She promotes a local, sustainable, seasonal and educational diet.
There are numerous ways to change how children relate to food. Here are a few suggestions
Teach proper nutrition- develop awareness for the food groups, portion size, and label reading
Involve kids in the kitchen – even the smaller kids can help in the kitchen, get them involved and empower them with life long skills
Eat together – studies show famlies that eat together have better health habits
Grow your own food – even a small garden can grow fresh produce for the table
Appreciate the body - learning basic anatomy develops an appreciation for and awareness of the body, its systems, and how to care for it with proper nutrition
Other articles with a focus on improving the health and nutrition of children include:
February is Teacher Convention Month in Alberta, Canada. This is a time for teachers to enrich themselves personally and professionally. I teach various workshops to help teachers bring yoga into their schools and lives. Each workshop lasts approximately 75 minutes at conventions, but are ideally suited for 2-3 hour in-service sessions. Here are a few workshops which can be used for in-service or PD Days. If you are interested in learning more or in booking a workshop for your group/school please contact donna@yogainmyschool.com
Once Upon a Pose
Yoga stories for children fulfill numerous curriculum requirements and are a fun, fully interactive teaching methodology. Learn how to use basic yoga poses in story format to enrich the classroom experience, improve physical fitness, reduce stress, increase attention span, and engage students on a totally different level. Stories in French also provided. A fun, high energy workshop with great ideas to use today. Come prepared to actively participate. K-6 applications in Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Science, Art, Music and PE. Also meets the DPA Requirement.
Yoga for Teens
The ancient practise of yoga can have a tremendous positive impact on adolescents. Benefits include improved self-esteem, better academic performance, increased attention span, and greater stress management. This fully interactive workshop will progress through seven types of yoga poses (standing, balance, forward bends, back bends, inversions, twists and arm balancing) as well as include relaxation techniques and breathing exercises. Come prepared to actively participate and discover how to use yoga with your students. Applications to Physical Education, Fit for Life, CALM, Physics, Biology, Algebra, Social Studies, English, Foreign Languages, Drama, Counselling and school athletic teams.
Yoga with a Chair
Yoga with a Chair is a fun way to work yoga into your everyday routine. Reduce fatigue, prevent carpel tunnel, improve posture, strengthen your core, and open your hips all while using a standard chair. This workshop will surprise you as you discover the many adaptations to the poses and the incredible workout you can get while sitting down. Come prepared to participate and leave with numerous tips and techniques on how to use yoga at the office, in the classroom or while in a wheel chair.
These are just a few of the possible Professional Develoment workshops offered. For a complete listing of in-service workshops visit the In-service Page.
Light Connections Press has generously donated a copy of What I See, I Can Beto one lucky commentator. Leave a message below and enter to win. Draw date will be March 1, 2010. Good luck!
Janet William’s book What I See, I Can Be is a lovely guided yoga flow for children. The book is beautiful with engaging colour illustrations of each object and two sweet children, one boy and one girl, doing the corresponding pose. Some of the poses included are mountain, tree, triangle (kite), cat, cobra, child’s (mouse), bow, and seated forward bend (oyster). The yoga flow itself is well thought out and child appropriate, with step-by-instructions that are easy to follow.
Williams has done a lovely job of engaging children’s imaginations with her vivid descriptions. I especially like Bridge pose (drawbridge).
I lie on my back and I place my feet on the ground. I bring my feet close to my bottom and my knees point to the sky. A ship is ready to leave the harbour and head out to sea. I put my hand on my back and lift my tummy high into the air. I breathe as the ship slowly sails under the bridge. I am a Bridge. When the ship is through, I slowly lower the Drawbridge by bringing my back flat onto the ground.
I fully appreciated the included audio CD as it enabled my five year old to follow along independently doing the poses with the book at the front of her yoga mat. When asked which pose was her favourite, she answered, “The lying down one” referring to the Meadow page where the children are lead through an active progressive muscle relaxation while in Corpse pose. I think this age is ideal for the book and they will enjoy the calming music while being able to do yoga all by themselves. The book is aimed at children 3-9 years old.
The series of supporting materials is one of the great things about this book. A colouring and activity book, poster of poses, and teacher resource materials help round out this resource for teachers, parents, day-care providers or health professionals who may not have a back ground in yoga but want children to enjoy its many benefits.
Williams firmly believes in promoting healthy and active children. This book is a wonderful way in which to do exactly that.
The book has a special introductory price of $23.97 CAN +taxes and is available at Childrens Yoga Books.
Creating thematic yoga classes can be a lot of fun, especially annual holiday themes such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas. Hope you enjoy this Valentine’s Day class with a focus on the heart.
First, provide some anatomy books from the library in order to examine the physical mechanism and attributes of the heart. Many kids don’t know what a heart actually looks like and this is a wonderful opportunity to introduce basic anatomy. If possible get your hands on a physical model of a heart, one that a Doctor would use, and let the kids handle it to engage the tactile learners as well.
Partner breathing, sitting back to back to feel one another’s breath move: talk about how we are all connected through the breath, life force, divine in one another. You could play the Namaste Song here.
Now that they are relaxed, try to find a pulse—a nice, quiet, slow pulse. To bring in some math concepts with older kids you can have them calculate their heart rate or beats per minute of a resting pulse.
We’ll then play either Yoga Tag, Freeze Dance/Statues, or Sea Shells (with a Valentine’s theme = Cupid/Candy/Love). The goal here is to increase the heart rate so as to find the pulse again—this time a strong, fast pulse. You can also talk about heart health and the importance of vigorous physical activity in staying healthy.
To change the pace, you can then play Heart’s Hide ’n Seek to increase intuition, sensitivity and awareness. This will also help kids to calm down and prepare for a Loving Kindness Meditation.
For a group activity you can re-create the above photograph getting the kids to work together to create a heart shape with their bodies. If desired, you could take a digital photograph and have each child write a Valentine’s message to their parents which would be sent out via e-mail for Valentine’s Day with a photo attachment.
As always finish with Corpse pose. This time take them through a gratitude guided visualization where they imagine a TV screen upon which come up scenes (like a slide show) of things, people, places, etc. for which they are grateful. You can help them by providing suggestions such as: family, home, favourite toy, teachers, healthy body, nutritious food, safety, flowers, books, ability to walk or run, and so on.
