Adaptive yoga for children with special needs is a fabulous resource for parents, aides, teachers, physical therapists, OTs and more. Yoga is available to everyone and is easy to adapt to meet individual needs and requirements. It is a powerful form of physical and mental self exploration with tremendous benefits.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you develop and engage in yoga classes for those with special needs such as autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, FASD, Down syndrome and more.

To learn more register for the Yoga for Children with ADHD training webinar (May 8, 2012) for tons of tips to develop focus & attention. One hour packed with fabulous information, plus a live Q&A. CLICK HERE.

1. Focus on Fun: Approach yoga with a sense or curiosity and play. It’s fun to move your body, see what you can do, explore the world. The benefits of yoga are profound but children will lose interest if its not fun and joyful.
2. Engage with child friendly themes: Build yoga sessions around topics that interest children. Maybe its superheros or princesses, the jungle or a trip to The Pet Store. Yoga can also be used to reinforce classroom themes and provide a kineasthetic learning modality. This allows children to improve their health while increasing their understanding of the themselves and their world. See Dinosaur Yoga, Shape Yoga and Bug Yoga.
3. Provide challenges & repetition: Challenges are important to help children grow & push themselves. For many children with special needs standing on one foot (Tree Pose, Dancer Pose) is challenging. However as they practice this skill (repeating often) they become better at it until soon they have no problem. This works for all skills including relaxation and breathing exercises. The first time you may only be able to engage the students for a few moments. However, as you persist, repeating often, the children will gain valuable physical, emotional and mental skills.
4. Encourage with positive feedback: Focus on what the children are doing right and reinforce it . i.e.: “I love your downdog.” “You’re really good at sitting quietly and listening.” “Wow, you’re great at balancing on one foot.” “What wonderful yogis you all are.” “Thank you for your happy participation in class today.” With children its so important to focus on the good and not worry too much about what is incorrect form, as long as it is not hurting themselves or others.
5. Teach breathing & relaxation: In our hectic world it is vital to know how to calm, center and soothe. Yoga is a valuable mind-body tool which will help alleviate anxiety and stress.
6. Keep yoga sessions short & ability appropriate: For many children their attention span maxes out at 5 minutes, often less for younger ones and those with special needs. This means lots of different activities to engage interest. Yoga is ideal because there are so many poses, each one an activity in and of itself. Keeping little ones engaged for 20-30 minutes is possible but you do have to be creative, energetic and focus on fun.
7. Use props and visuals: Visuals, such as flash cards, stuffed animals, books, plastic figurines, etc., help students stay on task, provide visual support, and kids love the opportunity to pick from the bag/card deck to see what pose is coming next. They also provide opportunity for turn taking and reinforcement of appropriate social behavior.

Enjoy this video from Spiral Movement Centre to see many of these tips in action with a group of six special needs youth.

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This is a guest post by Bernardette Kalyan-Salgado and is part of our My Favourite Props series.

Scarves are a typical prop for dance classes however I have found them to be very useful in yoga as well.

Body Awareness

Use the scarves during warm up. Waking up the body placing the scarf over the toes, knees, etc. Younger children and those with special needs in particular love the idea of “waking up” the body parts.

Asana

Use the scarves as a prop to hold with several asanas/poses, it is a challenge for older students. Poses such as Warrior (arms up holding the scarf open looking up, focusing on the scarf), Dancer and for balancing poses such as Crow it can be used as a focal point.

Games

Common games such as freeze dance become fun and different with a scarf in hand. It also gives a difference sense of spatial awareness for the child.  Playing games such as “Yogi Says” is also fun, ex. “Yogi Says, place your scarf on your head.”

Scarf Breathing

Laying down placing the scarf on the belly creating awareness for deep belly breaths. Placing them over the face and blowing them upward attempting for lift off.

I find scarves to be such a handy prop. It is easy to be creative with them they can become water, clouds etc. in a story or movement experience. Most importantly they are light in weight if you have to carry them around. Having a set in two different types of material is also very interesting to see the children explore the texture and how it moves differently.

Bernardette is a RYT 200 instructor based in Florida. She combines her background in dance with yoga to create fun Movement Yoga for Children classes.

If you enjoyed this post be sure to check out all the ideas on the our My Favourite Prop page. Learn how to use feathers, hula hoops, stones and stuffed animals to name a few.

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Stephanie Gottlob and Yuji Oka are on a mission. These two are the creators of Movement, a physical re-education program for children and teens with special needs. Their unique training program includes an holistic somatic approach including adaptive yoga. Their goal is to teach a core physical vocabulary of 12 movements through creative play. They join us to talk about their innovative approach and its incredible success in helping youth with ADHD, Autism, Down Syndrome, hyperactivity and emotional disturbances. Youth in their program learn not only physical skills but self-confidence, social skills and control. Based out of the Spiral Movement Centre in Toronto, Canada, Stephanie and Yuji transform lives one spin, hop and breath at at time.

Original Air Date: October 3, 2011

Connect with Stephanie and Yuji at Movement for Kids with Special Needs or the Spiral Movement Center on Facebook

Access our extensive library of interviews with leaders in the yoga and mindfulness community on iTunes. Guests include John Friend, Elena Brower, Cora Wen, Waylon Lewis, Sydney Solis, Sadie Nardini and many more.

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Guest post by Jillian McKee

It is heartbreaking when children are diagnosed with cancer. The treatment affects not only them, but their families, doctors and communities as well. The treatments for cancer exhaust the body and it is difficult to watch as children become ill and bed-ridden from cancer treatment, when they would normally be out growing, playing baseball, having sleepovers and painting nails. During this treatment, both the minds and the bodies of children take a toll. They become exhausted, lose muscle, have stunted growth and  high levels of stress. For these reasons, many doctors have started recommending yoga as a therapy along with the normal cancer treatment regimen.

The breathing and meditative practices utilized in yoga are especially helpful to children, both physically and spiritually. On a spiritual level, it reduces the amount of stress and anxiety for both the children and their families. When we breathe, we breathe in prana, or life energy. By breathing slowly and deeply, children can learn to rid themselves of excess anxiety and emotions. It is also a way for parents to learn to remain calm and stress-free. When the parents are calm and reassuring, it allows for a better experience for the children.

Using breathing techniques also helps on a physical level. The body is able to eliminate more toxins and work more efficiently as more oxygen enters into it. The treatments for cancer are extremely toxic, which makes this technique beneficial. A breathing practice is also very helpful to children suffering from cancers that can inhibit their breathing, such as rare aggressive disease mesothelioma that is triggered from asbestos exposure. Mesothelioma can cause shortness of breath, fatigue, and wheezing. When breathing deeply using techniques taught through yoga, these symptoms can lessen.

During cancer treatment, children are often bed-ridden and hospital-bound. Their muscles deplete, and they are not engaging in the normal play that enables them to gain muscle and flexibility. Practicing asanas can help children gain back muscle strength, balance and flexibility. Asanas can also help children to gain more energy, which is something that many families say is an incredible benefit of yoga during cancer treatment.

A recent study completed by the Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota has shown that yoga is a positive experience for both children and their families, and it can reduce anxiety in adolescents and adults. Yoga has proven to be an enjoyable practice for both children undergoing cancer treatment and their families. It can help to improve their physical health, energy levels and stress levels. Doctors, families and children have reported immense benefits from this treatment. After cancer, yoga gives children the techniques to live a more fulfilling and aware life.

Jillian McKee is a yoga enthusiast and cancer activist. She works as the Complementary Medicine Advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. Her time is spent mostly on outreach efforts and spreading information on complementary and alternative medicine use in cancer treatment. You can contact her at jilliansmckee@gmail.com and check out @CancerAlliance on Twitter and the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance on Facebook

Watch this video of a recent CBS report on alternative therapies which assist children diagnosed with cancer.

Photo from Crochet for Kids Cancer.

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September 9th, 2011 is Fetal Alcohol Awareness Day. Next week I’ll be giving a workshop on how yoga can assist children with FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder). The information is especially valuable to parents, therapists and yoga instructors. Here are some of the highlights of this workshop.

What is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is an umbrella term for a spectrum of conditions that include fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), fetal alcohol effects (FAE), alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), and alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD). All of these are caused by maternal alcohol use during pregnancy. There is no cure for FASD. However early detection and proactive interventions have been found to be effective in improving the functioning and quality of life for children with FASD.

What are the symptoms of FASD?

There is a wide range of severity of symptoms with FAS from mild to severe. These are the most common symptoms.

• slow growth
• deformities of the joints, limbs and fingers (especially the 4th & 5th fingers)
• poor co-ordination
• vision and hearing problems
• learning disorders
• heart defects
• kidney problems
• short attention span, hyperactivity, poor impulse control, extreme nervousness, anxiety

Benefits of Yoga for FASD

Yoga is an effective adjunct therapy for FASD thanks to its personal adaptability. Due to the varying nature of symptoms of FASD individualization is essential. Spend time talking with parents, other care givers and most especially the child, getting to know them, their interests, the specifics of their diagnosis, etc. This is essential to creating a yoga routine tailored to meet their needs and abilities.

Yogic breathing techniques are an effective way of helping children with FASD increase awareness and reduce stress. Keep the exercises fun and of short duration, repeating often.

Children with FASD learn best in concrete, hands-on learning environments. Focus on basic yoga poses keeping instructions simple and specific with lots of activities. Repeat poses often. For example teach a few key poses, read a book which incorporates those poses and play a game with the poses. Use visual aids and music. Develop a routine and structure to each session to help with retention and predictability.

Social skills are acquired as children interact with the instructor, therapist and other children. Partner poses are a wonderful way to connect with others, develop verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and teach participants how to interact one with another. These are keys skills in building friendships which is often a challenge for children with FASD.

Yoga sessions for children with special needs should be positive, engaging and joyful. This is therapy with heart which considers the whole child as an amazing, incredible individual with much to offer. Be patient and trust that the skills you are teaching will assist the child throughout their life.

Yoga for Children with Special Needs

For more information on Yoga for Children with Special Needs sign up for our newsletter (right hand side) for information on our upcoming webinar training series for Special Needs including yoga for ADHD, Autism, Cerebral Palsy and Down Syndrome. Also check out our extensive library of articles under the Special Needs category.

You may also want to consult Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Kids Yoga on Young Yoga Masters.

photo by o5com

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Three sets of books will be given away. To enter leave a comment mentioning your child’s fave animal yoga pose. Contest ends Aug 26, 2011. This contest is now closed.

Meet Buzz. “Buzz is a curious little bee” and he wants to “bee a yogi.” To help him on his way, four friends (Dog, Cow, Cat and Frog) teach him their favourite poses. This is the idea behind Buzz Learns Yoga! by Kami Evans & Jackie Y. Lee, the creative duo who strive to make yoga fun, interactive and meaningful to little yogis. Inspired by her daughter Hannah, Kami Evans became a certified kids yoga instructor with a specialty in yoga for children with special needs. (Read her story.) She founded Elahi Yoga as a way to enrich all lives through creative movement and yoga.

Buzz was launched into the world in Buzz Learns Yoga! There are a number of things I like about this sweet, little book. First it’s short and ideally suited to the attention spans of young children. Second it’s colour rich as each animal/pose has an assigned colour (Cat = Orange, Frog = Green) which reinforces the poses in a visually appealing manner. Third, even though Buzz is the newest kid in yoga class he also has something to teach the more experienced yogis. The lesson ‘that everyone has something to offer’ is one we all need to incorporate into our lives.

The Elahi Yoga Student Workbook is another fab resource for pre-school children. Following the alphabet, animals are used as the basis for yoga inspired movements and poses: B for BEAR, N for NIGHTINGALE, U for UNICORN and 23 others. Each page has an animal to colour, letters to trace to spell the animals name and instructions on how to perform the pose. At the end of the workbook are a number of pages with fill in the blanks and creative drawing & writing to further enrich your little one’s understanding and integration of the concepts and ideas. This is a perfect example of how yoga develops early literacy skills.

Elahi Yoga has provided three sets of books (one Buzz Learns Yoga! + one Elahi Yoga Student Workbook) for this giveaway. Leave a comment below stating your child’s fave animal yoga pose to enter to win.

Since you’ll want to enter more than once, additional entries can by made by:

• Liking Elahi Yoga on Facebook – comment here once you do this
• Posting a photo of your child practicing their fave animal yoga pose on the Yogainmyschool.com Facebook page
• Sharing this contest on Facebook with an @yogainmyschool.com link
• Tweeting about the contest with an @DonnaKFreeman mention

Contest ends on Friday, August 26th, 2011 at 9:00 pm MDT. Winners will be contacted by e-mail and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Winners names will be listed here, on Facebook & Twitter. GOOD LUCK!

To purchase copies of these resources visit Amazon (Buzz/workbook) or Barnes & Nobles (Buzz/workbook) online.

Disclosure: Elahi Yoga generously provided copies of Buzz Learns Yoga! and the Elahi Yoga Student Workbook for this review. All views are expressly my own and I am in no way compensated for this review and giveaway.

UPDATE: Congratulations to our winners: Anita Kaiser, Eve Agush and Sarah Womer. Thanks to everyone for your fab comments, photos and tweets. It’s always such fun doing a give-away and seeing everyone’s participation.

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Saucha in Your School & Life

At a recent Teacher In-Service training which I taught one of the participants was looking to collect donated mats in order to have a set for her classroom. I encouraged her to do this as many people don’t know what to do with their gently used mats when they acquire a new one or may have an unused mat at home (gasp, horror!) One of the most important aspects of collecting donated mats is how to clean them. It was especially important in this case seeing as her students have a variety of special needs including compromised immune systems.

Regular yoga mat cleaning needs to be something on your yoga radar – odor, germs, bacteria…need I say more. Unfortunately, many people have no idea how to do this, or even that it needs to be done until the odor becomes rather offensive and child’s pose is no longer a pleasant experience. My favourite explanation is by Eco Yogini because it is eco-friendly and doesn’t involve compromising the yoga mats with detergent or the washing machine.

The recipe is simple.

• one part vinegar
• three parts water
• 10 drops tea tree oil (optional)
• a couple drops lavender oil (optional)

When I do this I simply toss the mat into the tub, just barely cover with warm water, add a couple glugs of vinegar and some dashes of tea tree oil. Swish vigorously for 2-3 minutes. Lift the mat from the resultant brackish water, shake off excess and hang outside on an overcast day.

In a school environment you’ll want to make cleaning yoga mats a regular occurrence as a general public health and wellness practice as well as to preserve the yoga mats for use during the years to come. The easiest way to do this is to have the students spray & wipe after use. Yes, this is an extra step at the end of yoga class, however it will teach respect for the supplies, instill basic cleanliness habits and demonstrate responsibility (you used it, you clean it). You could also make this part of the duties of the school’s Yoga Club which you’ll organize just to get out of having to clean 30 yoga mats all by your lonesome on Saturdays.

Yoga is much more than a number of poses done on a mat. Saucha (one of basic tenets of yoga known as yamas & niyamas) means cleanliness of body, heart, mind and environment. Practice saucha today and clean your yoga mat. Better yet, show a child or teenager how to clean their mat and share this knowledge with the next generation of yogis.

If you enjoyed this post be sure to subscribe (e-mail or RSS) and get tips on yoga for kids and teens delivered directly to you. Also sign up for the YIMS Newsletter and download a copy of our FREE e-book The Pet Store.

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Body Chalk Board is a great way to increase body awareness and sensory perception. Learning to rely on touch alone is a challenging skill and helps to focus attention and improve mindfulness. In the ‘olden days’ my sisters and I would play Body Chalk Board on long car trips. (Yes, we did have cars back then.) Today, I often use this technique when reviewing spelling words with my own children or often to simply tell them I love them with a short message written on their palm. It is always a hit when we pair up during kids yoga class and children try to spell the names of the poses on one another’s backs before practicing them.  This game is also fantastic for learning cooperation and communication skills. You may even want to try it with your teens to keep them connected to their body.

Body Chalk Board

Divide group into pairs. Sitting in easy pose (sukhasana), often referred to as criss cross, with one partner in front of the other use your partner’s back as a chalk board. Using a finger draw numbers, shapes or letters of the alphabet on the ‘chalk board’. The person whose back is the ‘chalk board’ guesses what is being drawn. Wipe the ‘chalk board’ clean with flat palms from top to bottom or side to side before switching roles.

For more of a challenge send a message via the ‘chalk board’ that the person in front writes down letter by letter as it is received.

To encourage sensory development and awareness do the same thing using other parts of the body: stomach, soles of feet, palms of hands. This is a wonderful game for children with sensory processing challenges (SPD, Autism, ADHD, etc).

Visit our Yoga Games page for more amazing & fun yoga games to enjoy yoga with kids and teens.

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Founder of BodyLogique, Barbara Gini discusses yoga for children with autism spectrum disorders. This in depth interview includes common adaptations of yoga poses and breathing exercises, techniques to improve sensory integration and ways to promote social interaction. Teachers, parents, therapists and aides who work with children with autism will greatly benefit from Barbara’s wealth of expertise.

Original Air Date: April 6, 2011

Connect with Barbara via the BodyLogique blog, Facebook or Twitter @BodyLogique.

We apologize for the static/sound quality – not too sure why this occurred during this interview but will strive to improve it in the future.

If you enjoyed this interview visit our iTunes feed for many more that you can download FREE to your iPod. Also subscribe (RSS or e-mail) so as not to miss any of our upcoming shows. Guests this spring include Lynn Hasselberger of myEARTH360, Eoin Finn, Hari Bhajan Khalsa of YogaMint and more.

Other resources for further information on Yoga for Autism include:

• Yoga for Children with Autism
• Yoga a Gift for Children with Autism
• Yoga for Children with Autism interview with Stacey Betts
• Yoga for Children with Special Needs interview with Craig Hanauer

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Monday, March 28, 2011 was a great day, a momentous day, a once-in-a-life time kind of day. It was the day I woke up to find my name in the Wall Street Journal. Yes, the actual Wall Street Journal.

In mid-February I was contacted via e-mail by WSJ reporter Emily Glazer who had heard about Yoga In My School from Shari Vilchez-Blatt of Karma Kids Yoga in NYC (a million thanks to Shari). Emily was looking for information on yoga in schools, yoga for special needs, interesting/creative ways of teaching kids yoga. You’ve come to the right place!

I remember calling my husband, as he was out of town on business, and saying I’d received an e-mail from the Wall Street Journal. He chuckled and said to make sure it wasn’t spam but was actually from wsj.com. It was. Emily & I e-mailed back and forth and set up an interview date & time.

The interview lasted over an hour – a little longer than the 20 mins we’d planned on. Emily asked a lot of interesting, thought provoking questions and was intrigued by the interconnections between the brain’s function and movement. She was kind enough to ask about my personal story, how I came to be an expert in kids/teens yoga, and wanted as much information as possible about the kids yoga community and others involved in doing amazing things in bringing yoga to kids. For this we kept referring back to the Yoga In My School Blog Talk Radio series and many of the Yoga In My School give-aways.

As well she wanted proof: studies showing the claims stating the benefits of yoga for kids were true. This is the Wall Street Journal after all, not a feel good article or a personal interest piece.

Needless to say my follow up e-mail was lengthy with lots of links to substantiate the kids yoga and mindfulness movement and shine a light on the many amazing people with whom I have the privilege to work (check out our Yoga Links I Love list).

Emily then pitched the story to her editors. She came back with further questions via e-mail and phone calls on various occasions wanting to know the number of schools in the US who use yoga, the costs of funding a yoga program, training expenses, locations where it is especially popular, and hurdles or obstacles which prevent yoga from being adopted into all schools. Some of these questions were challenging as I felt I was representing all kids yoga instructors with my answers and I wanted the information to be accurate, informative and authentic.

Emily then let me know that the article would be published on March 28th. I waited. In the meantime I learned that WSJ was also filming a video regarding kids yoga and that elementary students in Encinitas, CA were involved in a photo shoot. By Sunday the 27th I was simply happy to have been part of the process, that getting the message out regarding kids yoga and the good it can do for children of all ages and abilities was what was most important. I hoped that the WSJ’s article was open and fair, and that thanks to its reach and credibility more schools would offer yoga to their students.

It was with some trepidation that I googled the article Monday morning. First I found the video. How fun! Then I clicked on the article and found myself in tears as I read. Emily had done a fabulous job with the material … and I even got quoted.

So yes, Monday, March 28th, 2011 was a great day! A great day for yoga for kids and teens.

Please share the article with parents, teachers and school administrators in you know. Together we can make a positive impact on children’s lives, their mental, emotional and physical health.

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