- Yoga develops motor skills. Kids with autism frequently experience delayed motor development, which can be improved as yoga tones muscles, enhances balance and stability, and develops body awareness and coordination. As motor skills develop, children have a greater sense of their physical self in space and in relation to others and can improve their gait and stability. This leads to…
- Yoga improves confidence and social skills. Poor coordination often yields low self-esteem as kids may be singled out or teased for not moving or behaving like other children, or not excelling in sports and outdoor activities. By learning self-control and self-calming techniques through yoga, they are likely to grow confidence in interacting with other children and refine their social skills. Learning to work together in a yoga class and playing with partner poses can also increase confidence within group settings.
- Yoga provides sensory integration. Children with autism often suffer from a highly sensitive nervous system and are easily overstimulated by bright lights, new textures, loud noises, strong tastes, and smells. Yoga’s natural setting of dim lights, soft music, smooth mats, and “inside” voices creates a comforting environment largely protected from unknown or aggressive stimuli in which calming down becomes enjoyable. Yoga’s physical poses allow nervous energy to be released from the body in a controlled manner, also leading to a calming sensation. Less stimulation means less uncontrollable behavior, outbursts and repetitive nervous movements – which is further enhanced by…
- Yoga provides coping techniques to both kids and parents. Whether teaching the child breathing techniques for self-calming, talking the class through a guided visualization the child can use when getting anxious or sharing flashcards of the day’s poses with parents to use at home, yoga provides an awesome toolbox to parents and siblings. It is a transportable practice that both parents and kids can draw from for a lifetime and share a meaningful home activity.
- Yoga facilitates self-awareness. Yoga is particularly instrumental in helping kids with autism learn self-regulation. By becoming aware of their bodies and aware of their breathing, yoga provides them with the ability to cope when they start to feel anxious or upset. Many ‘Yoga for Autism’ classes teaches yoga poses or breathing techniques specifically intended to help children contend with their escalating emotions. Since these children are visually oriented, savvy instructors add a visual element so that the child has a colored picture of each pose near his or her mat. Often, classes incorporate other experiences known to benefit a child on the autism spectrum, such as massage, music, dance, rhymes, and stories
- Yoga engages the emotional brain. We all know that yoga is far from purely physical, and this combination of movement, music, breath work and storytelling activates the brain’s emotional region. This encourages children to develop an awareness of their emotions and those of others, as well as keeps their attention in the class. Music is another powerful tool that the yoga instructor can share with parents to use at home to recreate the environment of a yoga class.
- Yoga is orderly and consistent. Ideally, the class will be scheduled at the same time and same day of the week, with the students’ mats in the same layout, in the same room, with the same instructor(s). In my experience, there was one instructor per student, with the pairing the same week after week to impart a sense of trust and steadiness. This element of order is very important for a child and communicates stability – a state much preferred to being unexpected and thus out of control. Students may also enjoy learning yoga sequences, such as modified sun salutations, that are performed in the same order at every class. The class should have an opening and closing routine or practice – singing, tuning in, etc. – that further supports the students’ need for order.
