Yoga Practices for Children with Special Needs - Empowering Abilities

Introduction

Yoga helps increase an individual's strength, performance, and potential. Yoga helps in preventing and curing many diseases, and it also has rehabilitative potential. Yoga helps connect the body's physical, spiritual, and mental aspects. Yoga helps in calming the mind and improving well-being. Anyone can practice it, whether young or old, sick or differently abled, and it is safe for everyone.

Which Are the Ways to Involve the Children With Special Needs in the Yoga Practice?

A yoga practice session should begin and end with the same method daily and every time. Create a good atmosphere by dimming the lights. Always begin with simple breathing exercises and meditation techniques and then proceed to different yoga poses. End the yoga session with savasana or the corpse pose, which helps relax the whole body and the mind. Always tell the children what poses are practiced on a particular day, which helps reduce nervousness and anxiety and excites them to practice different and new poses. Take suggestions from the children about the poses they like most and include those regularly.

Always let the children know beforehand about the transition time, position change, and time remaining for each pose. Seat the children next to the yoga teacher, which will make them feel special and help them. The language used should be simple and child friendly.

How Does Yoga Help Children With Special Needs?

Children with physical or mental disabilities are considered to be differently-abled children, and they may have different mental attitudes. Children with special needs usually lack confidence and have a reduced self-image. They will be aware of their abnormality and feels very inferior to others. These children have difficulty doing simple tasks. Children with special needs have stiff spines, which will limit movement, creating imbalance and reducing coordination of the limbs. These children also lack concentration ability. Children with special needs are very smart and will catch every yoga step easily and learn every pose quickly. Yoga helps increase basic motor and cognitive skills, improve communication abilities and concentration, and increase balance and flexibility in day-to-day activities. Practicing yoga helps reduce the spine's stiffness, thereby improving the body's posture and balance. Children with special needs should practice yoga with their parents to improve their attachment and bonding.

What Are the Benefits of Yoga for Children With Special Needs?

The benefits of practicing yoga in children with special needs include the following -

• Yoga helps coordinate emotions, mind, and body.

• Decreases distraction and improves concentration and focus.

• Improve the functions done during the daily activities.

• Make the children with special needs independent.

• Improves social skills, communication, and relationship, and reduces emotional stress.

• Improves positive behavior by improving social skills, self-confidence, and self-sufficiency.

• Increases the coordination of locomotor and psychomotor skills.

• Decreases obesity.

• Increases coordination.

• Increases attention and concentration span.

• Decreases aggression.

• Decrease hyperactivity.

• Increase appetite.

• Improve the sleep cycle.

• Improves the immunity of the body.

• Increases overall health.

• Decrease drug dependency.

• Improve the health of the nervous system.

Which Are the Yoga Poses That Help in Children With Special Needs?

Children with special needs may not be able to practice all types of yoga asanas. Trying to do or attend a particular asana will have the same effect as getting the final position. The yoga asana can be modified for different children depending on their disabilities. Different yoga poses help increase the strength of the muscle and joints and improve blood circulation throughout the body, thereby increasing flexibility. The poses that help children with special disabilities include the following -

1. Increasing the Blood Flow to the Head - Yogasana that help improve the blood flow to the brain and head include -

• Viparitkarani or topsy-turvy posture.

• Sarvangasana or shoulder stand.

• Matsyasana or fish posture.

• Halasana or plow posture.

• Padahastasana or hand-to-foot posture.

• Trikonasana or triangle posture.

• Padangushtasana or clasping big toe like a hook.

2. To Improve Concentration - The yoga poses that help improve concentration include the following -

• Vrikshasana or tree posture.

• Ardhachakrasana or half-wheel posture.

• Natarajasana or posture of lord nataraja.

3. To Increase Confidence - The yoga poses that help in increasing the concentration for children with special needs include the following -

• Bhujangasana or serpent posture.

• Ushtrasana or camel posture.

• Chakrasana or wheel posture.

• Dhanurasana or bow posture.

Which Are the Pranayama or Breathing Techniques That Help Children With Special Needs?

Pranayama, or various breathing techniques, helps control and regulate the breath. The breathing technique helps increase balance, strength, and stamina by improving sleep and blood circulation to the internal organs throughout the body. For children, while practicing the Pranayama techniques, the sounds of animals will help make it interesting for them to perform. Some of the Pranayama techniques practiced which can be practiced by children with special needs include the following -

• Kukkuriya Pranayama, or dog panting breath.

• Mathangi Pranayama.

• Vyagraha Pranayama.

• Kapalabhati is useful for slow children.

• Shitali Pranayama is useful for children with Down’s syndrome.

• Sitkari Pranayama is also useful for children with Down’s syndrome.

• Nada Pranayama.

• Pranava Pranayama.

• Mukha Bhastrika.

What Are the Simple Yoga Poses That Help in Children With Special Needs?

Various simple yoga poses help children with special needs. They include -

• Sukhasana With Hugs and Twists - This is done by sitting straight on the ground in a cross-legged position. Cross arms with each other while giving hugs and twisting the body from side to side.

• Cactus Arms Flow Close-Up - Sit straight on the floor in a cross-legged position. Please both hands up by bending the elbow, which is placed in line with the shoulder level. Bend the hands and bring them forwards, like in folding or praying, by keeping the palms above the head and elbow in line with the shoulder level. Repeat these steps while taking deep breaths.

• Variation of Sukhasana - Sit straight on the floor in a cross-legged position by keeping the hands on the knees. Lift the right hand upwards above the head straight and bend the body to the left side while placing the palm of the left hand on the ground. Slowly return to the normal position and repeat the steps on the opposite side. Take deep breaths while doing the pose.

Conclusion

There are no barriers to practicing yoga. Anyone, irrespective of age, sex, disability, or illness, can practice yoga. Children with special needs can also practice yoga, which helps them increase their concentration, memory, and balance of the body. Practicing yoga will help build confidence among children with disabilities and improve their communication and social skills. It also helps in decreasing the emotional stress present in these children. Yoga also helps improve the body's posture by reducing the spine's stiffness.