CAN MEET THE NEEDS
WORDS: Cheryl Albright
Over 251 million families in the United
States are caring for someone with
special needs or a disability. Special
needs can be physical, neurological, or
mental/behavioral health concerns. Did
you know that Yoga can help?
Yoga is a time-honored and clinically
proven way of bringing life into balance
by uniting body, mind, and spirit, through
the use of postures, movement, controlled
breathing, and meditation. Yoga postures,
singing, and breathing exercises, were
designed to prepare the body for
meditation. Meditation is keeping the
body still for a prolonged period with a
single focus. Is this not what kids are
expected to do all day at school?
Children are being stressed to the max
every day in our school system. Some
states have taken away any specialized
diplomas, so children with special needs
are expected to take the same tests
as typical peers. Children are asked
to sit much longer than in the past.
Also, children with special needs are
unfortunately, often the victims of bullying.
My child has special needs or is in
a wheelchair. How are they going to
participate in a Yoga class?
Being in a wheelchair doesn’t mean these
practices won’t work. When teaching
yoga to children with special needs, many
different aspects of yoga are used and
follow a developmental progression. It is
not just the physical postures. Singing,
or chanting mantra, keeps kids engaged
and calm. The breathing exercises not
only calm the mind but also increase
saliva, according to research by Dr.
Sundar Balasubramanian.
They have found that this decreases
inflammation, increases neuro growth
factor proteins, as well as stimulates
rest and digestion. The eye exercises
performed in some lineages help promote
skills needed for reading and writing. The
physical postures strengthen and improve
exibility. Guided relaxation, or meditation,
helps calm the body and the mind.
Parents are reporting amazing benets
from yoga-based therapy for their children
with special needs including: better sleep
patterns, improved digestion, decreased
behaviors, improved self-confidence,
increased strength and endurance,
improved coordination, and the list goes on.
Yoga for children with special needs
should be included in the therapy
vocabulary just as occupational, speech,
or physical therapy is now.
Cheryl Albright, the creator of Soul To Soul
Yoga, grew up with an older brother with
autism and an aunt with Down Syndrome.
She began working with children with
special needs through Rotary Camp
Onsewaya at the age of 14. Cheryl has
now been an occupational therapist for
15 years, teaching Yoga for the Special
Child® for nine years.
She received her registered Yoga
Teacher training in 2014, and advanced
training in adapting Hatha yoga for those
diagnosed with scleroderma, as well as
becoming a Certied Yoga Therapist in
2017. Recently, Cheryl began providing
continuing education on yoga in therapy
settings in Florida.