It isn’t easy to describe how yoga works for kids who have disabilities; it may look like stretching or physiotherapy but just as with practice for adults, intention and presence make it so much more than that. Here’s a quick story about a session with one of my kids that may shed some light.
Alfie is a good-natured and easy going 4 year old lad, and he has the coolest, blonde hair that insists on sticking up like Sonic! He loves to crawl as soon as he’s on his tummy, and he’s learning to eye-point to make choices and communicate. I usually work with him and his mum for an hour every week, but on this particular occasion she was unwell and Alfie’s dad had been looking after him all week.
Alfie was clearly feeling the changes as his startles – possible mini-seizures – were almost constant, twisting his body into dystonic patterns with the increased muscle tone. On top of that he’d just been diagnosed with a chest infection and prescribed his first ever dose of antibiotics. His dad had tried all night to prop Alfie so he could breathe more easily and get some sleep, but nothing had worked.
Alfie’s energy was chaotic, and he was really struggling with his body and his breathing; just as he started to relax, he would startle, extend, and get upset again. I got Alfie to lie on his back on the floor, helped him to bend his legs and place his feet flat about hip width apart. There are so many benefits to spending time in this position, including improved breathing, digestion and posture, less pain and tightness around the lower back, hips and pelvis, and a feeling of physical and emotional stability, and I always include it in my own practice and when teaching.
For Alfie it also helps to break the extension from startles, and having more of his body in contact with the floor increases sensory feedback so that his brain and body can feel where he is in space. I put one hand instinctively on his chest, and my other arm gently around his legs to offer a feeling of containment and safety; of being held. I became aware of my own breath, calm and steady, and in less than ten minutes, Alfie was sound asleep. His breathing was calm, his body was relaxed and still, and no propping was needed. Now I’m not claiming to have cleared Alfie’s chest infection, but when our nervous system is calm it means the immune system can work properly, as well as things like digestion, sleep, healing, growth and repair – all of which are inhibited by any kind of stress, worry or anxiety.
Being present and connecting with the children allows me to feel what they need in the moment, rather than myself or parents deciding that they need to practice crawling, walking, standing… Energy will always adjust to match the stronger energy around us – known as entraining – and this is what causes us to feel happy when we spend time with positive people, and drained when we’ve listened to complaints for a while. It’s the same when I work with my adult clients and with children. I practice yoga and meditation, and walk everyday in nature so that I have plenty of calm, grounded energy to share with my clients and the children I work with.
Yes, Alfie and my other kids need to work on all of those other things, but they also need to time to rest, physically and emotionally. The disruption to his familiar routine that week, missing his mum, being unwell and not having slept properly for days, were all affecting Alfie’s body as well, and would have made sitting, standing, walking even more of a challenge for him than they usually are. So as you can see, there’s a lot more to yoga than simply stretching – for adults and kids – and in my next blog I’ll talk a bit more about the particular benefits of yoga for kids who have disabilities.
Visit Alfie’s Facebook Page to learn more about his journey.