On this course we teach many different aspects of yoga taking a deeper dive into those particularly beneficial to those with Cerebral Palsy and PMLD, for example:

Yoga Asana or Poses:

• Physical Benefits: Many yoga poses help improve flexibility, strength, coordination, and balance. For children with special needs, who may have motor skill challenges or muscle tone issues, practicing yoga can help enhance their physical abilities and overall body awareness.

• Sensory Integration: Yoga poses often involve various sensory experiences, such as stretching, balancing, and grounding. This sensory input can be beneficial for children with sensory processing disorders, helping them better integrate sensory information and improve their ability to focus and engage in daily activities.

• Enhanced Body Awareness: Yoga promotes body awareness and mindfulness, helping children develop a better understanding of their bodies and how they move through space. This increased body awareness can be especially beneficial for children with conditions like dyspraxia or proprioceptive difficulties.

Pranayama or Breathwork:

• Improved Respiratory Function: Certain breathing exercises can improve lung capacity, oxygenation, and overall physical well-being. This can be particularly beneficial for children with conditions affecting respiratory function, such as asthma or certain neurological disorders.

• Self-Awareness and Self-Regulation: Through breathwork, children can develop greater self-awareness of their bodies and emotions. They can learn to recognize signs of stress or discomfort and utilise breathing techniques to self-regulate and manage these feelings effectively.

Sound, Music & Mantra:

• Speech and Language Development: For children with speech and language delays, exposure to sound and music can be particularly beneficial. Music therapy techniques, such as singing songs with repetitive lyrics such as mantras, can help improve speech and language skills by encouraging vocalisation, imitation, and communication.

• Attention and Focus: Many children with special needs struggle with attention and focus. Sound and music can be used to capture and maintain their attention, making learning and therapeutic activities more engaging and effective.

Massage and Working with the Feet:

• Pain Relief: Some children with special needs may experience physical discomfort or pain due to muscle tightness, joint stiffness, or other issues. Massage can help alleviate pain by reducing muscle tension and promoting relaxation.

• Emotional Support: Massage therapy can provide emotional support for children with special needs by creating a safe and nurturing environment where they can relax, express themselves, and feel cared for.

• Improved Circulation: Massaging the feet stimulates blood flow, which can improve circulation throughout the body. Better circulation can promote overall health and well-being, as well as improve the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and organs.

Mindfulness:

• Stress Reduction: Children with special needs may experience higher levels of stress due to various factors, such as sensory sensitivities or difficulties in social situations. Mindfulness techniques provide them with tools to cope with stress and promote relaxation.

• Better Coping Mechanisms: Children with special needs often face unique challenges that can be overwhelming. Mindfulness equips them with coping strategies to deal with difficulties effectively and adapt to changes more easily.

• Enhanced Social Skills: Mindfulness promotes empathy, compassion, and acceptance, which are essential components of healthy social interactions. Through mindfulness activities, children with special needs can develop better communication skills and build stronger relationships with their peers..

In addition to these practice the course also includes teaching modules on relaxation, mindfulness and how to adapt yoga to different diagnoses and situations.
The course covers ADHD, ASD, complex autism, autistic girls, autistic children in mainstream education, quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, hemiplegia, PMLD and Down Syndrome for children through to young adults.