Customer Reviews

Yoga Therapy for Every Special Child: Meeting Needs in a Natural Setting

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a Masters Degree in Psychology, and I'm a kids yoga teacher. This book beautifully brings the two fields together in order to work with special needs populations. I have been hoping for a book like this, as I am sometimes asked to work with children living with ADHD, Autism, Downs Syndrome, etc.
There are many new ideas in this book, that I have not seen in other books. I love her use of blowing bubbles to work on breathing. She also used instruments, and props which I have also found to be useful in my work.
There is a fantastic section called "the yoga program", in which she describes yoga poses effective for special needs children and children in general. She has a picture of each pose, a written description of the poses, lists of benefits, and special considerations. There is also a section on games, chakras, and information for parents. I especially like a section called "yoga is for everyone" in which she lists many different issues (ADHD, PTSD, Autism, etc.) and the yoga postures and techniques that are most useful for that particular issue.
This book would be great for a yoga teacher looking for techniques and appropriate yoga postures to do with varying populations of children. It will also be a nice choice for a parent of a special needs child, if they also use it in consultation with a yoga teacher.

I work as a special ed teacher. One of my students has some physical problems related to a condition. The stretches help loosen up her hamstring. Her PT (not knowing I had just read this book) recommended the same exercises as this book.

Since I'm not a medical doctor, I gave the book to the PT who immediately wanted to buy it. Her boss, in turn, also wanted a copy. So apparently this book is what the doctor ordered.

This yoga book has some beautiful line drawings. Having drawn cartoons, I can appreciate these kinds of pictures a lot, especially when they are detailed enough to get the sense of the asanas (poses) and yet very efficient in the sense of using very few lines. The book outlines a way of teaching children how to do yoga, focuses on their special needs. I have not seen a book about child yoga go into the depth of this book. The book keeps the language simple, but does use a few technical terms, like "extension", but they are explained in the glossary. I found that the book gave the feeling that yoga can be simple and helped me to unlearn some of the overprecision of the Iyengar approach (those alignments are important still, but sometimes they make yoga feel more complex than it should be). I also liked that the book acknowledges that yoga is good for kids and can help them. Having done a lot of bodywork with others, I can validate that this is true. Children do need help from time to time, like when they are learning how to walk for the first time.

Yoga Therapy for Every Special Child is that rare book written and illustrated in such a fashion as to be an equally comfortable and powerful guide for parents, yoga instructors, therapists and educators.

The text provides a roadmap for an easily customizable program of group or individual yoga therapy instruction for the diverse range of special population needs.

Yoga Therapy for Every Special Child should be a first-line consideration for curriculum development for every public and private school with a special needs population.

Accolades to an author adept at expression with equal measures of clarity and compassion.

I'm mildly familiar with Yoga (I used to do a routine and still do some positions when the mood strikes me) and I'm familiar with special needs as a teacher, someone with a Master's degree in a related area and because my brother is disabled. I'm also a big fan of personal fitness as a hobby. Naturally, when I saw this book, I had high expectations. While this isn't a bad book, it doesn't quite measure up. Without the pictures, it'd be about 30 pages.

The book's major chapters break down as follows - there are three chapters consisting of an introduction and explaining the benefits of yoga and how to get ready. After that is Chapter 4 (35-136). A posture is shown, followed by an explanation and a brief "Special Considerations" paragraph. On the whole though, it's not much different than most yoga books. If you're familiar with yoga, this section will seem old hat. Instructors can skip over it.

Caveat - the line drawings of the poses are pretty good, but sometimes lack step-by-step instructions on how to get into the positions e.g. Down Dog (97). Getting into down dog is not intuitive from looking at one picture. This means unless you already know the poses, many such drawings will be insufficient.

There are also some poses that I feel are highly questionable. The tree pose is something many average adults can't do. There are very few people with disabilities that are going to be able to do it. I think a more appropriate selection of exercises or division of the huge 2nd chapter into separate programs or deficit areas would've been more appropriate. Also some of the instruction sets seem very complicated for an intellectually or developmentally diabled child.

Chapter 5 (137-147) has a bunch about energy and chakras, etc. It's the kind of new age nonsense that keeps sensible people away from yoga, which is a fantastic exercise regimen. Horrible chapter.

Chapter 6 (147-157) is about Yoga games. This may be of interest to instructors, but may be of limited interest to caretakers. It's not bad though as it describes several strategies yoga teachers may use with disabled youth in a group setting. I thought many games seemed a tad too complex for ID/DD youth, though.

Chapter 7 - "Yoga for Specific Conditions" (159-181) talks about various poses that are recommended or should be deleted for special needs individuals. It's pretty interesting, and IMO, easily the best part of the book and is pretty well informed. If the rest of the book was based off of that, I'd give it 5 stars. It's not the rest of the book though and this chapter winds up being far too short without addressing many common disabilities. Actual physical disabilities are barely addressed.

In case you're wondering, ADHD, ASD, Cancer, Compromised Respiration, Developmental Delay, Down Syndrome, Emotional Sensitivity, Fluency Disorder, Hemiparesis, High Tone, Language Delay, Low Tone, PTSD, Sensory Integration Disorder, Social Communication Delay, Scoliosos are the conditions discussed. Each gets about a page or two in this chapter.

The book's final Chapter (8) closes with testimonials from parents satisfied with how well Yoga works for their children.

This isn't a bad book, and from some of the anecdotes and programming in I'd wager the author is a pretty good yoga instructor, but there's not nearly enough programming and advice specific to various different conditions. I'd really like to have seen a book on that, rather than a book that's padded with pictures. Considering the line drawings leave something to be desired anyway, more text would've been much better.

Recommended, especially for instructors, less so for parents/caretakers. I honestly don't think it's great, but it's not bad either, and one of very few things out there on this topic. Get another book, tape, or see an instructor in addition to this to learn the poses properly if you're a parent or caretaker.

I am an older adult who has done yoga with Nancy for several years. Although I cannot share experiences about working with children, I can share my experience. Within our adult group, we have used essentially this same practice. The basic point is to prepare ourselves for meditation. In the process, we do a good bit of stretching and balancing. By now, within a couple of poses, I can already feel my body and brain quiet. By the end of the series of poses, I can meditate without disrupting myself. Not only do I benefit from the meditation, but also the aerobic and balancing exercises. As with walking, which I do regularly, the effect is not immediate. With consistent practice, however, I would one day say to myself that I feel so much better. I have more stamina, I am able to focus longer, I never worry about my balance, and if I need to calm down, I know how to do it.

I would recommend to any parent who wants to try this practice, that they just forge ahead and stay with it. However, if you are fortunate enough to catch one of Nancy's workshops for parents, you should do so. This practice is definitely an important tool for your well-being toolbox.

I have never been one to do yoga, but I am now. I have sat down and with the help of this book created a routine that I can do with my eight and four year old son. My four year old has some language difficulties, but whether my kids have special needs or not this book has inspired me to make yoga a part of our lives. I have also begun to value slowing down, positive affirmations for my childern, and guided imagery for them. They go to school and I go to work. Life is stressful and difficult. I want to teach them how to relax before they show signs of anger and stress. This book was well written and researched. This book is easy to read, use, with great pictures clearly explaining the moves and positions of the yoga. Need something to do with your kids in the evening. Instead of watching some TV turn on some music and do some yoga...the Ray family now does. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who will listen to me!!! Awesome...refreshing....encouraging.

I actually do not practice Yoga. I do not have experience with special-needs children, either. This isn't a book describing special needs categories in depth, but it does emphasize how Yoga can help with the various stresses these children experience. By extension, it can help us all without making Yoga intimidating. It can provide helpful suggestions for anyone who has problems with physical flexibility or special stresses in their lives. I plan to try out Yoga for the first time.

Yoga isn't just something for aging women. "Yoga Therapy for Every Special Child: Meeting Needs in a Natural Setting" discusses the merits of Yoga and its therapeutic applications for children, as Nancy Williams displays a variation of the therapy that can be used with children of all skill levels. These exercises can help children within the autism spectrum, with physical disabilities, and much more. With practical applications for parents, "Yoga Therapy for Every Special Child" is something well worth considering for parents who want to try a new approach to caring for their children.

Using "YOGA THERAPY for Every Special Child" as a guide, I set up a daily 20-minute yoga program for my high school special needs students. My students absolutely love this activity and look forward all day long to our "yogurt" sessions. I, as their fearless leader, had never done yoga before so it was a learning experience for us all. Fortuately, I was a natural and the students have picked it up quickly as well. Each student adapts the routine a bit to meet their needs, which is wonderful. The stretching exercises get them calmed down and in the mood for more advanced yoga activities, all of which are covered in the book. I have made overhead projections of the illustrations and I put them up so the students can see exactly what they are expected to do. I have found that my students have increased energy and are able to concentrate for longer periods of time since we have started our yoga regime. I highly recommend this book for all special educators and their very special students.