Page 96 - SEN113 SEN Magazine July-August 2021-V3

Yoga Family yoga Lisa Harwood discusses the benefits of family yoga. 96 Introduction Yoga has been practised in the East for thousands of years and has been gaining popularity in the West since the 1960s. It is a practice consisting of gentle stretching, breathing exercises and meditation as a mind-body intervention, which has benefits for physical and emotional health and well-being. Yoga is delivered in a calm and peaceful environment, is non-competitive and is an ideal activity for children, teenagers and adults with learning disabilities. Yoga in Schools is a CIC that brings yoga teachers to schools across the UK and director Charlotta Martinus says “We have found a statistically higher percentage of SEN schools take on yoga than regular schools. I think this reflects the enormous impact it can have on students with learning difficulties.” Benefits of yoga for SEN children and teens Research on the benefits of yoga for children with SEN has shown that it has wide ranging benefits. ‘Students show significantly increased balance and coordination... and... increased self-esteem and social communication skills’ (Kenny, 2002). Similarly, White (2009) identified that yoga for children improves balance, flexibility and coordination. For young children with special needs, yoga ‘improves concentration, focus and creativity’ Mochan (2017). In the SEN teenage group, Beauchemin et al (2008) found that mindfulness meditation ‘decreases anxiety and detrimental self-focus of attention, which, in turn, promotes social skills and academic outcomes’. Similar findings are reported in research on the benefits of yoga for adults. Benefits of family yoga Family yoga, which includes parents/guardians, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents, is often offered by many children and teen yoga teachers who are keen to promote families enjoying activities together. Throughout the lockdown periods during Covid-19, many people explored options for activities online, with many yoga teachers moving their classes to an online platform. Many families, mine included, started doing “Improves concentration, focus and creativity” SEN113 senmagazine.co.uk