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Special Treatments
Complementary Therapies Make a Difference for Many Children
By Kim Byrum Skinner
Increasingly, yoga and dance are empowering kids with valuable, therapeutic techniques for everything from chronic pain management (arthritis) and enhanced focus (ADD) to improved strength, coordination and flexibility (cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy).
"They also increase lung capacity, calm the nervous system and strengthen muscles, and a lot of kids have asthma these days," says Angela Nicolosi, a certified yoga instructor and licensed professional clinical counselor. "One of the really nice things, whether it's yoga or dance, is that it takes the experience out of the realm of physical therapy and makes it a fun thing. It's not about 'horrifying' exercises, because you're moving, but it's fun. It also normalizes things for them. If they're handicapped, well, other kids take yoga and dance, too. It's no longer a case of 'I have to go to my special therapy.'"
Among children with neurological disease, compromised movement or cognitive impairment, experts say, yoga and dance improve balance, smooth spastic muscles and strengthen short-term memory.
"If you walk into a bookstore today, yoga's generally in the medical section or alternative therapy section, not the 'woo-woo' section," says Nicolosi, a Fellow in the American Academy of Pain Management. "It's finally considered a science – a form of wellness management."
Unlike adult classes, yoga for children takes a more creative approached designed for shorter attention spans. Kids "become" a tree, "blossom" like a flower or "creep" like a crocodile.
"I remember one kid, a teenager, who was just really obnoxious, muthy and arrogant," Graham says. "He'd want to come to yoga class to feel calm. He'd ask, 'Are we doing yoga today?' which was actually pretty remarkable. The thing is, he could let down all of his defenses and just be in this safe place that we created in yoga class. From my experience with emotionally disturbed kids, I've found that when they get a chance to experience success in the physical environment, it begins to translate into other areas."
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