Guest Author - Nancy Welker
I'd like to preface this book review with a little bit of information about me. I have a teenage autistic son, who has been home-taught since the age of five, and out of necessity I made the journey from being "the mom" to also being my boy's primary teacher and therapist. I felt my way along through this process by researching and reading until the wee hours many a day; with professional assistance (at the time) very difficult if not impossible to find. I can't tell you what 12 years of study has taught me and how much I have learned from spending so much time giving my son one-on-one instruction. It's been a labor of love that's for certain, and in order to succeed I had to reach the point of being able to separate emotion from reason and evaluate my son's progress and the effectiveness of my teaching tools. I kept in mind that my son was worth the effort - and found the resources within myself to accomplish the task.
And so, with that in mind, I would like to discuss a book that describes Yoga therapy for special needs children.
The Book and The Author
The full title,Yoga Therapy For Every Special Child: Meeting Needs In a Natural Setting is a book about how Yoga can be beneficial to special needs children, including cancer patients. The author, Nancy Williams, has been a Yoga Therapist for nine years and holds certification as a Speech Pathologist, Neuro Development Treatment Therapist, Hatha Yoga Instructor and Reiki Master Teacher. She is also ordained as a minister in the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, and holds a Master's Degree in Spiritual Science. Nancy Williams owns "Therapeutic Bodyworks" in Tuscon, AZ., where she teaches Yoga Therapy to children.
My First Reaction
I liked this book from the start. It simply felt right when I opened the front cover and starting reading. I was impressed with the book's dedication to the kids, no doubt, with challenges the rest of us truly can't comprehend, who succeeded at following instructions and bringing peace, quiet and something infinitely more valuable to their lives. Dignity. Every time a special needs child completes a task, takes a step forward (progress here also includes not taking a step back), it is a victory that can't be measured by standard methods. It can seem to parents and those who care for the child, to be one of life's greater miracles. The arrangement, simplicity of instructions and careful details, make Yoga Therapy For Every Special Child a tool capable of accomplishing those kind of miracles for children facing a variety of daily challenges.
Details About The Book
The material is so well-planned and meticulously written, that parents and caregivers with intermediate level (or higher) knowledge of Yoga can successfully put together a Yoga program for their child. The Introduction to the book is divided into sections that include "Similarities between yoga and neuro-developmental therapy" (p.17) which describes how Hatha Yoga resembles therapy commonly used to help children with cerebral palsy - and how Yoga takes the physical aspect of therapy to the next level by blending physical movement with energy enhancement.
It was obvious to me that the author has excellent knowledge of Yoga by how carefully she writes her instructions for asanas. Her creativity as a therapist comes through in how she approaches her Yoga program, using such child-friendly props/toys as blowing bubbles to improve breathing and breath awareness, using glitter balls to attract the child's attention, and Tibetan bells to make the child aware of his movements.
The Yoga Program (p.35) described in this book consists of five warm-up poses, 26 core asanas, and ends with Savasana, guided imagery, closing mudra and mantra and Namaste. Nancy Williams' instructions include how to position the body, how this is beneficial, and special considerations, such as how the asanas can assist children with physical and communication challenges. The illustrations accurately show the posture of each asana.
A section of special note is "Games To Develop Imagination" (p.154-155), which suggests that the child visualizes himself as a tree, and then go on to decorate the tree with flowers, birds and butterflies. This is a wonderful exercise for the child's creativity, and sense of self-worth.
Chapter 7, "Yoga For Specific Conditions" (p.157) gives parents a very good overview of how this program can help their child. A special note here is that children with multiple challenges will have a blend of needs to meet, so if that is the case with your son/daughter you may have to be especially diligent about staying within safe parameters.
Recommendation
I would highly recommend this book to any parent of a special needs child. Of course, it does not take the place of medical and/or professional advice, but it is a gentle program that doesn't impose great physical demands on the child, and yet has aspects of fun, creativity, and self-empowerment that are sure to benefit children from preschool age and up. I especially loved how the author describes her philosophy, ".....the success of yoga is not how we look on the outside, but rather, how we feel on the inside." (p. 35)
Yoga Therapy For Every Special Child was provided to me, gratis, by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, parent company of Singing Dragon, the publisher of this book. Many thanks to them for their generosity.
There is a link below to the Amazon page featuring this book. I do not receive any compensation for mentioning that in my article, it is there only for the convenience of my readers.
