One of the parents on the ATN lists asked about using yoga for kids. Kids in foster care or in a special needs adoption placement are stressed. Is this home going to be “the” home? How long before I move again? Is anyone here going to hurt me? Will I get to see my brother and sisters?

Yoga is a wonderful way to help relieve stress. Nancy Thomas has taken a lot of criticism for her use of “strong sitting” with kids. It’s really just a form of yoga. Strong sitting involves a child sitting with their legs crossed, back up straight, and their hands on their legs or crossed in front of their chest. It is meant to be done when the child needs to calm down, and not as a form of punishment.

Yoga has many health benefits in both physical and mental health. It can help lower blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, stress, joint pain, and many other things. It can also increase concentration, memory, eye hand coordination, strength and flexibility.

Yoga has been used to helped kids with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) be able to focus and concentrate on their work.

Yoga also incorporates brain gyms, which are often used in physical and occupational therapy, or for kids with learning disabilities. Brain gyms help increase memory and brain function along with focus. In simplistic terms, it’s about getting the two hemispheres of your brain communicating. Here’s an example. Cross your arms over your chest and gently massage the area just above your collar bone for about 30 seconds. You have just done a brain gym.

Yoga can also be done as a bonding activity without your kids knowing it. I bought a book for Sammy a year ago. We haven’t had much chance to use it, but he does enjoy it. It’s called “Yoga Kids” by Marsha Wenig. It contains some more common yoga poses, but all the poses have names that kids will enjoy like Moo and Meow, Flamingo, Twist and Blow, Bubble Fish, and Peanut Butter and Jelly. Some of the poses can be done in groups (as a family) or with a partner (mom or dad) to help encourage bonding and attachment without your child realizing it.

The book also pairs each pose with a song that would fit well, or with a book that corresponds to the name or what the pose is meant to do.

Ex: Lizard pose with the book “Lizard in the Sun” by Joanne Ryder
Lemon toes pose for visualization with “The Next Place" by Warren Hanson. The book is about visions of heavenly peace.

It also has a chart of which poses would work well for what you are trying to help your child, or yourself, accomplish. There are poses for bedtime, calming, before taking a test, and as a study aide.

I do some yoga stretching when my body starts to ache, or I feel stressed, but I may implement it as a family activity.

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