How Yoga for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs Began
One day a mother reached out to me with a request I never expected: to practice yoga with Alessandro, her six-year-old son who has cerebral palsy.
Ale has a congenital brain malformation called lissencephaly, and he is followed by a team of American physicians in multiple areas of care. Because he suffers from anemia, his doctors suggested yoga practice to restore his hemoglobin levels. And because this malformation causes breathing difficulties, yoga would help Ale learn to breathe regularly and independently. I wondered how I could teach yoga to such a unique child—one who couldn't perform a standard sequence of movements and postures, who couldn't speak. We began anyway. Step by step, or better still, breath by breath, that special boy learned so much and, most wonderfully, he had tremendous fun.
Today his hemoglobin levels are back to normal. Ale and I practice yoga together regularly, with great joy and connection. His breathing has become second nature.
This boy has been and remains my teacher. I learn from him and enjoy our time together as much as he does. From our meeting came Yoga for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs—a careful study aimed at developing yoga methods tailored to each child and adolescent with a disability.
The Method
Each child works one-on-one with the teacher as they begin their practice. The method shifts depending on the nature of the need, shaped by each child's individual capacities and abilities. Yoga practice is structured around three elements:
Asana: yoga postures, which children generally find fun and engaging, are performed following universal alignment principles. This helps them feel their own bodies, release tension and anxiety, and build muscle tone—and with it, strength, endurance, and balance. We also work to align the whole structure of the body, with special attention to the spine. Young students who cannot perform asanas on their own are guided and supported by the teacher. For children whose disability prevents independent movement, the physical practice becomes an exploration and awakening of every part of the body. Throughout, we teach with play and joy in mind, because the goal is for yoga practice to be as enjoyable as it is beneficial.
Pranayama: literally "expansion of the life force," this is the practice of breath work. How well our muscles and organs function, the state of our mind, and our inner being are all deeply connected to how we breathe. Everyone needs to learn to breathe properly. True breathing brings wellbeing and peace.
Natural breath practice helps children and adolescents with special needs calm anxiety and reduce stress, develop self-awareness, patience, and courage. It gives them a powerful tool to navigate life beyond the yoga mat—to live more peacefully and with greater independence.
Spiritual Themes and Sensory Play: yoga is both physical and spiritual. By "spiritual," I mean nothing tied to religion or doctrine, but rather the universal themes of the heart. We explore virtues like courage, kindness, and trust. We invite feelings and sensations to participate—always in respect for each child's pace, wishes, needs, and personality. True happiness touches every part of who we are: body, mind, and heart.
The method, like the results of yoga practice in each individual, continues to evolve. New perspectives and scientifically valid research arrive constantly from around the world, showing us how and how deeply yoga improves the quality of life for anyone who practices it—and especially for those with particular needs.
Who Can Do It?
Yoga for Children with Special Needs is designed for children and adolescents living with a particular physical or mental condition—any disability, any illness, any difficult moment they must face.
It is essential to understand that ALL our children and adolescents can practice yoga, each in harmony with their own needs and capacities.
Each of us is unique and wonderful. My mission is to live that experience together with my young students, who are also my teachers and my companions on this journey. I am firmly convinced that God dwells within each of us—without exception—and that there is no reason valid enough, no limit steep enough, to prevent us from learning to perceive His presence within us, in our hearts and in our lives.
edited by Cristina Tersigni