Stretching exercises can benefit children with attention issues
Yoga for kids CBC.ca
Yoga is touted as a way for adults to limber up and reduce stress, but it's also gaining ground as an alternative to traditional children's activities and sports, such as soccer and T-ball.Yoga has grown exponentially in the past decade — the number of Canadians practising yoga swelled by 45 per cent between 2003 and 2005, according to the North America Studio Alliance, an organization for mind-body professionals.
Across the country more than one million Canadians are estimated to be reaping the benefits of regular yoga practice, and for good reason. Research now supports what yoga practitioners have known all along — that the breathing, stretching and meditation exercises improve focus, promote calmness and reduce tension. With these kind of benefits, it's no wonder yoga has stretched its way into classrooms and after-school programs.
At first glance, these stretching exercises simply seem like a constructive method of relaxation, but yoga can be of particular benefit to kids with special needs who find traditional school settings and social interactions problematic.
"Yoga gives these children an opportunity to experience a calm, which is something they certainly don't associate with their day," says Louise Goldberg, a certified yoga instructor and creator of Creative Relaxation, a yoga curriculum for children with autism.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/03/31/f-yoga-children-attention.html#ixzz0mVW4WfDs
