Interview with Instructor of Yoga for Students with Adaptive Needs

As a part of our goal to serve as a critical bridge toward equitable and inclusive educational outcomes for Alameda public school students, AEF added classes for students with adaptive needs to our after school enrichment program in the fall of 2022.

Instructor Bernadette Whitman of Shine Yoga Arts was crucial to helping us add these classes. She is one of our most popular instructors, and now offers Yoga for Students with Adaptive Needs .

We asked her about her program and how it helps students:

1. Why did you decide to add yoga classes for students with adaptive needs to your program?

I have worked with students with various needs for many years. I have learned over my many years practicing yoga and sharing what I know with others, that yoga reaches a wide range of people and their abilities. I have taken multiple trainings to make yoga accessible to youth of all abilities. From my own experience, observations and trainings, I really believe yoga movements can be adapted for any space and any body. A class like this that is designed specifically for students with sensory sensitivities invites those learners into an environment knowing the class will adapt to their needs. Many students of various abilities prefer a slower pace, or quieter space, to learn and that is what I aim to provide with this class. Seeing students understand we all move differently, and learn to feel comfortable with their movements and with their own self is the ultimate goal of this class!

2. How do you approach teaching yoga to students with adaptive needs differently than for other students?

For this particular class, there are many adaptions that are made ahead of time, and some that are made while students are there. As this class is geared for students with sensory sensitivities, I try to minimize lighting, noise, and distractions that a traditional kids yoga class may have. I teach at a slower pace, using myself to model the movements and with visual card cues as necessary. Sometimes during a class, I need to make an adaption if a students needs some space from the small group of learners there. With a paraprofessional in our class, a student can move to the side of the room where they can continue to move in an area that gives them space. Sometimes a student needs a break so yoga cards are available, yoga books geared toward elementary to high school age students and sometimes a mindful color page is needed to help settle them. Adaptions to actual movements are needed pose by pose for some students. As I see how a student is able to move, I use their ability to help them focus on what they can do and then I model what is accessible for them. We adapt as needed aside from the already planned adaptations!

3. How does the paraprofessional that AEF provides assist in these classes?

Paula is an amazing paraprofessional! She helps guide students in to class if they are feeling reluctant or hesitant. She mirrors my movements for some students to help them find their comfort in moving their body. She provides support in a space near the student if they need to work one to one with her versus with our small group. Her kindness also help the students feel welcomed into the group.

4. You write that “the breathing aspects of yoga provide a physical calming message sent throughout the body. Relaxation techniques, visualizations, and affirmations support self-regulation skills.” Do you notice a difference in the students from when they come into the class to when they leave, or even during the length of the program?

Overall, yes, I do see an effect on the self regulation students have after practicing yoga. Moving through poses of yoga, called asanas, practicing calming breaths and being mindful of the connection of breath to body, definitely has an effect on students within a class or over the learning from multiple classes. When paying attention to patterns of breathing and intentional breathing, a student begins to move away from thoughts or emotions that may be distracting to them when they first come in class to begin yoga. As that student begins to move their body and pay attention to their breath, they are creating a stronger mind to body connection. This helps students move into the calming aspects of their parasympathetic nervous system. When their bodies feel a sense of calm over and over, through repetition of poses, they begin to use these supportive practices of yoga to reach this calmness. This can be different week by week, as I have seen some students shift during a class, depending on their mood coming in. I also hear some students make comments they feel calmer when we check in towards the end of class. Some students may not state they feel calm, but their positive feedback about the class leads me to believe they are feeling positive!

5. You also wrote “low impact movement helps develop body awareness and improve range of motion.” Are yoga positions easily adaptable to students who may have different physical challenges? Can yoga help these students build strength and balance?

Yoga poses, called asanas, are definitely adaptable! We have had students engage in making poses while sitting in chairs, laying on the ground, in wheel chairs or holding on to supports as needed. Using props is a compassionate yoga for anyone with any ability! Moving the body various ways can increase range of movement, coordination of movements, while also building muscle tone. There is physical balance of certain poses while also learning balance of left to right side, up and down, “open poses and closed poses”. For example, if we are leaning to the left in a gate pose, we must lean to the right to make sure we have moved both sides of our body and are balanced in that aspect. If we stand on one leg in a physical balanced pose, such as the ever popular “Tree” pose, we must balance on the other leg to not only physical build our balance skill, but also build the practice in a balanced way on both sides of our body!

6. What would you like to say to encourage parents to enroll their students with adaptive needs into your Sensory Sensitive Yoga classes?

Yoga is made for any body at any time. Students like to have peers who are similar to them when learning something new. This adaptive, sensory sensitive class works to make yoga available to the needs of any student. Peer models are bigger teachers than myself at times as they encourage each other, or have the right words to help another student feel invited and accepted. Giving students a chance experience physical movement, practice self-awareness and self-regulation while developing social skills in a small group setting is a gift of life skills!