Yoga Manual for children with Special Needs

Welcome to YogaPlay!

The mission of Whole Children, Inc. is to nourish the capabilities of children with special needs, to provide a valuable resource for their families, and to facilitate the children’s inclusion in the community.

Our emphasis in all classes is on finding and celebrating the children’s individual strengths, having fun, and making and sustaining friendships. The goal of the YogaPlay™ program is to provide parents, teachers and children with tools to increase a child’s ability to understand and manage their own body, within an environment of respect and a belief in what is possible, and thereby open as many choices and opportunities as possible.

The YogaPlay™ manual is a structure to begin your explorations with yourself, with your students and with your children. We hope that you will enjoy the process together and find many opportunities awaiting you.

This manual is to be used by yoga teachers and therapists who have yoga movement teaching experience. This manual is a guide and is not meant as a yoga teaching manual. We recommend that instructors, therapists and family members using this manual with a child also have direct yoga instruction in a regular yoga class to inform the practice and Asana techniques used in the YogaPlay program. We suggest that you practice each YogaPlay lesson prior to teaching it to children. For more information and personal advise and/or review of this material, please see contact information at the back of the manual.