New yoga DVDs aim to help kids learn focus

Downward dogs, trees and cobras may wind up helping children with autism.

Yoga could give them techniques to focus better, says Rebecca Wood, who owns Palm Yoga in Carrollwood. It could calm them or help them break a habit of fidgeting, flapping arms or other repetitive movements. The practice builds balance and hones fine motor skills.

Or it might just be a fun activity to share with family members.

Wood had all of that in mind when she created an instructional DVD series to bring yoga to children who have autism or related disorders. A mother of two, Wood has taught kids' yoga classes at her studio and has a couple of students with autism or Asperger's syndrome who attend regularly.

The videos could benefit children physically and emotionally, she says. One introduces children to yoga through animals at Lowry Park Zoo, and one has long and short sessions to tackle certain needs and build skills. The final set in the series includes two discs geared just toward parents to help them unwind and care for themselves.

"I didn't want to forget the support system for the kids," Wood says.

Completed this summer, the DVDs could benefit any child or adult but were filmed with minimal distractions so they don't overload kids who have a tough time with social interaction.

"We tried to keep everything very soothing to reduce the amount of stimuli," Wood says.

The videos also use a lot of visual cues to help kids relate to the poses they are learning. The animals in "Yoga at the Zoo" are a good entry point for children, she says. The DVD lets kids search for poses by the name or the animal it represents, or do 5-, 15-, 25- or 30-minute routines.

"Yoga for Kids" features an 8-year-old girl with Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She models the positions with her mother. Wood hopes it shows parents how well children can respond to yoga and how parents and children can learn together.

The video is designed to help autistic children build concentration, strength, and body and breath awareness. The longest sessions are 15 minutes. Five-minute "yoga breaks" target twists, balance or relaxation, among other needs, and could be used to help anxious children refocus, Wood says, or de-escalate a stressful situation.

Stephanie Mullarkey, a third-grade teacher at Tampa Day School, has used a similar strategy of brief yoga bursts in her classroom. Her students do a longer yoga session on Fridays, but they do a couple of poses every day.

Tampa Day School is a private school geared to kids who may have learning disabilities, problems with anxiety or ADHD. It does not specialize in autism, although some autistic children have similar characteristics.

Mullarkey said yoga has provided a good way to explain difficult concepts to her students. If she needs to teach them focus, for example, she shows them "tree pose" and how they can keep their balance by concentrating on a specific spot and not letting anything else distract them. If they get anxious, she can remind them of their inhalations and exhalations in yoga to calm them down.

Wood has similar goals. She wants to help the children manage their symptoms, so they can feel some independence.

Wood worked on the DVDs with her husband, Ryan Deichert, and Rudy Mician, who handling filming, post-production and the website. The DVDs are available online at www.yogaonlinestudio.com as a set for $99.95 or for $34.95 to $39.95 each.