Yoga for Athletes, Autism and ADHD

Full disclosure, I am not a special education teacher or expert, but I have taught yoga to autistic children ages 9-14 and have received positive feedback from the students and their parents.  More disclosure, I am not an athletic trainer, but I have taught yoga to teen female soccer teams, teen male baseball teams and youth hockey teams.  And, I am not an ADHD expert, but I have a son who was diagnosed with ADHD and I learned about this disorder through professional health experts, books, teachers and many years of experience raising my now grown son.

Why is yoga therapy beneficial for kids with autism?

• It offers mental calmness
• It meets children where they are
• It reduces anxiety
• It can help reduce obsessive behaviors
• It offers an opportunity to be social
• It can reduce pain and aggression
• It is fun and challenging
• It offers more control in the regulation of emotions
• It aids in breathing and digestion (taking them out of flight and fight mode)
• It enables them to feel more comfortable and calm in their bodies

Related Link: YogAutism

Why is yoga helpful for ADHD?

• It offers mental calmness and centering
• It isn't competitive
• It teaches children how to focus and concentrate
• It can help reduce obsessive behaviors
• It gives them tools for blowing off steam in the classroom and at home
• It can reduce pain and aggression
• It is fun and challenging
• It offers more control and awareness of emotions
• It aids in breathing and digestion (taking them out of flight and fight mode)
• It enables them to have greater body awareness
• It shows them how to channel high energy

Related Link: Yoga and ADHD

Why is yoga beneficial for young athletes?

• It relaxes anxious and over stressed minds
• It teaches athletes breathing techniques improving focus and concentration
• It can help reduce joint and muscle pain
• It helps correct muscle imbalance
• It increases flexibility and opens up tight areas that hinder performance
• It is challenging and core strengthening
• It can aid in injury prevention
• It allows athletes to recover faster after intense workouts
• It improves range of motion
• It helps correct poor body mechanics and posture
• It teaches athletes about the mind body connection

Related Link: Why Every Athlete Should Practice Yoga

If you are between the ages of 8-80 and would like to learn more about where I teach in the Reno area, please contact me at KerryTeegen@gmail.com.  You will benefit from my classes if you have ADHD, autism, are an athlete, or just want to give yoga a try.  

Roll-Ga: Using the Foam Roller and Yoga for Athletes (and Non Athletes)

When I teach yoga to young athletes (and non athletes), I often add a fifteen-minute foam rolling routine into the class for myofascial release.  What is myofascial release?  When a masseuse does it for you...

If a masseuse is not available, we can give ourselves myofascial release, or self-massage, by using a foam roller and/or tennis ball.  There are hundreds of YouTube videos on foam rolling.  Check them out by searching for "foam roller" and "yoga therapy ball exercises" and you are ready to roll.

You can buy foam rollers at Target, Big 5, Amazon or any sport store.  They come in all different lengths and densities.  The denser the foam roller, the more intense the effect.

What is Myofascial Tissue or Fascia?

Myofascial tissue is a type of thin, strong, fibrous connective tissue that extends throughout your body to provide support and protection to your muscles and bones...You can think of myofascial tissue as being similar to a mesh bag that contains your groceries. It is pliable, and can expand and contract as the contents of the bag change. It envelops your body like a wet suit, from the tips of your toes to the top of your head.

A fascia is a layer of fibrous tissue.  It is a structure of connective tissue that surrounds muscles, groups of muscles, blood vessels, and nerves, binding some structures together, while permitting others to slide smoothly over each other.  Fasciae are similar to ligaments and tendons as they are all made of collagen except that ligaments join one bone to another bone, tendons join muscle to bone and fasciae connect muscles to other muscles.

Why do we need to roll and release fascia, or connective tissue?

Our daily activities can make us sore, stiff or injured.  These activities are basically everything we do all day and all night long, including driving, sitting, exercising, lifting, walking, operating, bending, typing, standing, knitting, cooking, reaching, texting, sleeping, etc.  These daily activities aren't bad, but the way we perform them can result in aches and pains that need to be addressed.

One way to address areas of tightness is to roll the connective tissue (fascia) with foam rollers and/or tennis balls.  You will know what areas need to be rolled the first time you try this.  The areas that hurt the most are the places you should focus on.

What good does rolling do?

If it hurts to roll, why roll?  If you roll every day, especially on your sorest muscles, it will likely become less painful.  Rolling releases muscle tightness, breaks up knots and adhesions that cause restriction in motion and create pain, and helps sore muscles recover to normal function more quickly.  Imagine that a knot in a muscle is like a knot in a bungie cord that gets pulled and pulled with daily activities, but not removed.  Myofascial release (foam rolling, using a tennis ball or massage) helps to loosen the knot which resumes normal blood flow and function to the muscle.
(See more here.)

And then you have to get up the next day and do it again.  Staying healthy and pain free is an ongoing, daily commitment. 

Yoga and Youth Sports

Yoga is a perfect complement to the young athlete's workout routine. Yoga helps with breathing, flexibility, strength, confidence, energy, balance, concentration, endurance and injury prevention.

Yoga also helps young athletes learn how their bodies work. Proper yoga instruction teaches body mechanics and enhances body awareness. When players have good body awareness, they learn how to make the best choices for their bodies on and off the ice, the court, the field, etc.

The mind training and visualization in yoga is truly beneficial. Yoga teaches players how to harness their breathing and focus on the present. Being able to visualize that shot, or that save, or that stride, or that hit, for example, is key in improving one’s game.

In addition to the physical benefits of yoga, yoga also provides important psychological benefits. In today’s fast-paced world, young athletes often feel intense pressure to do well in their sport, in school and at home. They often don’t have time to relax and reap the benefits of their workouts. Yoga gives them the opportunity to slow down, regenerate and be present. Yoga is a gift they can give themselves and use throughout their entire lives.