Darien Yoga Instructor Helps & Heals Children with Special Needs

Brooke Rizzo of Darien, CT is a local yoga instructor who has a unique program dedicated to teaching yoga to children with special needs. Brooke's compassion and gentleness towards her young clients has gotten raves from students and the locals alike.

I had the honor of talking with Brooke about her work with special-needs students, and how they have inspired her as a person as well as an instructor.

1) When did you first become interested in teaching yoga to students with autism?

Once I received my certification in "adult" yoga I had plans of teaching general classes to whomever walked in to the studio. My "plan" could not have worked out differently! While I have many perfectly "regular" clients, I found a very easy, natural ability to teach gentle, basics, children, kids in crisis, the mentally ill, the elderly, etc. I love to work with people who may have difficulty going into a studio setting easily, whether it be for social anxiety, physical limits or simply a need for private instruction. I love to work with a certain sensibility and with students with, sensitivity. The work has flowed from the beginning for me and literally I found my calling. My son, obviously had a huge influence on me. He had a sensory disorder and petit mal epilepsy as a child until age 9, that hugely affected his life and as a parent you do any amount of study to find the answers to questions you may have. He has thrived during the last few years, and is my inspiration every single day.

My work with autistic children started with a few parents who were really in need of their children having an activity they could call their own. My training in special needs children, and children in general, was a natural progression of what I like to see myself as, a healer of sorts. Apart from my private clients of course, my highlight every year is running the yoga program for Camp Mighty Mind (Angelfish Therapy)....the best environment for special needs children I have ever encountered.

2) Was it hard in the beginning or have you from the start just ebbed and flowed in teaching your special needs students?

From my very first special needs client, an 11 year old girl with a nervous tic, which was so severe her cervical spine was badly affected, I felt deeply in touch with my special needs students. Teaching children (along with special needs adults) with varying needs has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done professionally. The need for human connection, working with the breath, accepting where one is, is innate within all of us...special needs children are extremely receptive to this.

My young lady with the nervous tic of six years? Within two months through correct pranayama techniques (breathing exercises) and specific "anti anxiety" yoga postures she had rid herself of an incredible amount of anxiety and insomnia and the tic disappeared. According to her mother, it has not come back after two years.

3) What do you specifically teach your students with special needs during your classes?

Working with special needs children and adults you soon realize that a "specific" program does not exist. Each program I develop around a client is specifically for them and caters to their personal age and ability. The "spectrum" that the client falls under gives a guideline to me of the wide range of skills, level of impairment, functioning, symptoms and disability of the individual. At the very foundation of what I teach, it is the breath work...the whole basis of what yoga is, the breath, the link between the mind and body. No matter whom the client may be, the breath is what we begin and we end with and we nurture this through our physical practice (the asanas). Yoga, means to "yolk", the mind and the body. How? By inviting the breath in. Essentially, yoga is, meditation.

4) In what sorts of ways have you seen yoga help your students with special needs?

Firstly, the connection that the child makes with me, its trusting and intimate and often immediate. That human connection, eye contact, playing with breathing, is indispensable in this sometimes harsh world. In the classrooms, I have witnessed first hand an acceptance by other children of ones ability and acceptance of where each child is. Observance of ourselves and each other can be easily taught to any child. Non-competitiveness is important to me, I was a very shy kid that would do anything to not be noticed, I relate to the quieter type, however, when dealing with children such as ADHD, they are the ones who are melting into the floor in shavasana (final resting pose)! Perhaps its my essential oils! The practice of stillness and mindfulness is so very needed in the school setting.

Yoga for children with autism and special needs can provide a a variety of benefits, such as learning skills of relaxation and focus and developing coping mechanisms for anxiety and stress. We (www.yogisays.org) focus on strengthening the child's nervous system, increase overall health and facilitate the development of body awareness and concentration. By integrating yoga into their lives, children with autism and special needs can gain new motor, communication ad social skills as well as body and breath awareness, self regulation skills and increased self-confidence and self confidence and esteem. The end result is an overall improvement in their quality of life.

5) What is the future you hope to see with your special needs students in yoga?

Children with autism and many other special needs can struggle with heightened levels of anxiety, over-stimulation, difficulty communicating, limited body awareness and a variety of physical and sensory needs.

My goal is to teach children with special needs, MINDFULNESS of their own bodies, thoughts and behaviors. My goal is to teach children with special needs how to breathe and move their bodies so they may learn to calm their nervous systems and change their stress responses in order to live happier, calmer and healthier lives.

For more info on Brooke and her classes, please go to www.yogisays.org