Effective Yoga Poses for Autism

Autism is a disorder of neurodevelopment group.  The neuro disorders are noticed by problems, such as social interaction and communication. People with Autism spectrum disorder often shown restricted stereotypes, repetitive interest, or behavior patterns.

Autism spectrum disorder is present in people all over the world, regardless of culture, race, or economic background. According to the Centers-for-Disease-Control-and-Prevention (CDC), Autism does happen

more often in males than females, with a 4-1 male-to-female ratio. The CDC estimated in 2014 that around 1-59 children have seen with Autism.

Different Types of Autism

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The DSM (diagnostic-and-statistical-manual-of-mental-disorders is issued by the American-Psychiatric-Association, and it is used by clinicians to analyze a variety of psychiatric disorders.

The fifth and recent edition of the DSM was introduced in 2013. The DSM-5 presently known five different Autism subtypes of specifiers, such as

  • Intellectual Impairment
  • Language Impairment
  • A Genetic Condition, Environmental Factor, Medical Condition
  • Linked with A Mental, Neurodevelopmental, Behavioural Disorder
  • With Catatonia

Someone can be diagnosed with one or other specifiers. Before DSM-5, people on the autism spectrum may have been analyzed with the below disorders:

  • Autistic disorder
  • Pervasive-development-disorder
  • Asperger’s syndrome
  • Childhood-disintegrative-disorder

It is essential to note that one person who gets one of these earlier diagnoses has not lost their diagnosis and will need to be re-evaluated.

Symptoms Of Autism

Autism symptoms generally become shows during early childhood, between 12-24 months of age. However, signs may also appear later or earlier. Early symptoms may have a marked delay in social development or language delay.

The DSM-5 divides signs of autism into 2-categories: problems with social interaction, communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior patterns.

Yoga For Autism

Through its use of lovely music, deep breathing, and loosening up stances, yoga has a drawn-out beneficial outcome on kids with mental imbalance. A yoga instructor sets up a bond first and later uses stories to depict each posture, potentially with dance included. One needs to associate with their level to enter their reality. When the kid starts to confide in the instructor, she/he starts to appreciate learning yoga.

The consistent method of practice helps to strengthen the trust of the child. It combines with their routine. Regular yoga increases social skills, motor skills, and self-awareness. Yoga also relaxes breathing and control emotions by enabling nervous reactions.

The calming environment of yoga session helps to prevent the stimuli such as bright lights, loud noises, and strong smells. It helps to calm the sensitive nervous system.

1.Vrikshasana

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Things To Know Before Doing Vrikshasana

It is good to do this yoga pose with an empty stomach. There must be at least 4-6 hours between meals before practicing. It will provide enough time to digest the food and provide constant energy. However, it might be good to perform Vrikshasna in the morning. It involves concentration and focuses with a clear mind without stress.

How To Do Vrikshasana?

  • Stand straight and leave your arms to the sides of your body.
  • Lightly bend the right knee, and keep the right foot high upward over the left thigh. Make sure that the sole is kept firm and flat over the root of the thigh.
  • Your left leg requires to be straight. Once you have managed this position, take a breathe and balance.
  • Now, breathing and slowly raise arms on the head and get them together like namaste mudra.
  • See straight at some distant object and hold that gaze. It will help to balance.
  • Manage your spine straight. Note that the body needs to be taut yet flexible. Take deep breaths, and every time you breathe out, relax more.
  • Slowly bring hands down from sides and release the right leg.
  • Come back to the original position of straight as you did at the starting of practice. Then do this pose with another leg.

Precautions of Vrikshasana

While doing this yoga, you must keep your soul lifted and placed above. In some cases, under the standing knee, but not beside it. Keep the foot beside the knee and keep pressure over the knee as it does not bend parallel to the frontal plane. Those who experience high blood pressure should not lift their arms over the head for a long period.

Beginners Tips

At the beginning of this yoga, it might feel difficult to get the left foot over the right knee. In such cases, you can keep your foot under the knee. As mentioned earlier, never keep the foot over the knee. Also, beginning, it might be difficult to stay steady and put balance. You could practice this asana by holding the wall to balance.

Benefits of Vrikshasana

  • Vrikshasana has several benefits.
  • This yoga strengthens the spine by improving both poise and balance.
  • It improves neuromuscular coordination.
  • This yoga also tones the leg muscles and make tendons and ligaments stronger.
  • The knees become stronger and hips flexible.
  • The eyes, shoulders, and inner ears also strengthen in this pose.
  • It helps to balance sciatica and lower the flat fee.
  • This yoga also makes a flexible, stable, and patient.

2.Warrior Pose

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A warrior pose helps to strengthen the core, promote balance, and focus. It stretches different chest muscles, legs, shoulder, and relieves pain.

Things to Know Before Doing Vrikshasana

Practice this yoga early in the morning, but you can also do it in the evening. Your bowel and stomach must be empty before you perform Virabhadrasana. Make sure to keep a gap of 4-6 hours between meals and yoga.

How to Do the Virabhadrasana?

  • Stand straight and spread legs about 3-4 feet away. Your right foot should be in the front direction and the left foot backward.
  • Now twist your right foot out by 90° and the left foot by 15°, making assured the foot of the right foot is absolutely level with the left foot core.
  • Raise your arms sideways until they get the height of your shoulders. Keep your arms level to the floor, and let your palms facing upward.
  • Breath out and turn your right knee in a way that your knee and ankle form an accurate level. Make sure the knee does not go ahead of the ankle.
  • Now change your gaze toward the right.
  • As you go into the pose, extend your arms ahead, and follow palms over your head. Look at palms and gently push pelvis down.
  • Be in this pose with similar determination as a warrior, and keep smiling face. Take a normal breath and go down.
  • Breath and come upward.
  • Breath out and slowly takes hands down from the sides.
  • Do this pose on your left side, take the left leg in the front and right foot backward.

Precautions

  • It is essential to talk doctor before doing this yoga, particularly if you have spinal problems or recently recovered from any chronic illness.
  • If you are experiencing shoulder pains, arms, leave them equal to each other instead of holder over the head.
  • If you have neck problems, then avoid looking at hands after extent.
  • Pregnant women will get benefit from this asana during the 2nd and 3rd trimester, but only if they are doing regular practice. This yoga must be performed under expert trainer guidance.
  • If you also have arthritis or high BP, then avoid this yoga.

Beginner’s Tip

Twist your pelvis front while bending the knee to front. This duck-tails the coccyx and causes it to compress the lower back. Before you flex your knees, raise your pubis to the navel. Then, stretch the tail to the floor. When you flex the knee, go on raising and lowering these two bones and make sure that the pelvis top rim is parallel to the floor.

Benefits of Virabhadrasana

  • This yoga asana helps to tone and strengthen the lower back, legs, and arms.
  • It helps to balance and stabilize the body as it raises stamina.
  • This asana also best for sedentary or desk jobs by stimulating metabolism and restores the spine.
  • This asana helps to relieve frozen shoulders.
  • It also relieves stress from the shoulders.
  • This yoga relaxes the body and mind by spreading courage, peace, and a sense of auspiciousness.

3.Uttanasana

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Uttanasana is also called Ragdoll pose or Intense forward bending pose, Standing forward fold pose. It heals and rejuvenates the body. During this asana, your head goes down below your heart and makes blood circulation reach the brain, and energize every cell with oxygen.

Things to Know Before Doing the Uttanasana

Like other yoga, this yoga also needs empty bowels and stomach. Have your meal before 4-6 hours before doing Uttanasana to make sure food is digested and supply constant energy during practice. You can choose to perform yoga in the morning or evening.

How to Do the Uttanasana?

  • Stand upright at a yoga mat, and have hands-on-hips, and breathe.
  • Breath out and slowly softens your knees and flex forward, twisting from your hips. You need to maintain body weight. Move hips and tailbone lightly to perform this as the rest of the body moves to the front.
  • Make sure to keep your knees gentle as you continue this. It will make your buttocks point upward, and your hips go forward into the upper thighs.
  • Keep hands over the ground near your feet. Your feet must be level with each other, and the middle toes point front. Widen the space between the pubis and chest bone. Feel the extent and curl from the hip bone. If you sense it from the rounding of your lower back, you are doing it wrong.
  • There should be stretch feeling in hamstrings also, and if you do not feel, then stretch knees more.
  • Twist your thighs in and turn yourself into heels. It will make a better alignment.
  • Keep your head at the left to dangle so, the crown reaches the ground. Look from your legs and hold the pose.
  • As you feel relaxed, free the pose, contract the abdomen, and core muscles. Breath in and keep a hand over the hips. Lift slowly, make sure there is an elongation in the back.

Precautions

Here are some details to recognize while doing this asana.

  • Lower back injury
  • Sciatica
  • Hamstrings tear
  • detached retina or Glaucoma

If you experience a back injury, perform this asana by keeping your knees bent. You can also perform Ardha Uttanasna by keeping hands on the wall, such that they are level to floor. Make sure to keep legs perpendicular to the torso.

Beginner’s Tip

A beginner might feel difficult to increase the stretch. Imagine the pelvis sinking deep into the posterior part of your pelvis to make it comfortable to bend knees. Now lower the gap between your pubis and tailbone. As you sense the resistance, push the upper part of your thighs back and push your heels down.  Arrange knees and do not lock knees.

The Benefits of Uttanasana

Uttanasana provide helpful benefits

  • This yoga helps to give a good stretch to the calves, back, hamstrings, and hips.
  • It calms down the brain and anxiety.
  • This yoga relieves insomnia and headaches.
  • This flex provides digestive organs the best massage and improves digestion.
  • This yoga activates the liver and kidneys.
  • It makes knees and thighs strong and reduces symptoms of menstruation and menopause.
  • This asana not only helps autism but also helps with sinusitis, infertility, asthma, and osteoporosis.

4. Marjariasana/ Cat pose

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The Marjariasana is also referred to as cat pose to help with Autism. It stretches your body like a cat and benefits your body.

Things to Know Before Doing the Marjariasana

Similar to asanas in yoga, it is essential to keep your stomach and bowel clean. Make sure to have a meal before 4-6 hours of workout to have a constant energy supply.

How to Do Cat Pose?

  • Stand on knees and bend forward and keep hands like a cat.
  • Your arms should be level to the ground, and your hand should be kept flat to the floor, right under your shoulders. Your knees should be kept at hip-width.
  • See straight ahead.
  • Breath in and raise your chin as you turn to head back. Press your navel down and lift your tailbone. Squeeze your buttocks, which may make you feel a sensation of tingling.
  • Hold the pose for some time and breath deep and long.
  • This asana is a sequence of two movements. The countermovement is like breathing out and drop chin to chest as you bend your back and relax your buttocks.
  • Hold this pose for some time and go back to the tabletop pose.

Precautions

Avoid this yoga if you are experiencing neck or back problems. Take your doctor’s advice before doing this yoga.  If you are feeling a head injury, make sure to keep head level with the torso.

Beginner’s Tip

The cat poses yoga is simple, but it may be hard to turn the upper back. Therefore, you can request an instructor or friend to assist. Ask them to keep their hand above and in the shoulder so that it can help to stimulate the region. It can be a helpful idea, to begin with, previous poses to make muscles flexed enough by the time you do this asana.

The Benefits of Marjariasana

  • There are different benefits of this simple but important yoga pose.
  • This yoga strengthens and stretches the spine by adding flexibility.
  • Bothe your wrists and shoulders will get stronger.
  • It massages digestive organs and stimulates the body process.
  • It helps to tone your abdomen while removing unnecessary fat.
  • This yoga helps to improve your blood circulation and oxygen in the body.
  • Stretching from this yoga also relax your mind and remove strain and stress.

Can Diet Effect on Autism?

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There is no particular diet designed for people with Autism. However, some autism experts are exploring dietary changes as a way to help to reduce behavioral problems and increase the complete quality of life. A foundation of autism diet is the delay of artificial additives. These include preservatives, sweeteners, and colors.

Instead of an autism diet, focus on whole foods like lean poultry, fresh vegetables and fruits, fish, more water, and unsaturated fats.

Some autism experts also recommend a gluten-free diet. The protein gluten is present in barley, wheat, and other grains.

Those experts believe that gluten causes inflammation and opposing bodily reactions in some people with Autism. However, scientific research is inconclusive on the link between gluten, autism, and casein(protein).

Does Autism Affect Kids?

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Kids with autism may not reach similar developmental milestones as other kids, or they may show a loss of language or social skills earlier developed.

For example, a two-year-old without autism may show interest in general games. A 4-year old without autism may feel good with activities with other children. A child with autism may feel difficulty interacting with others or not like it altogether.

Kids with autism may also like repetitive behaviors, compulsively eating non-food things, or difficulty sleeping. They may feel it difficult to thrive without a structured consistent, and environmental routine.

If kids have Autism you may need to understand them closely with teachers to make sure they feel good in the classroom. Many resources are found to help kids with autism also their loved ones.

Local support centers can be available through the national non-profit The-Autism-Society.

Autism and Exercise

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Kids with autism may get that certain workout can be essential in raising frustrations and boosting overall well-being.  Kids can enjoy any type of workout. Simple walking and playground are both ideal.

Swimming and water workout can serve as both workout and a sensory play workout. Sensory play activities can benefit people with autism who may get difficulty processing signals from their senses.

In some cases, contact sports can be hard for kids with autism. You can instead enhance other types of challenging but strengthening workouts.

Does Autism Affect Girls?

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In light of its gender explicit pervasiveness, Autism is regularly generalized as a young men’s illness. As per the CDCTrusted, ASDs are around multiple times more normal in young men than in young girls.

However, it does not mean that Autism does not happen to girls. The CDC estimates that 0.66%, or around one in every 152 girls, experience autism. It may differently present in females.

Does Autism Affect Adults?

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This health condition may pass from family history in adults. A minority of adults with ASD may go on to work independently or live. However, most of the adults with autism need continued help or intervention from their lives.

Advance therapies and other treatments in early life can help to quality life and independence. Sometimes people who are not aware of this health condition may have less chance of recovery in later life. It is because of a previous no awareness among medical experts.

Why Is Autism Awareness Necessary?

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April is known as World Autism Month. It is also considered as National-Autism-Awareness-Month in the US. However, many experts have called for the need to raise awareness about ASDs throughout the year, and not during 30 selected days. Autism awareness is also necessary to understand how it happens differently in everyone.

Certain therapies and treatments can work effectively for some people but not for others. Caretakers and parents can also have different opinions about children with autism.

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