Sonia Sumar - Yoga for the Special Child: A Therapeutic Approach for Infants and Children with Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism Spectrum Disorders and Learning Disabilities

A Therapeutic Approach for Infants and Children with Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and Learning Disabilities

Sonia Sumar

Copyright 1998 by Sonia Sumar

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole
or in part in any form.

Printed in the United States of America

Yoga for the Special Child, LLC
4812 Benchmark Court
Sarasota, FL 34238
Toll Free: 1-888-900-YOGA
Tel: (941) 925-9677
Fax: (941) 925-9433
Email: Info@specialyoga.com
Web: www.specialyoga.com

Text and cover design by Bookwrights Press

Tenth Printing Frebruary 2011

ISBN-13: 978-0-9658024-0-6

ISBN-10: 0-9658024-0-X

Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 97-91925

Note: The techniques, ideas, and teaching methods in this book are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. Consult your childs pediatrician or specialist before beginning this or any new exercise routine with your child. Any application of the techniques, ideas, and teaching methods in this book is at the readers sole discretion and risk.

Dedication

In loving memory of my daughter Roberta

(Birth to Six Months)

(Six Months to One Year)

(One to Two Years)

(Two to Three Years)

(Ages Three and Up)

I am delighted to read the book Yoga for the Special Child by Sonia Sumar, who I affectionately call Sivakami. Sonia has been a very dedicated and devoted Yoga teacher for many years. I met her on my first trip to South America, during which time she organized a talk for me in Belo Horizonte. I visited her Yoga school and saw firsthand her wonderful service to Gods special children.

Children with special needs are Gods children also. They are human beings also created in Gods image. They may have some physical and mental limitations, but these are only challenges, not who they are. Essentially we are all Gods children, and before God we are all loved and valued the same.

I am glad that Sonia Sumar has come forward and written a book that can give help and hope to children with special needs. Yoga is the master key which opens any lock. Sonia has proven this with her own daughter and now shares her wealth of knowledge and personal experience with everyone.

May God bless Sonia Sumar to continue her loving and dedicated service in the name of Yoga. May the potential of each child who practices Yoga expand to the fullest, and may each one know that he or she is beloved and special in the eyes of God.

Swami Satchidananda

Buckingham, Virginia

July 1994

Sri Swami Satchidananda is a renowned teacher and ecumenical leader who has helped countless people achieve greater health and peace of mind through Yoga. Sonia Sumar has been a disciple of Sri Swami Satchidananda since 1989, and he has been a sincere supporter of her programs and teaching methods. In August, 2002, Sri Gurudev took Mahasamadhi, a conscious final exit from the body.

In her book, Yoga for the Special Child, Sonia Sumar shares the results of her many years of experience working with special children. An accomplished and dedicated Yoga teacher, Sonia has helped many children to lead healthier, happier, and more productive lives. This is all due to her teaching methods, patience, and great love for her work. Yoga for the Special Child will be invaluable to parents, Yoga teachers, health care professionals, and educators.

We need to remind ourselves that all children are naturally special in one way or another. Only by learning to love and understand them will we be able to truly assist them in developing their full potential.

Indra Devi

Buenos Aires, Argentina

December, 1993

Indra Devi was a dynamic and charismatic teacher of Yoga for more than a half a century. She was one of the first Westerners to popularize Hatha Yoga in both South America and the United States. In 2001 Mataji Indra Devi took Mahasamadhi at the age of 102 years.

To the Original Portuguese Edition

We all know how good Yoga is for the physical body and for the mind, providing health, beauty, mental control, and emotional stability. It was through Yoga that Sonia Sumar was able to achieve the incredible results she presents in this book. A real song of hope!

In a simple and clear style, Sonia offers her message of transformation and love. This book is a true treasure that speaks to the heart and helps make the world a better place.

Among Yoga colleagues, Sonia is acknowledged as an authority due to her work with children who have special needs. Now she offers us the amazing results in case histories of her daughter and other special Yoga students. This is just a part of the lovely, noble, and great mission that Sonia is carrying out. She has become a model for the mothers of these children! Her sincere words convey a sublime message, teaching us how to accept reality joyfully and how to achieve and maintain our inner peace.

If Sonias suggestions are followed at home, the health and happiness of the entire family will improve. Her work is an example of preventive medicine and solidarity with our brothers and sisters. It is just like the sunshedding light, warmth, and blessing.

My sincere honor and admiration.

Prof. Maria da Glria Moreira de Souza

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

November 1981

I wish to offer my sincere gratitude to:

My beloved guru, His Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda, for his guidance in the study and practice of Yoga.

To my daughter, Renata, I offer my heart-felt gratitude for all her support.

To Jeffrey Volk, who coordinated the translation of this English edition. His dedicated support made this project possible.

To all my students worldwide who teach me as much as I teach them.

To all parents of children with special needs.

To John Cronin who helped me with the EBook edition.

Sonia Sumar

I began to practice Yoga during my last year of college in Nilopolis, near my home town of Nova Iguau, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. My goal was not just better health. On a deeper level, I was hoping to realize some of the mental and psychological benefits that I had read about in a book on Yoga. These benefits include mindfulness, concentration, emotional balance, and, ultimately, peace of mind and happiness. The results of my Yoga practice were soon forthcoming: I began to experience a heightened degree of mental clarity and a new sense of physical and emotional well-being.

In February 1972 the birth of my second daughter, Roberta, prompted me to enroll in a Yoga school and begin a course of practical instruction that would last for several years. Roberta was born with Down Syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by below-average intelligence and certain physical anomalies. I then began to practice Yoga not just for myself, but primarily for Roberta, searching for a key that would unlock the door to a condition considered incurable by medical science.