The Autistic Yogi Reflects on How Yoga Helped Me for those whom have children diagnosed with Autism.

Over the past few years I have been asked a few times by people who have children that were recently diagnosed on the Autism spectrum to share with them how yoga helped to transform me.

When I first came to practice yoga regularly I had hit rock bottom in my life so I can't say whether or not yoga would have influenced me as much as it has simply because of coming into it from rock bottom. What I can say though is that if I were to have learned some of the aspects of yoga then just maybe my meltdowns and my tantrums may have not been as severe. 

Getting to know my body helped me to get in touch with myself in a way I could not have imagined. 

Learning to breath in specific ways helped me to take the edge of anxiety or anger, and helped me to focus my attention some place other then what may have used to cause obsessive thinking.

Teaching yoga has helped me to further understand other people. I think its important for us to engage one another but it became apparent that I was not 'reading' other peoples body language and facial expressions properly. I read the book 'The Definitive Guide of Body Language', which helped me to intellectualize and slowly start to understand others expressions. I have heard that some parents have made games to help their children to recognize the different facial expressions. Another friend of mine who is an Asperger took a sign language course and said that helped her a lot.  I still have a lot of difficulty understanding peoples social cues, especially when it comes to sharing in language, often I have said things that I find out later are not your 'normal' social engagements, whether or not that has put a wedge between people and me, I am not sure.

Early in dedicating to a yoga practice I would go to the yoga studio if I were feeling anxious in anyway to take a class. I would sometimes go as much as 4 times a day. I would read as much as I could about it. And eventually became a teacher.

I don't think it was/is the yoga itself that truly helped me, rather it was the focusing on something that was healthy, and having my family and friends encourage me on the path.

My strong suggestion is that if your child finds an interest in something that is healthy for them to do then encourage them with it, even if others may think its bizarre. And if your child loses interest in it then allow them to and don't attempt to force them back into it. 

 It can be tragically exhausting to deal with the fullness of any disorder/syndrome/disease, so as the primary caregivers to this child make sure that you get yourself some respite, that time for you to recharge and be able to settle your tensions.  

Learn empathy above sympathy. 

Find the ways that you can connect and encourage.

Learn how to use your breath.

Most of all love.