This week’s Dance First Insight is from Let Your Yoga Dance for Special Populations!

Megha’s interest in offering Let Your Yoga Dance® for Special Populations began many years ago while teaching her regular Let Your Yoga Dance® classes. People with Parkinson’s Disease began to come to her classes, so many in fact, that she realized she should offer classes targeting this population. Her most vital student with Parkinson’s, Ed Rudman, lived in Richmond, MA and Sarasota, Florida. He wanted to see more Let Your Yoga Dance® for Parkinson’s classes because he was using the practice to keep himself healthy and happy. “Let Your Yoga Dance helps lessen my symptoms,” he said, “and best of all, it makes me smile and laugh. People with Parkinson’s don’t smile very much.”

Here are 9 Reasons why People with Parkinsons (and Other Special Needs) Benefit from Let Your Yoga Dance®:

  1. Let Your Yoga Dance® breaks the isolation of being alone with a progressive disease. People in need of extra care and their caregivers come together in a safe, gentle environment to learn to dance their yoga.
  2. Let Your Yoga Dance® increases flexibility and strength, helping people with special needs to safely practice repetitive movements while sitting in a chair, standing, and moving.
  3. Let Your Yoga Dance® stimulates not only the mind by engaging in simple and challenging movements throughout the body, but also the emotional body, bringing endorphins to the brain and joy to the spirit.
  4. Let Your Yoga Dance® activates all the senses through deep breathing simple movements and postures.
  5. Let Your Yoga Dance® increases body awareness and the ability to live more consciously inside it, resulting in more confidence in walking, moving, and dancing.
  6. Let Your Yoga Dance® plays with all kinds of musical rhythms which are stimulating to the brain.
  7. Let Your Yoga Dance® includes constant focus on the breath. In the time-honored practice of yoga, breathing exercises naturally activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the relaxation response in the body. Deep breathing fosters deep relaxation which is essential for anyone with special needs.
  8. Let Your Yoga Dance® is an express route to joy! This practice brings a natural merging of yoga, dance, and movement, along with the use of wonderful music from around the world.
  9. Let Your Yoga Dance® for Special Populations is fun – and healing at the same time.