Sonia Sumar

Presentation + Questions & Answers
For ADD-Holistic Discussion Group
http://www.HolisticMed.Com/add/


Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 22:26:33 -0500 (EST)
From: Mark Gold
To: add-holistic@mLists.net
Subject: ADD Introduction of Visiting Expert

Hi!
I am excited to introduce our next honored Visiting Expert, Sonia Sumar. Ms. Sumar uses a special type of yoga therapy to help transform the lives of children with ADD/ADHD, Down's Syndrome and other disorders. She is the author of "Yoga for the Special Child."

Bio

Sonia Sumar has taught yoga in Brazil for more than twenty years and is internationally renowned for her pioneering work with special children. She began experimenting with yoga as an early intervention therapy shortly after the birth of her second daughter, Roberta, in 1972. Roberta was born with Down Syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by mental retardation and other developmental delays. Sonia's teaching work expanded to include infants and children with Cerebral Palsy, Attention Deficit Disorder, and various other syndromes and disorders.

Her life dream is to help the world's special children to achieve their full potential and become active and productive members of society. Nothing can better express her success than the letters from the parents of her students.

Ms. Sumar holds a Bachelor's Degree in Education and has taught at the elementary school level. She has conducted workshops and has addressed special education programs and symposia in Portugal, Brazil, and throughout South America. In 1980 she founded the Integral Yoga Center of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where she continues to teach yoga to both children and adults and offers specialized training courses to yoga teachers and other professionals who wish to learn her methods.

In recent years she has expanded her teaching and mentoring in the United States. She is assisted by her 27-year-old daughter, Renata, who has a degree in Speech Pathology. Sonia's programs are coordinated by Jeffrey Volk, who also supervised the English translation of her book.



Most persons I have seen who began practicing yoga experienced health improvements or a health transformation. The program that Ms. Sumar has put together to work with parents and children/adolescents to extend yoga's benefits to special needs children is very exciting. It is an honor to have Ms. Sumar visit our discussion group and share details about her work.

Please join me in welcoming Sonia Sumar! [clap, clap, clap!] Please feel free to ask followup questions after her initial post on Monday.

Best Wishes,
- Mark
mgold@tiac.net



Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 00:28:02 -0500
To: add-holistic@mLists.net
From: Sonia Sumar
Subject: Yoga for children with ADD

Thank you for the beautiful introduction, Mark.

My work with children with ADD began in 1975, at a special education institute in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Children with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities also attended this school, so I had the opportunity to observe how yoga worked as a therapy with children at varying ages and levels of development. In almost all cases, yoga stimulated the children's development--the crucial factor most often being the parent's involvement with and support of their child.

Children with developmental disabilities often posses many ADD/ADHD characteristics. One of the participants at our September, 1998 Ten-Day Certification Program in Central Virginia brought his three-year-old daughter, Madeline, along with him. Madeline was born a "blue baby" and was described as being "globally developmentally delayed." She was extremely distractible, and it was almost impossible to get her to focus long enough to follow any of my instructions. My opportunity came on the seventh day of our program when I put on a piece of music that seemed to capture her attention for a moment. Immediately I began to sing along with the music and to clap her hands together and swing her arms to the rhythm. An entire yoga routine flowed out of this single piece, posture by posture, as she swayed to the rhythm of the song. All of the participants were amazed to see what this little child could do when her mind was focused.

Yoga is a scientific system of physical postures, breathing exercises and deep relaxation techniques designed to balance the body's energies and to promote mental, physical and spiritual health. Yoga's benefits extend to persons of all faiths, ages and abilities. Because it is gentle and non-competitive, even persons with chronic diseases and degenerative conditions can practice it. In applying the yoga modality to infants and children with special needs, I have created a system of progressive yoga programs, each one corresponding to a successive level of childhood development.

To be a yoga teacher of special children, you have to love your work. I feel like every child I work with is my own child--this is the foundation of our practice. Yoga means "union," and through the bond that develops out of this union, you can accomplish seeming miracles. So the techniques are the tools; but the foundation is love and a firm, unwavering belief in you child's innate potential.

Before getting into our case history, I would like to say a few words about our book and our programs. "Yoga for the Special Child" can be purchased at local bookstores, as well as through our website at http://www.specialyoga.com. The book contains case histories, including the biography of my daughter, and a workbook section that explains the principles and practical applications of yoga as a therapy for special children. All our programs and special events are posted on our website. We're still working on our 1999 schedule; as soon as these dates are confirmed, they will be posted.

I look forward to your questions.

Best Wishes,
Sonia Sumar

CASE STUDY OF LUISA

I first met Luisa in 1992, when she was six years old. Her mother Nair had read about my work in a local newspaper and wondered if yoga might be able to improve her daughter's condition. At that time, Luisa was diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome. According to Borland's Medical Dictionary, Prader-Willi Syndrome is a congenital disorder characterized by a rounded face, almond-shaped eyes, strabismus, low forehead, hypotonia, insatiable appetite, failure to thrive and mental retardation. In my opinion, she also exhibited many of the characteristics of ADHD: When I attempted to teach her, she became easily agitated; she was also extremely hyperactive and distractable. Due to her lack of balance, she was unable to walk up and down stairs without assistance. She suffered from daily convulsions and sometimes went into multiple seizures so severe that she needed to remain in the hospital under observation for a week at a time. To help control her seizures, Luisa took various anti-seizure medications. However, none of these medications was adequate in controlling her seizures, no matter how often they were adjusted.

Our first yoga sessions were spent in creating a strong bond of trust and friendship-- between Luisa and myself and her mother. Once this bond of trust was established, we were able to open up new channels of communication and proceed with our work. At this early stage of Luisa's yoga practice, I had to guide her body through all of the yoga postures (asanas) because she did not have balance, motor control, or physical strength to imitate my movements. One of the paradoxes of Luisa's condition was that she experienced stiffness in her joints and a resulting lack of flexibility, even though her muscle tone was very low. Children with hypotonia usually have a greater degree of flexibility.

After several months of yoga therapy, twice a week, the intensity of Luisa's seizures began to diminish. Although her school class performance was not up to par, I noticed that she was quite intelligent. This apparent contradiction was due to her extreme distractibility and impulsivity. Often, the only way I could reach her was to go into her own world and meet her on her own terms. For example, in order to keep her attention focused during our yoga sessions, I found it necessary to increase the speed at which she performed asanas. Not until I discovered her own natural rhythm was I be able to begin slowing her down. The same approach applied to music and sound therapy.

Our yoga sessions always began with about five minutes of chanting and hand clapping, followed by rapid breathing exercises (the bellows breath). Both of these exercises helped to capture her attention, focus her mind and enliven her spirit. The asana portion of our class was interspersed with short intervals of deep relaxation to keep her from getting too excited and speedy. In the beginning, almost all the asanas were difficult for her to perform, but even so, she persevered--a tribute to her mother's encouragement and our strong bond with one another.

Once Luisa was familiar with all the asanas in her yoga routine, she showed her great enthusiasm for yoga by beginning each asana even before she had finished performing the previous one. In other words, she was always one step ahead of herself and unable to hold any pose for more than a second or two. I struggled to curb this tendency by bringing her attention to the muscles that were being stretched or strengthened during each particular pose. While she was holding the pose, I always reminded her to bring her attention back to her body and to breathe deeply.

Another aspect of Luisa's condition was her need to talk incessantly. My instructions and comments during our sessions were often met with replies on totally unrelated topics. I finally made an agreement with her: We could speak about anything she wanted for a period of up to ten minutes, either before or after our yoga session. But during our class, she promised to follow my instructions and to allow me to guide her without interruptions.

Another challenge I faced with Luisa was her inability to remain upright in a seated position. She would always sit slouched over with her pelvis tilted downward. I focused on poses to open her rib cage and chest area, and to relax the muscles of her back. In order to bring her hips into alignment, I gave her a variety of poses which began from a seated position. While she was holding these poses, I always talked to her and encouraged her to bring her mind back to the asana.

After approximately one year of yoga therapy, Luisa's body awareness and control had taken a quantum leap. She was now able to sustain a prolonged period of deep relaxation and learned to love this quiet time. She was finally able to walk up and down stairs unaided -- and even run! She was working on perfecting her standing poses and had added the Skull-Shining Breath and Alternate Nostril breathing to her repertoire of breathing exercises. In 1993, after about a year and a half of yoga therapy, during Luisa's school vacation, Nair asked me if she could bring Luisa to her adult group class, because she did not have someone to take care of her. These classes last approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. My private yoga therapy sessions with Luisa lasted only forty minutes. I was not sure if she would be able to sustain her concentration for the extra 35 minutes. I seated her at the front of the class and she surprised us all by completing the entire routine. In fact, she did so well that I allowed her to continue attending our adult class twice a week for the remainder of her school vacation. Luisa loved this class and the other students were greatly impressed with her new-found ability to perform these advanced asanas, as well as her overall attitude and maturity. She became the darling of our class.

After two years of yoga therapy, Luisa was able to raise her straightened legs off the floor in both a supine and prone position. Her attention span and body awareness were vastly improved. She could even remember the names of most asanas, about twenty-six in all, in both Portuguese and Sanskrit. After three years of yoga therapy, Luisa was finally able to join a children's group yoga class, which included children at all levels of development. In this class she learned to perform many of the more advanced asanas without assistance, such as the Shoulder Stand and the Sun Salutation. All her other poses have improved, along with her flexibility and motor control.

Although Luisa is still subject to occasional seizures, they are not nearly as severe or often as they once were. Her doctors were finally forced to reevaluate their diagnosis of Prader-Willi Syndrome because she is still thin and agile, and never developed a compulsive eating disorder. During yoga Luisa is usually attentive and cooperative. She goes out of her way to help new yoga students and is her very popular in her group yoga class. During an entire forty-five minute yoga session, she remains fully concentrated and absorbed in her yoga routine. The benefits of her yoga practice also carry over into her daily life. At her school this ability to concentrate has allowed her to learn to read, write and complete math exercises.

Luisa still practices yoga twice a week at our yoga center in Brazil; she is steadfast in her attendance. When I am away in the United States, she writes to me and often tells my daughter Renata that she can't wait until I return to Brazil. When I had my book signing of the English edition of Yoga for the Special Child at our yoga school in Brazil, Luisa was the first person to receive a book from me. She showed the book to all of her school friends, reminding one and all that the child in the painting on the cover of the book was none other than herself! I know how proud Luisa is to be on the cover of our book and I am equally proud of her.



From: Mark Gold
To: add-holistic@mLists.net
Subject: ADD Questions for Visiting Expert Sonia Sumar

Sonia,

Thank you very much for your detailed and inspiring post and case histories. It gave me much to think about because I had not known until quite recently that yoga therapy is being used to help special needs children.

I hope you have received the posts including Barbara's question. If I may, I have a few short question for you.

  1. For the adults with ADD and similar disorders, would there be any differences in the workshop program or suggested treatment? Do you offer workshops or classes for adults?

  2. Do older children (e.g., 8-15) enjoy the workshops and classes?

  3. Some of us are probably aware of a few of the postures used in yoga classes. You mentioned a couple of breathing practices in you post. I would greatly appreciate it if you would talk briefly about a couple of the exercises and their short-range and long-range benefits.
I am very glad that I found out about your work. It is encouraging that you will be offering workshops at a number of major conferences related to ADD, Cerebral Palsy, and Down's Syndrome. Along with the sharing of information through the web and other means on the Internet, this will help tremendously in having your techniques more widely available.

> Before getting into our case history, I would like to say a few words
> about our book and our programs. "Yoga for the Special Child" can be
> purchased at local bookstores, as well as through our website at
> http://www.specialyoga.com.

The web page is wonderful. I found the "Comments From Graduates of Our Programs" section of the newsletter particularly inspiring and I hope that you eventually put more of those on your web page or in the next addition of your book.

Best Wishes,
- Mark
mgold@tiac.net
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From: "Barbara Cesmat"
To:
Subject: Re: Yoga for children with ADD
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 1998 11:06:45 -0800

Dear Sonia,
Thank you so much for sharing your work with ADD children and adults with us. As we know ADD does not discriminate age, race, or social status. I believe that as long as there are caring people like you out in the world there is hope for the victims of ADD and those that love and care for them. Does yoga also help the parents and care givers of Add patients? Where are you located, I am interested in your bi-lingual abilities.
Barbara1@cesmat.com



From: RevNadine@aol.com
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 12:45:17 EST
To: add-holistic@mLists.net
Subject: ADD Questions for Sonia Sumar

First let me tell you that I think that the work that you do is wonderful and truly a God filled inspirational service to humankind. Thank you for doing this work with so many children and spreading your love and light out into the world! You are bringing hope and encouragement to so many!

Questions:

How did you establish that bond of trust in the first meeting with Luisa and her mother?

How do you know the amount of time and intensity level of yoga to use with the children? Is it trial and error or have you been able to develop some guidelines?

What type of yoga are you a practitioner of?

Have you gotten much harassment from the medical institutions in working with these special children, especially around their drug/medication usage? Or are they supportive?

Thanks again for the wonderful work that you are doing & for sharing your time with us in this way.

Rev. Nadine Cotton



Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 21:57:45 -0500 (EST)
From: Mark Gold
To: add-holistic@mLists.net
Subject: ADD Visiting Expert Sonia Sumar

I just wanted to let you know that Sonia Sumar will be on the list for a while longer to answer some of the questions that were asked. Thanks to everyone who provided feedback and asked questions!

Within a few weeks, her 1999 workshop schedule should be on the web page, http://www.specialyoga.com/ -- I will let you know when it's available. In addition to the workshops and certification programs in various locations around the country, Ms. Sumar will be attending the CHADD conference in Washington, D.C. in 1999. Hopefully, we'll see her conducting workshops at other ADD conferences in the near future.

Best Wishes,
- Mark
mgold@tiac.net
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Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 23:36:40 -0500
To: add-holistic@mLists.net
From: Sonia Sumar
Subject: Re: Fwd: ADD Questions for Visiting Expert Sonia Sumar

>>1. For the adults with ADD and similar disorders, would there be
>> any differences in the workshop program or suggested treatment?
>> Do you offer workshops or classes for adults?

A- MY PROGRAMS ARE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME. WHAT VARIES IS THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD OR ADULT, AND HIS OR HER COOPERATIVENESS. I DO OFFER WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES FOR ADULTS, BUT NOT JUST FOR PERSONS WITH ADD.

>>2. Do older children (e.g., 8-15) enjoy the workshops and classes?

A: I WORK WITH CHILDREN OF ALL AGES AND, YES, THEY DO ENJOY OUR CLASSES. DURING PROGRAMS, CHILDREN DO NOT NEED TO STAY ALL DAY. THEY COME ONLY FOR THEIR INDIVDUAL CLASSES, WHICH LAST FROM A HALF AN HOUR TO FORTY-FIVE MINUTES. WE ALWAYS HAVE CHILD CARE PROVIDERS AT OUR PROGRAMS TO CARE FOR THE CHILDREN WHILE THEIR PARENTS ARE IN THE CLASS.

>>3. Some of us are probably aware of a few of the postures used in
>> yoga classes. You mentioned a couple of breathing practices
>> in you post. I would greatly appreciate it if you would
>> talk briefly about a couple of the exercises and their short-range
>> and long-range benefits.

A: I COULD MENTION THE FACT THAT ALL YOGA POSES WORK ON THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, WHICH BENEFITS EVERYONE, WHETHER THEY HAVE DISABILITIES OR NOT. ALSO, GLANDS AND ORGANS ARE COMPLETELLY REJUVENETED AS WE PERFORM THE POSES, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE BREATHE PROPERLY. WITHIN YOGA THERE ARE SPECIFIC ASANAS FOR STRENGTHING MUSCLES (THE LOCUST POSE, STANDING POSES) AND INCREASING FLEXIBILITY (ALL THE POSES). FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SHORT RANGE AND LONG RANGE BENEFITS, I SUGGEST THOSE INTERESTED READ CHAPTER THREE OF MY BOOK.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT, MARK

WISHING YOU LOVE AND LIGHT.
SONIA SUMAR



Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 23:23:26 -0500
To: add-holistic@mLists.net
From: Sonia Sumar
Subject: Yoga for children with ADD

Dear Barbara

Thank you very much for writing; also, for the sensivity you expressed about my work.

Fortunately, there are many other professionals, in different areas, who also are doing a good job in helping people with ADD and other disabilities.

Yes, Yoga can definitely help parents, care givers and everybody else who is seeking for a better quality of life. The wonderful thing about Yoga is not only its power for healing the body, but also the incredible way it works with the mind, helping us to develop our potential and understanding. Then we can understand life better and also be better equipped to serve society and our own selves. I could write many pages about the various benefits of Yoga. As an yoga practitioner, I experientialy how it can make you feel more vibrant, calmer and happier. That's why I love to share it with everybody.

Wishing you peace and joy,

Sonia Sumar



Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 23:28:03 -0500
To: add-holistic@mLists.net
From: Sonia Sumar
Subject: Re: Fwd: ADD Questions for Sonia Suma

Dear Rev. Nadine,

Thank you so much for your beautiful letter.

Once the mother is open to trying Yoga herself , she also opens the channel for me to connect with her child. That's why it is so important to make it clear to the mother that 50% of my work will depend on me and the other 50% will depend on her. If we can work in this way, everything will proceed well and we will get great results.

Once I have established a strong bond, I try to connect with the child's innate potential for growth and development. Based on this connection, I posit my total trust in that child. It is not my body working with another body, but my soul working with another soul; in this way, we both learn and grow together. Because I work through my intuition, the child is able to guide my hands, so I always know just how far to go into a pose or exercise. All you have to do is observe the child attentively and never going beyond the resistance point of the child's range of movement.

The type of Yoga I teach and practice is Hatha Yoga. Of course, I have to adapt it to the needs of each practitioner.

Unfortunately, I have not gotten much support from the medical profession. Some doctors are very supportive and some are not. Several have taken my workshops and programs in the United States.

Wishing you peace and light,
Sonia Sumar