Yoga practice among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and their parents.

An exploratory research project to assess the feasibility and the effects of yoga practice on quality of life, anxiety and attention based on the Attentional Self Regulation Framework of Tim Gard and colleagues (2014).

Fonds de recherche du Québec, santé, société et culture and Social Sciences and humanities research council are financing this research project. Yoga materials for participants have been provided by Lululemon.

Yoga Bali Project

For my thesis, I developed a yoga program for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and their parents—the yoga Bali program—and explored it effectiveness among these families.

The yoga Bali program is based on Dr Madan Bali yoga methods which combine Hatha yoga postures, breathing exercises and visualization. The program aims to offer support to adolescents with ASD and their parents by engaging in an activity that can reduce anxiety and enhance well-being. For 8 weeks, participants are offering one yoga session in the studio and are encouraged to do home yoga sessions guided by a short video demonstration. At the beginning of each yoga session, an educator discusses with the group around a theme related to yoga practice and adapted to each family challenges and needs. The yoga teacher then starts the practice with postures and finish with a deep guided relaxation. A flexible and positive approach is one of the central characteristics of the program. Therefore, the educator and yoga teacher try to adapt their interventions and language to participants’ characteristics. Teacher and educator also reinforce the strengths of each adolescent and parent so that they can gain autonomy in their yoga practice and feel empowered doing so. A space is given to each family to express their needs before, during and after the session. This positive approach aims to create a safe and calm space to promote relaxation.

We have collected the data during fall 2021 and winter 2022 and are now in the statistical analyses phase of the project. We expect to present preliminary results in May 2023.

Parents testimonio:

« This is one of the first times that I am doing an activity with my son without apologizing for his behaviors. Here, he can be himself without me worrying. It is such a positive experience for me as a parent. »

« My son told me the other day that he was upset and needed to do his yoga breathing exercises to calm down before talking to me. I was so proud of him. »

« Since we are doing this activity, I feel so much closer to my child. »

« When I enter the yoga studio, it’s like all the stress goes away. »