Yoga is a tool to heal trauma
Marked improvement in kids’ behaviour
It facilitates self-reflection, the practice of kindness and self-compassion
TEACHING traumatised children yoga techniques in a school environment is beneficial for a variety of reasons, a study by University of the Western Cape (UWC) occupational therapy students shows.
Researchers Inge Dedekind, Ntsepeng Mphomane, Laura Pereira and Savannah Smith, with supervisor Elizabeth van Zyl, focused their research on six vulnerable children and their parents from two low socio-economic communities.
The UWC students tested parents’ perspectives on the benefits and challenges experienced by their vulnerable children.
The study also looked at the effect on the pupils’ behaviour after engaging in a yoga programme.
They presented their findings at Research Week, as part an of inter-university Combined Project Presentation, with students from Stellenbosch University and UCT.
They said generally yoga facilitates self-reflection, the practice of kindness and self-compassion, and continued growth and self-awareness – concepts the parents were unfamiliar with. Van Zyl said poverty was the one thing the children had in common, and they all experienced a lack of resources and facilities, the effects of unemployment, and shared the experience of being exposed to a violent, aggressive environment daily.
“The objective was to explore the parents’ understanding of the yoga programme as an integrated philosophy in the school curriculum,” Van Zyl said.
The students discussed research by Jace Pillay and Francis Peel, which confirmed that “all vulnerable children have one common denominator – they have no reliable social safety networks to depend on to effectively manage the risks to which they are exposed daily”.
The researchers applied the findings by Dap and Anet Louw in 2013. “A child’s development is influenced by both biological and environmental factors, which can either protect and enhance their development or compromise their developmental outcomes.” – Andrea Ettekal and Joseph Mahoney.
In their presentation, the students discussed the impact the conditions had on the children.
Their findings: that gaining the trust of the children was a huge issue, and things they had to consider were the cycle of poverty, community environment and the children’s behaviour before yoga.
The findings also showed that while parents didn’t understand what yoga was, they acknowledged an improvement in the children’s behaviour. “A participating parent said that before yoga, her child was very prone to starting fights, swearing, and would be dismissive towards her,” Van Zyl said.