As she stands on her tiptoes, stretching her arms and legs and lengthening her entire body, 9 year old Samantha Carlson takes a deep breath and smiles. 'Stretch out high,' her teacher sings in a melodic voice that fills the room.
'Reach for the sky!' they say together.
After finishing the series of poses known as the sun salutation, the two circle the room, dancing, laughing, leaping in the air.
As she slows down and focuses on her breath again, Samantha asks: 'Could we do that again?'
For an hour each week, the fourth grader at Adams Elementary works one on one with Amy Iverson, a registered yoga teacher and owner of Spokane Youth Yoga.
Iverson, who has a master's degree in education, is also a licensed practitioner of 'Yoga for the Special Child.'
Her specialty is known as yoga therapy for children, the adaptation of yoga practices including breathing, stretching and chanting to help improve strength and flexibility, encourage social stimulation and promote overall physical and emotional health among young people.
For the past few years, Iverson has been using yoga therapy to help children with autism, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and other special needs. Her clients include toddlers, teens and pre teens as well as young adults.
By Virginia De Leon
THE LATEST YOGA NEWS, FROM IT IS YOGA
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