Special Yoga & Mindfulness
for Autism & ADHD

SPRING ‘25 COURSE
Saturday Morning Webinars
No prior knowledge of yoga necessary

Book now and pay one single payment or five installments

Yoga and You

Since our training began over twenty years ago we’ve met thousands of parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and yoga teachers who are just like you.
They all feel passionately about wanting the best possible future for the children they parent and work with. They all have a heartfelt belief that the potential of the child is more than the label or diagnosis assigned to them.

Whether you have a regular yoga practice or you’re a newbie, at Special Yoga we’ll give you a toolbox of practices and show you how effective they can be when shared by you and the uniquely beautiful qualities you bring to the practice.

Our practices and methodology can also be incorporated into educational and healthcare settings offering tremendous benefits for children with special needs, promoting relaxation, focus, and physical well-being.

By the completion of this training course you’ll be ready to consider your own self care and to bring yoga to your child, sharing with empathy, patience and resilience.

Why Special Yoga for Special Children?

The Special Yoga methodology has been developed and practised for over twenty years; in that time Jyoti says she has “never yet met a child who hasn’t benefitted from yoga at some level”.

Special Yoga includes postures breathwork, mindfulness, relaxation, sound & rhythm, massage & energy and more and it can be done by anyone.
In the videos below Jyoti explains the benefits of some of our key practises and you can see students using them.

Here’s a deeper look at the benefits of some of the practices you’ll learn on this Autism and ADHD course:

Yoga Asana or Poses:

  • Improved Focus and Attention: In addition to building strength and flexibility, yoga poses often require concentration and staying in the present moment, this can help children with ADHD develop focus and attention skills.

  • Sensory Integration: Many yoga poses involve sensory experiences, such as grounding poses like Tree Pose or tactile sensations in poses like Child's Pose. These can help children with sensory processing difficulties integrate sensory input more effectively.

Pranayama or Breathwork:

  • Emotional Regulation: Children with autism and ADHD often struggle with emotional regulation. Breathwork techniques, such as deep breathing or mindful breathing, can help them learn to calm themselves when feeling overwhelmed or anxious

  • Stress Reduction: Children with autism and ADHD may experience higher levels of stress due to sensory sensitivities or difficulties in social situations. Practicing breathwork can help reduce stress levels and promote relaxation. Incorporating breathwork into a bedtime routine can help promote relaxation and improve sleep quality.

Sound, Music & Mantra:

  • Expression and Communication: For children with autism who may struggle with verbal communication, music can be a form of expression. Through music therapy, children can express themselves nonverbally through singing, playing instruments, or movement, which can enhance their communication skills and self-expression.

  • Routine and Structure: Many children with autism and ADHD benefit from routines and predictability. Incorporating sound, music, or mantras into daily routines can provide a sense of structure and predictability, which can help reduce anxiety and improve overall behaviour.

Mindfulness:

  • Increased Self-Awareness: Mindfulness encourages self-reflection and self-awareness, which can be particularly beneficial for children with ASD and ADHD who may struggle with understanding their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.

  • Improved Executive Functioning: Executive functioning skills, such as planning, organisation, and impulse control, are often impaired in children with ADHD. Mindfulness practices can strengthen these skills by promoting self-regulation and cognitive flexibility.

In addition to these practice the course also includes teaching modules on relaxation, mindfulness and how to adapt the yoga practices for atypical autism, PDA, complex autism, autistic girls, ADHD and OCD .

Book now and pay one single payment or five installments

Live Webinars

Webinars offer an amazing opportunity to learn direct from Jyoti and from other teacher/advanced practitioners with many years using our methodology with children and adults.

Not only will you learn from their experience but you'll also benefit from hearing about the experience of the other practitioners on the course. There will be time spent practising together, time discussing the teachings and learning how to implement becoming more confident in adapting practices to whomever is before you.

This is your opportunity to ask questions, immerse yourself and come away with a rounder understanding of what it takes to be a Special Yoga practitioner.

Live Teaching Webinars on this course will be: Saturday 15th February between 10.00am -12.30pm and Saturdays 29th March, 10th May and 14th June 10am -12pm.

The first webinar is a 'must-attend' - we all get to meet each other and from that you'll be allocated to a small study group with a study group teacher who'll support you throughout the course. We can't imagine why you'd not want to be there for the remaining webinars but we know that sometimes life get's in the way. If you can't attend you will need to watch the recording.

A great opportunity for support as you study

Study support groups to test & embed your learning. After the opening webinar when we’ve met you and heard what you want from the course you’ll join a small study group with one of our senior practitioners.

The four live study support sessions on this course provide you with the opportunity to learn from each other as you work through study group assignments set specifically to draw out what you’ve all learned and help develop your skills to share with the special children in your lives.

Live Study Groups on this course will be split into two groups. At the start of the course you’ll choose either Saturday mornings at 10am or Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm.

Groups will then run: Saturday 1st or Tuesday 4th March, Sat 5th or Tues 8th April, Sat 17th or Tues 20th May and Sat 7th or Tues10th June.

Recorded video and written lessons

Course Learning At Your Fingertips via desktop, app or tablet. A course space exclusively for the students on this course can be accessed via desktop, tablet or mobile phone enabling you to access the self guided elements at the optimum time for you to learn.

Content is time released so you can pace yourself as you go. You can access the videos for three months post course for ongoing support. There are two personal assignments to work through with constructive feedback from your assigned teacher.

You will get access to the first self learning module one week before the opening webinar.

Access ends three months after the date of the final assignment.

Book now and pay one single payment or five installments

Yoga Teacher Tory shares Special Yoga in action.

Mum Charlie talks about yoga with her son

Headteacher Gail talks about yoga at her school

Student Testimonials For This Course

  • "I have absolutely loved taking part in Special Yoga!

    The tutors have been so supportive in all aspects of the course and the content is excellent. I am finding it really interesting and informative. I would really recommend this course to anyone who works with children and young people work the ASD, it will really enhance your understanding and working with these special individuals!”

    - Tracy

  • "I didn’t know what to expect but so glad I signed up.

    I love how the course encourages self awareness that enables you to love yourself. Never have I seen such a supportive network, the teachers were so nurturing and understanding. Can’t wait to start spreading the love with students the same way the teachers did with me!”

    - Ngan

  • "This makes a huge difference for children and the nervous system.

    A new toolbox with knowledge and exercises for my own self-regulation, self-care and co-regulation for children. I am so grateful for this educational course with simple and effective asanas, breathwork, chanting & sound, singing, acupressure, and mindfulness. I am surprised how well the Special Yoga method works and I enjoy using it.”

    - Anne

  • "The training gave me a great chance to deepen my knowledge

    of the practices to support neurodiversity holistically with yogic tools. As a Teaching Assistant in mainstream education, I deeply benefited from support and had the opportunity to reflect on 'resistance' and the paramount importance of self-care.”

    - Maria

  • “The course taught me so much about myself and how to support children

    and young people. The special yoga practices help to keep myself balanced. I am grateful that I am able to share these with the child and young people and their families that I support.”

    - Sophie

  • “I have thoroughly enjoyed taking this course,

    I feel that it has positively benefited my work with children and young people by teaching me to tune in to their needs, meet them where they are and have no expectations. Although the course was online I felt connected to the other students and greatly enjoyed sharing our practice and ideas. Thank you for everything, I will be recommending this course.”

    - Charlotte

  • "This is the second course I have attended with Special Yoga.

    It has taught me to actually me less anxious in myself, and as for the practice I have seen a real difference in some of the students that I have worked with I would recommend these course to anyone who was interested in taking it Thank you Special Yoga!

    - Shelley”

  • "My first course with Special Yogaew List Item

    feels like the start of an amazing journey, the methodology is so well thought through and communicated. The principle of working on yourself first and foremost is so crucial and I was so impressed by. I'm so glad I found Special Yoga! “
    - Debbie

“This course has been developed over years of experience working with these beautiful children. Our intention is to share impactful techniques and practices to enhance children’s physical, emotional and physiological well-being. “
- Jyoti Manuel

Introducing Your Teachers

Helen Jeffries

I feel really honoured to be part of the Special Yoga Team and can’t wait to bring the foundation course to the East Midlands. Knowing how this training changed my own life, it feels very special to be able to share it with others.

My professional background is in Teaching and School Leadership for Special Education. I have a degree in Creative Expressive Therapies and have also completed 200hr Yoga Teacher Training.
More recently, I've founded a non-profit Community Interest Company to share Yoga and holistic wellbeing practices with the SEND community in Leicestershire.

Finding Special Yoga has really empowered me to work more from my heart and to be lead by my values. It taught me how to genuinely care for myself, which in-turn, has transformed the way I’m able to show up for others. Sharing Special Yoga and seeing the impact it has on people’s lives is nothing short of magical!

Jyoti Jo Manuel

With her depth of knowledge and many years of experience, Jyoti Jo Manuel is recognised by many as one of the worlds leading authorities on therapeutic yoga for children. Her personal
yoga journey started in 1974 and she began teaching in 1989. 

In 2002 Jyoti founded Special Yoga, a global organisation established to provide and develop sustainable and accessible yoga programmes for children with special and additional needs. 
Special Yogas work reaches across education, therapeutic settings and within the home.
Jyoti has travelled extensively implementing Special Yoga programmes in orphanages, social care, education and health care and for paediatric therapists and psychologists.
As founder, lead and spiritual head of Special Yoga she has trained senior practitioners to support the effective and impactful delivery of Special Yoga for children with special needs meeting them wherever they are.

Claire Baker

Claire is delighted to be part of the Special Yoga practitioner family and has trained with Jyoti Manuel for over 10 years.
She has worked with children and adults with disabilities in the voluntary sector all of her working life, offering respite care, and then began to share yoga with them when she had experienced how settling it could be.
In the years since, Claire has continued her own training and worked for Special Yoga as a senior practitioner and course teacher.
She has enjoyed sharing yoga in a number of settings with children and young adults, in mainstream and special schools, with family and autism groups, online and in one-to-one sessions.
For the last couple of years Claire has lived in Cumbria where she now works for a youth development charity. Yoga continues to be her "heart" job and her passion is working with children with autism and ADHD.

On This Course You Get….

Eight and a half hours of live teaching and group study
Fifteen hours of pre-recorded videos and written lessons
Seventeen hours of self study, self practice and assignments
Total Course Time Commitment Is Around 20 Minutes Per Day
To learn from teachers with a wealth of experience supporting children with autism and ADHD
To share the joy of your exploration and use of Special Yoga with a supportive and understanding community

Book now and pay one single payment or five installments