102 Yoga for Speech-Language Development
of the throat and the act of communication. An adult might name
the seven colors of the chakra system during a chant associated
with this system exposing the child to the color words in a new
context. This is another example of the developmental principle
of old forms for new functions.
Numbers are another conceptual domain that could also be
incorporated into children’s yoga practice. This could be achieved
in various ways. The number modifiers “first” through “seventh”
could be named in conjunction with each of the chakras. In
addition, the numbers one through ten could be named as children
spread their fingers or toes for various poses. For example, children
could count their ten fingers as they spread them for the cat-cow
sequence. Similarly, children could count their ten toes as they
lift and spread them for mountain pose. They could also count as
they extend their ten fingers pretending to grow leaves from their
branches in tree pose. Using yoga to facilitate pretend play will be
the focus of the next chapter.
Numerical concepts could be incorporated as children practice
rocket ship pose, which involves starting in chair pose, then
bending their legs deeper and lowering their body toward the floor
as they count down from ten to zero at which point they blast off
by “shooting” their body toward the sky. Numerical concepts could
also be integrated as children silently count the duration of the
inhalation and exhalation phases of their breathing cycle while
the adult guides this activity by counting out loud (Garabedian
2008). The adult could count out loud for a number of seconds
while children hold a new or familiar pose (Flynn 2013). In this
instance, the adult provides a model of the numbers while the
child listens. A children’s version of the sun salutation that has
the tune of the familiar children’s rhyme “one-two buckle my
shoe” provides another opportunity to practice the numbers one
through ten.