16 Yoga for Speech-Language Development
occur on exhalation. Coordination of the breath with the yoga
poses allows increased blood flow and oxygenation in the body
(Williams 2010). A well-oxygenated body, and specifically brain,
may positively impact overall learning.
In the west, hatha yoga is the most commonly known form
of yoga. The word “ha” means sun, and “tha” means moon. Hatha
yoga seeks to unite these opposite forces and find balance.
Hatha yoga is the physical practice of the poses in conjunction
with the breath. It involves safely challenging the body in
poses while keeping the breath steady to find the balance between
effort and ease. Proper alignment of the parts of the body opens
the energy channels, especially the main energy channel in the
spine. This results in a strong, flexible, balanced body, which leads
to a balanced mind.
Yogic meditation
During meditation, the third component of yoga, the focus
shifts from the distractions of the external world to the silence
of the inner one. Concentration is the beginning of meditation.
Concentration on an “object,” such as a sound, candle flame, or
picture, can provide a single point of focus to begin meditation.
Another path to meditation is the practice of “mindfulness,”
which involves the nonjudgmental observation of thoughts,
feelings, bodily sensations, and the surrounding environment
from moment to moment (Alkalay 2001). Originally an
ancient Buddhist tradition, mindfulness has become a popular
contemporary subject of investigation and discussion, especially in
the field of psychology. In 1979, researcher and leader in the area
of mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn, introduced his Mindfulness-
Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of
Massachusetts Medical School. Since then, numerous studies
have documented the physical and mental benefits of MBSR and