{"id":90316,"date":"2018-05-01T10:38:01","date_gmt":"2018-05-01T17:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/?p=90316"},"modified":"2018-05-03T17:52:41","modified_gmt":"2018-05-04T00:52:41","slug":"bea-ammidown-yogability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/archives\/90316-bea-ammidown-yogability","title":{"rendered":"Bea Ammidown and the YogAbility Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

This article & interview by Paula Fitzgerald was originally published in Ability Magazine<\/a>,<\/span><\/em> and is posted here with their permission.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The YogAbility Institute<\/a> in Santa Monica, CA offers a therapeutic approach to yoga for people with disabilities and special needs.<\/em><\/p>\n

Its founder, Bea Ammidown, is an MSIA Minister and certified yoga therapist, and former journalist who wrote for Life Magazine and the LA Times before a head-on collision in 1985 changed the course of her life.<\/em><\/p>\n

Through four years of rehabilitation, yoga proved instrumental to her healing, so Ammidown embraced yoga therapy as her life\u2019s work.\u00a0<\/em>A highly personalized approach, yoga therapy is based on an assessment of an individual\u2019s physical, mental,\u00a0emotional, and psychological states.\u00a0<\/em>A therapist develops an individualized plan so a student can practice yoga tailored to his or her specific needs and that, over time, alleviates pain and enhances well being.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nearly 80 years young and nimble, Ammidown teaches classes around town and in her home studio, six days a week. A mother of three and a grandmother of six, she shows no signs of slowing down. She\u2019s done numerous videos, including a DVD, Special Needs Yoga. Being a senior, she says, helps her relate to her students, especially those with special needs.<\/em><\/p>\n

On a recent, warm fall day, Paula Fitzgerald of\u00a0Ability Magazine<\/a><\/span><\/strong> chatted by phone with Bea about Bea’s mission, her approach to teaching, and where she gets her indefatigable energy.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Paula Fitzgerald:<\/strong> Tell me about your journey to yoga. What hooked you?<\/p>\n

Bea Ammidown:<\/strong> (laughs) Well, I was born with loose joints, as they say. My physical therapist says I\u2019m \u201cbendy\u201d rather than flexible. So as a little girl, being kind of double-jointed, I loved doing backbends and splits and dancing, which is what yoga is about\u2014being connected to one\u2019s body. That always gave me great pleasure. Then, after I\u2019d moved to California, I found a book on yoga by Richard Hittleman. That was in 1962. I thought, \u201cOh, that looks good. Let me do a little something at home.\u201d By the early \u201870s, I learned about yoga classes and good teachers. One was through UCLA Extension, so I became a student there. Many years later, I was in a very serious accident, having done yoga for years, and recuperated after surgeries and various procedures and I thought, \u201cWell, whatever I have been able to do for myself, I\u2019d love to share a lot of that with others with special needs, and I\u2019d love to put together programs and classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

I trained at YogaWorks in Santa Monica, which involved years of study. I stopped doing journalism and started giving little classes and then more classes followed. I loved what I was experiencing personally, which also helped my writing, so I taught yoga and writing for years. I continue to do that in special classes and workshops.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> And when did you start the YogAbility Institute?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> In 1999. We are a nonprofit organization that was started on the coattails of my first nonprofit called HumoRx-Laugh Wagons, a program inspired by Norman Cousins\u2019 book, Anatomy of an Illness, and our friendship. He called it psychoneuroimmunology. He showed himself funny movies and said, \u201cTake less pain medication, because with affirmative emotions we truly assist the immune system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> Scientists have proven that, haven\u2019t they?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Oh, they certainly have. They continue to prove it with blood tests and other kinds of tests.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> Is the institute primarily for people with a range of different disabilities and special needs as well as people who can do regular yoga classes?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Yes! I do point out that everybody has sensibilities and special needs and areas where they want more attention. That\u2019s what a yoga therapist, who must have the right kind of training, offers. It requires thousands of hours of training. So it sounds very daunting and impressive, but I never stop learning how to approach a student, how to approach myself, and how to be present with my practice.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> I watched some of your videos, and you have such a nurturing style and a lovely way of relating to students.<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Well, thank you!<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> In one video, I noticed a young woman doing yoga in a wheelchair.<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Yes, she\u2019s been coming for almost 20 years, and she was here this morning. She\u2019s now 35. I started working with her when she was 18. It\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> What are her particular challenges and how does yoga therapy help her?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> She has cerebral palsy. Her mother wrote a testimonial about what she observed the experience was like for her daughter. In 2007, she wrote this:<\/p>\n

After four and a half years of weekly YogAbility classes, my daughter has developed better balance, body positioning, awareness and concentration, confidence, community-building, interactions, social graces, and her skills are enhanced. She is so proud and delighted with her accomplishments.<\/em><\/p>\n

And just today, I came across a 2007 issue of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, and in one of the abstracts, I found this:<\/p>\n

The delights and benefits of yoga for cerebral palsy: a case history.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ever since she began with me, I\u2019ve said, \u201cWhatever you\u2019re learning, you can share with other people. I\u2019d like you to realize that you are in a special education yoga teachers\u2019 training course.\u201d So every year I give her a little exam and have her teach some part of the regular class that I give. She just loves doing this.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> I bet! So tell me, how does a yoga therapy class differ from a studio yoga class?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Well, studio classes, the ones at gyms, for example, are usually filled with students, and the teacher usually does not ask about specifics. I always ask very specific questions. They can tell me if they have any sensibilities, any issues, and any areas of the body I should be aware of. I also always ask whether they like being adjusted or even touched.<\/p>\n

Some people don\u2019t want to be. I feel that\u2019s a very important and respectful way of giving a class. In a regular yoga class, you get a set routine. There\u2019s often music, sometimes too loud, and not pleasing to some people. One could say it\u2019s quite impersonal. Or the very, very hot power ones where people are sweating all over the place\u2014that cannot be very pleasant.<\/p>\n

But then you\u2019ve got classes led by instructors who are aware, conscious, and respectful of people. Yoga studios are on every corner, like Starbuck\u2019s. It\u2019s important to be very mindful of who you\u2019re practicing and studying with and ask the people at the studio, \u201cTell me about the instructors.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a newly-owned yoga studio where I\u2019m now teaching called Mandala Center in Santa Monica. I teach a class there once a week for seniors and those with special needs of all ages, as well as at the YMCA, the cancer center, and in my own home studio. But at Mandala, they\u2019re so aware and conscious of who they hire as teachers. You can click the name and read a complete r\u00e9sum\u00e9 on each one. In my studio classes, I want to sit with someone, but not for too long, because my classes aren\u2019t more than an hour long. At the YMCA they\u2019re only 45 minutes, and it\u2019s chair yoga, which I also offer at my studio.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> It sounds like your classes are extremely customized.<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Exactly! That\u2019s what viniyoga is, in the vernacular. It means adapted for the person. If you have a bunch of people in the class, how can that be given? I could say that\u2019s a challenge, certainly for anyone new, but, fortunately, I\u2019ve taught for quite a few years, and I do look around and observe and then support students in doing what is appropriate and safe.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> Is there a particular type of yoga that\u2019s more suitable to someone with special needs?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong>\u00a0It depends on the special needs, doesn\u2019t it? I\u2019ve had students with severe autism. One young man used to sometimes come with two caregivers. He wore braces and was screaming and hitting himself. \u00a0And after a class with the right music and the right words, the right environment, the right support, including the caregiver and me, he was calmer. I always like to include the caregiver to see how they can take in what I\u2019m offering and doing.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> So the caregiver gets to do yoga, too?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> A bit, yes. I depends on the caregiver. I\u2019ve had many, many who participated.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> With children who have severe autism, what kinds of changes do you see in them over time or even from just one class?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> From one class, I couldn\u2019t say, but for instance, one boy, who was maybe 16 or 17 when he started, was able to relax and even smile; he no longer yelled and hit. His braces were taken off. It became a very soothing, supportive time for stretching and feeling his accomplishment. We used some of the differently sized balls for him to roll around on\u2014it was just lovely.<\/p>\n

And there are some pictures of us together. I\u2019ve written about him as a case history. And then there are the children with Down syndrome who I\u2019ve just loved being with. I\u2019ve worked with one family since their son was three years old. He wasn\u2019t really ill, but they needed someone to help him go down a slide and different things like that. He\u2019s now in his twenties and he\u2019s a soccer champion.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> That\u2019s wonderful!<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> He even takes yoga classes now. So his story is a beautiful one. His parents are terrific. I would go to his home, and I would ask his siblings or a parent to participate if they were available. It became a community event.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> So you make house calls, too?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Yes. I did then. I make fewer now.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> When you teach, do you incorporate different modalities, such as music?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Yes. If I don\u2019t know the people, I\u2019ll ask if they like soft music. In private classes, I ask, and I absolutely respect and honor their wishes. But it also depends on my own mood. Sometimes I want the silence as well. And I like them to hear their own breath. That can be very effective and relaxing and a game to bring the awareness. At the YMCA, I always play some music, but it\u2019s very soft.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> Do you ever do yoga in the water?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Yes. I\u2019ve taught in a friend\u2019s pool through the years. It\u2019s a very shallow pool and it\u2019s warm, and to do yoga in a pool is just heaven. My other regular student who has cerebral palsy\u2014 she drives and lives with her boyfriend and has a job and everything\u2014 had me come to her pool at a gym and give her appropriate exercises to do in the pool. That was marvelous, doing yoga in a pool.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> I\u2019m curious how you tailor yoga poses for people in wheelchairs or those who have extremely limited mobility.<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> I\u2019ve had quite a few students who are paraplegics. The bridge pose is a really good one. If their legs are down or their legs are out, there are ways of tightening the glutes and imagining you\u2019re lifting your pelvis, that is if they have awareness in that area. Those that can, I have them hold their arms out to the side making circles using weights. I have weights of all sizes and some that go around their ankles and wrists to help build strength. And then there\u2019s just being able to lean forward with the right kind of back support. That can be very nice. You can put five or 10-pound weights on top of the thighs or knees, or sitting down with their legs out straight, as straight as they can have them. I have bolsters of all sizes and shapes that are utilized for the right kind of support for the right kind of condition. Breathing is the most important. That\u2019s where it begins.<\/p>\n

Of course, we know that\u2019s how it ends. I\u2019ve practiced for years at different assisted living places and have had 10 to 20 men and women, and if all they\u2019re doing is breathing and being present, they\u2019re doing yoga.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> Can you gauge healing in somebody with special needs?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> I can\u2019t, but they can. (laughs) It depends on what they\u2019re healing. With broken bones or bad shoulders, that\u2019s one thing. Mental and emotional healing, we know that\u2019s different, but we also know yoga means \u201cconnection,\u201d that\u2019s how we connect our body\u2019s talking and feeling to the mind and to the heart, to the spirit. Having been through that really serious accident in 1985, I came back to the US and had 15 different surgeries and a leg shortened. I had to learn to walk and talk again.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> And your yoga practice helped you through the surgeries and recovery?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Yes, fortunately, I\u2019d done yoga for years, and I had support from people. I\u2019d decided to move forward and began swimming as often as I could in my neighbor\u2019s pool. Someone had to carry me to and from the pool. I also worked out on a stationary bike to build my muscles, and I saw I was going to come back to my regular self. I had to have a leg shortened. I didn\u2019t want to wear a built-up shoe anymore, because I like to dance and walk and hike, so I saw that what I could do for myself I might be able to share with others.<\/p>\n

And then two years ago, I fell off a curb on my way to take a computer training class. I was carrying things that were too heavy, and my eyesight had been also very badly damaged in the accident. I fell off a curb, and I broke both my arms and wrists.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> Oh, that\u2019s awful!<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> It was terrible. For two months, I had both arms in a cast up to my armpits. I had to be taken care of. I had to be washed and fed. But I taught yoga probably the next day.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> You\u2019re kidding?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> I\u2019m not kidding.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> How were you able to do that?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> I sat in a chair. I\u2019m telling you, when I am doing my own practice, let\u2019s say I even had a bad cold\u2014of course, if I had a fever I wouldn\u2019t do it\u2014but if I had a bad cold, and I\u2019m not sniffling, I do my yoga, and I feel all right. And then I\u2019ll go back to bed and be sick. Sometimes that happens.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> How do you see your mission as a yoga instructor?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> My mission is to be able to give back from the abundance and wealth that I have. It\u2019s to be able to reach the right people at the right time to share, instruct, educate, and inspire them through my on-going training about how they can use their bodies to feel better, think better, do better, and make a difference in the world.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> Do you have a favorite pose?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> I do. It\u2019s the shoulder stand. That was a favorite when I was pregnant with my daughter in \u201862. I just love being in this inverted position. But nowadays, because of different reasons, I use a block so I can get my legs up, and it\u2019s just marvelous. But then, I also love down dog. I did so much of that already today. I\u2019ve given two classes and taken one class already today.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> You do yoga with such enthusiasm and joy. How do you keep your energy up?<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> I do. Of course, we know about the importance of nutrition. And I still drink coffee and have ice cream. (laughs)<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> That\u2019s good. You\u2019ve got to make time for the little joys.<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Yeah! In addition to nutrition, it\u2019s also a connection to spirit and to my higher power. My spiritual world and life is present. I pray to grow more effectively each day. It\u2019s knowing how to give back and be open to receive, too.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald:<\/strong> A lot of people scale back in their 60s and 70s, but you seem revved up, ready to go.<\/p>\n

Ammidown:<\/strong> Yes, I would say now more than ever. Being around the right people is really important.\u00a0Not turning on the news at night. Having the right literature, the right sounds, the right silence. That\u2019s how.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

You can visit Bea’s website at yogability.org<\/a> or email to her at bea@yogability.org<\/a><\/p>\n

If you are interested in Ability Magazine<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, you can receive a complimentary subscription to their digital magazine\u00a0<\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article & interview by Paula Fitzgerald was originally published in Ability Magazine, and is posted here with their permission. The YogAbility Institute in Santa Monica, CA offers a therapeutic approach to yoga for people with disabilities and special needs. Its founder, Bea Ammidown, is an MSIA Minister and certified yoga therapist, and former journalist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":90353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[263,266,257],"tags":[3466,154,1364,345],"class_list":["post-90316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-spotlight","category-featured","category-ndh-archives","tag-interviews","tag-ministry","tag-service","tag-yoga"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msia.org\/newdayherald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}