Yoga offers benefits that go beyond health and fitness. A new class in Oakland Park aims to bring a social element to those with learning differences.
Peggy Costantini launched Halfmoon Yoga with the goal of creating a get-together for young adults with autism spectrum disorder and other challenges. The free, monthly session teaches yoga at a gentle pace for participants older than 18.
“I bring it down several notches from a regular yoga class,” Costantini said. “People in the spectrum with physical and mental disabilities are a little stiffer than some people and a little slower in processing speed. Sometimes they can’t verbalize exactly how they’re feeling.”
Costantini, a registered nurse for Holy Cross Hospital, is a certified yoga instructor with 18 years of experience. But it’s raising a 22-year-old son with autism that makes her uniquely qualified to teach.
“People with autism can be socially awkward. I wanted to put like-minded people together to help build his friend base,” she said.
Her son Michael Costantini recently moved back home after graduating from College Internship Program, a private postsecondary school in Melbourne, Florida.
During her son’s time in school, Costantini taught during fitness events there and learned to understand the behavior and communication styles.
“You have to give them a little more time and give them some compassion — make everyone feel equal and included,” she said. “They want to be like everybody else and do what everybody else does, but they’re not always invited.”
Costantini welcomes parents to attend the class if it helps a child acclimate to the group. And hopefully, parents will develop a social network of their own, she said.
Michael Costantini said he enjoys the social aspect of yoga classes, although he prefers the high-action moves of karate.
“Michael’s very social. Not all kids are,” Peggy Costantini said. Others may be “highly intelligent” but need help reaching out to others.
In addition to meeting with peers, learning the practice of yoga also expands a person’s coping ability, she said.
“The thing that’s important with yoga for any of us is the breathing. It’s not so much posture,” Costantini said. “Learn to breath and develop the practice. … It’s been a wonderful thing for me and I thought a great thing to share with these kids.”
The next Halfmoon Yoga session takes place Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library, 1298 NE 37th St. in Oakland Park, at 11 a.m. For more information, email halfmoon63@gmail.com.
