Visual Yoga | Multimedia Newsroom

By: Bianca Moragne, Lexy Simmons, Charlie Pearce

There are around 60,000 Austinites who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Many of whom care about their fitness and health but do not have access to a comfortable place to learn and workout. Total Wellness Austin?s new Visual Yoga classes offer a solution.

Visual Yoga, taught by speech language pathologist Megan Sears, makes yoga accessible to Austin?s large Deaf community and those with and without hearing impairments.

Sears uses ASL in Visual Yoga class ? Photo Credit: Lexy Simmons

Total Wellness Austin is one of the only centers in Austin that provides Yoga classes and a welcoming environment for the Deaf community.

?I try to create a welcoming environment for everyone, those with hearing or with hearing impairments,? Sears said. ?So hopefully they are enjoying it and I think they are.?

The biggest challenge for Deaf people trying to stay fit or get into shape is the communication barrier, said?Deaf UT sophomore and member of the Deaf community, Christy Hediger.

?American Sign Language is very visual and even though we are also fluent in English, we may not perceive the verbal or written instructions the same way as hearing people without visual aids,? Hediger said.

Sears aspires to one day learn American Sign Language in order to communicate to the Deaf during class. For now, she uses visuals to help the members into their postures by using cue-cards and pictures, models the

poses and then assists them with their own movements by manipulating

their bodies.?When one of my students who is hearing impaired has their head down, I have to make sure they are with my by physically touching them or find a way to gain their attention,? Sears said. ?There are a lot of challenges, so I have to go beyond just using auditory cues and actually manipulate the movements of the students.?

Picture cues, models and the use of a whiteboard aid Deaf students?during Visual Yoga ? Photo Credit: Lexy Simmons

Life-long swimmer and a profoundly Deaf member of the Deaf community, Duggan Baker, has always faced great difficulty following his coaches? instructions that were directed towards hearing swimmers in the pool.

Baker usually wears powerful behind-the-ear hearing aids, and can hear fairly well in most situations, but can?t in the pool so he ?s had a hard time understanding spoken instructions. Despite those difficulties, Baker swam for the U.S. Deaf Swim Team in the Deaflympics in Taipei, Taiwan in 2009. There he noticed the ease that ASL?instruction?can offer both Deaf and hearing.

?Our coach communicated through ASL. The difference between the coaching I received from my hearing coaches on my high school team and the coaching I received at the Deaflympics was remarkable,? Baker said.

?Due to the visual nature of sign language, I could understand technique instructions in sign language better than I could understand spoken instructions. There are situations where it is harder for the Deaf or profoundly Deaf to understand spoken instructions, especially when you are focused on working out and breaking a sweat. It becomes difficult to divide attention between trying to understand spoken instructions and exhausting yourself physically.?

Sears assits students into positions ? Photo Credit: Lexy Simmons

Baker hopes the same benefits of ASL usage will be seen in the Visual Yoga classes.

?It just makes it easier for those who need to receive instructions in ASL rather than spoken English. I?m sure it would be much easier for deaf yogis to improve their yoga technique and increase the value of their overall yoga experience,? Baker said. ?The same sentiment applies to all other athletic classes. Technique and effectiveness of exercise can only increase with an increased understanding of the instructions given for each individual sport. I think everyone deserves equal access to good coaching and instruction when it comes to athletic classes such as these.?

According to Lori Massud, owner of Total Wellness Austin, one of her main goals when starting a business was to be involved in the community and provide them with something that would benefit their health. Starting a Visual Yoga class seemed to be the perfect move.

?The Deaf Community was trying to find a place where they could take classes, but there was no one that would let them in,? Massud said. ?I just felt like well, I have an opening in my time and why not share it with someone that wants it.?

Lori Massud ? Photo Credit: Charlie Pearce

Sears first got involved with Total Wellness Austin as a student and said that the response so far has been well and above anything else they imagined.

Taking time to assist each individual member requires that there be enough space for the instructor to move about easily. Massud said the class sizes are small in order to provide the best experience for everyone.

?I don?t want someone who is hearing impaired to be struggling because they can?t see or they couldn?t get the teacher?s attention,? Massud said. ?So we keep the class small and intimate and there is a high level of communication going on between the teachers and the students.?

Sears and Massud hope to continue using Visual Yoga as a way to encourage the Deaf community to continue improving their lives by staying healthy and fit.
They hope to expand the program even more and purchase a projector that will allow videos to be played with captioning. Sears said she would love for Yoga teachers to eventually be able to go out to the Deaf school.

?Visual yoga can provide several benefits, not only is it a positive activity to get into or stay in shape, it allows Deaf and hearing people to come together and actively participate in something that is healthy,? Hediger said.

Visual Yoga ? Photo Credit: Lexy Simmons

Visual Yoga Photo Slideshow

Disclaimer: Due to the?uncontrollability?of Visual Yoga?participation?there is no Deaf or hard of hearing student in the photos or video.

Source: http://multimedianewsroom.us/visual-yoga.htm

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