Two-year-old Elisabeth Tucker is too young to know that her downward-facing dog, a yoga position that brings her into an upside-down V, may relieve her asthma symptoms. She scurries across the room of a Marlborough yoga studio, pigtails bobbing, while her instructor, Helen Garabedian, gently coaxes her back into the group that includes her twin brother, Benjamin.

She may not yet understand why she is doing this, but the deep breathing and stretching techniques young Elisabeth is learning have already helped her cope with her asthma, according to her mother, Cheryl Tucker, of Marlborough.

Last April, when Elisabeth was admitted into the intensive care unit at Children's Hospital in Boston for an asthma attack, her mother turned to yoga poses and deep breathing to help her daughter feel comfortable and calm.

``She was on albuterol hourly, which made her extremely hyper, so it was great to have something that was familiar to Elisabeth and something that brought her body into calmness,'' Tucker said. The deep-breathing techniques Tucker has been teaching her daughter since she was a baby also allow Elisabeth to inhale her medicine more deeply, she said.

Yoga for children has been growing in popularity for some time, as parents have sought to pass on what for them has been a healthy, peaceful practice. But increasingly, parents in the region are seeing yoga as a way to supplement their children's treatments for conditions as diverse as asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, apraxia, and Asperger's syndrome.

``I think it makes a complete difference,'' said Jennifer Gorgone, a yoga facilitator at the Center for Yoga in Framingham. ``It is believed that many ailments can be cured through yoga - that's a belief system that many people hold. I have seen it used as an enhancement or to aid in whatever else is being used.''

Madison, a 4-year-old girl from Northborough, has apraxia, a condition that affects her speech and fine motor skills. Her mother, Hope, who asked that the family's last name not be used, has been bringing Madison to yoga classes to improve the muscle tone in her back. But Hope said she believes yoga has aided her daughter in numerous ways.

``I do think yoga is helpful or I wouldn't be doing it,'' she said. ``It helps with her motor planning and has the wonderful benefit of mind-body connection. It has really helped her connect with her body when there was a challenge there.''

Born prematurely at 29 weeks and weighing only 2 pounds at birth, Lauren George, now 7, takes daily medications for asthma and steroids in winter to alleviate allergies to dust, perfume, and pollution. Her mother, Lisa George, attended two yoga sessions with Lauren and said they now practice yoga poses and breathing techniques for 15 to 20 minutes a day at home in Shrewsbury.

``We definitely notice she breathes much better,'' George said. ``We think it's helped her lung capacity and has taught her how to relax her body. She was a preemie and had [muscle] stiffness anyways, so the stretching has helped.''

Trisha Lamb Feuerstein, director of research at the California-based Yoga Research and Education Center and co-editor of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, said the number of children doing yoga has increased, and many have taken it up to treat a medical condition, such as asthma.

``There's quite a lot of research on that, and yes, it can be helpful improving lung function,'' she said. `` There's a lot of fear associated with asmtha. [Yoga is] a good general tonic for fear. It helps us be relaxed with our bodies and our minds.''

Still, whether yoga is indeed able to cure such disorders is a matter of debate.

Dr. Eugenia Marcus, a pediatrician with Pediatric Health Care at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and past president of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said anything that increases fitness and muscle tone is beneficial for children. But she said there is no evidence that yoga cures asthma or other illnesses.

``It's not going to cure [attention deficit disorder] or asthma, but it can contribute to lessening stress. To the extent that stress may aggravate those conditions, it might be helpful,'' Marcus said.

While Marcus recommends that parents be cautious about sending children younger than 14 to the yoga mat, she said using yoga as a supplemental treatment is unlikely to be harmful - unless parents substitute it for traditional medical treatment.

``In that case, it would really be doing the kid a disservice,'' Marcus said.

Medway resident Judy Giovangelo, a yoga instructor, is so confident in the benefits of yoga that she uses the techniques to assist with her own children's special needs.

Her 12-year-old son, Benjamin, has obsessive-compulsive disorder. Giovangelo said Benjamin has learned to use yoga to help him breathe, focus, and center himself, which in turn helps him to deal with fears related to his condition.

Meanwhile, Giovangelo's 10-year-old daughter, Jenna, has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She, too, uses yoga to help reduce some of the related symptoms. She is finding that her ability to focus is improving, according to her mother.

One of Giovangelo's yoga students has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome - a condition that falls within the autism spectrum.

``The girl with Asperger's was unbelievable,'' Giovangelo said. ``She'd sit on the mat and do absolutely nothing. Eventually, she'd go home and show her family everything we did that day. She was learning on a whole different level, but she in fact was [learning], and each time she'd come back, she became more and more engaged. She now comes running into my classroom.''

Many parents of special-needs children are attracted simply to the noncompetitive nature of yoga and how it can include all individuals, regardless of ability, in a single group.

``Some of the children with special needs go to all these private people'' and get occupational or physical therapy, ``yet they don't get the interaction with the group,'' said Karen Bailey-Cawrse, a yoga instructor from Northborough. ``Yoga takes away the onerous [component] of that - they're part of the community.''

While Tucker's children are still quite young, she said yoga has been a very positive experience, one she hopes will benefit them throughout their lives.

``Elisabeth and Benjamin seem more in tune to their bodies, and I feel like they're really learning control and balance,'' she said. ``Simple things they'd learn in other places, but this is such a nurturing place.''

By Clare Leschin-Hoar, Globe Correspondent

© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.