Yoga and Stroke Archives - Page 2 of 3

May 16, 2011

Thread the Needle Pose Modifications

Thread the Needle pose releases tension in the shoulders and neck, opens up the scapular muscles and rotates the vertebrae in the upper back. These are key areas to target in people with Parkinson’s. They are also common areas of rigidity in others with restricted movement. And when the neck and shoulders are tense, it can be difficult to relax elsewhere and can even trigger tension further down the spine. The traditional expression of the pose, however, may not be a good match for someone with a movement disorder. Getting down to the mat to start in table position, for example, can be a challenge for some. In addition, balance becomes precarious after releasing one hand from the mat. Modified, this pose offers the benefits of the full pose but from a more stable base position. Standing Variation This first variation to Thread the Needle pose begins in a Tadasana, […]

May 26, 2011

Step Back

Whether jogging or practicing yoga, activities that ramp up the heart rate, strengthen, stretch and get us moving hold numerous benefits. Studies support that exercise can increase stamina, enhance balance, lessen symptom severity in chronic conditions such as Parkinson’s, help with sleep issues and so much more. But what are we supposed to do when when the meds don’t kick in at the same time we’re kicking up our sneakers? At the gym last week, I faced this very situation. Headphones on, I tuned in to my quick-beat play list and pressed Quick Start on the elliptical machine. Within minutes, my meds waned and the recent dose hadn’t seeped into my gray matter yet. My legs slowed. I listened as the drumbeat sped on without me. The options were to wait it out on a bench or in continue at half-speed. The day’s schedule had no extra time in it. […]

June 4, 2011

Yoga for Parkinson’s: The Optimistic Warrior

One of three main yogic warriors, Virabhadrasana II holds a special place in the heart of my practice. This pose builds core strength and enhances balance, a benefit to many bodies, especially those with PD, dystonia or recovering from stroke. More powerful, though, than what this pose offers physically is its manifestation of something deeper, something that grows from the heart: hope. The Pose We begin by pressing down evenly into where we’re grounded on the mat or chair. As the upper body moves into warrior II, one arm stretches back, the other extends in front. An important element of the pose, even when making modifications, is to maintain balance between the opposing reaches. Behind us, our fingertips nearly touch the past, but we don’t tilt into it. At the same time, we’re pointing toward the future, without leaning toward it. Our body remains centered between what was and what […]

July 3, 2011

Living with Parkinson’s: A Moving Experience

Sometimes, we meet individuals who change us, help us grow more into ourselves. They exude courage, acceptance, love. These qualities permeate the space between us until we, too, become more courageous, accepting, loving. I spent a full weekend surrounded by more than 40 of these very people. At the first, APDA-sponsored Parkinson’s Disease Arts & Movement Weekend, we gathered not to mourn our losses living with a degenerative disease but to celebrate the abundance of all we have, all we can do, all that we are. Together, we danced, sang, moved through yoga and Tai Chi. We learned to shift perspective of our world to that of a photographer’s eye and to create, express, and simply play with paint and color. We became, not people with PD, but dancers, yogis, artists. Courage If courage means letting go of the familiar, courage checked in to the PD Arts & Movement Weekend with […]

July 16, 2011

I Love It When I’m Right

It’s a good day when science backs up what my heart knew: Yoga improves balance, endurance in stroke recovery: Indiana University Study on Yoga and Stroke .

July 18, 2011

Butterfly Pose Modification

What’s in a name? Baddha Konasana can be an intimidating pose, particularly to someone with a restricted range of motion in the hips and torso. Call it Bound Angle Pose and it can sound downright tortuous. By referring to it as Butterfly Pose, I notice a bit less tension in the room when I’m including it in a class. Butterflies flutter, dance through the air, laze about perched on flowers. Butterfly pose can’t be that bad. And bad it’s not (unless you’ve a hip replacement or other injury that you’ll want to ask your doctor about before rotating the hip). This inner groin area gets especially tight in movement disorders. The result affects gait, balance, and tension in the lower back. Lengthening the adductors, or groin muscles, has a number of benefits. Besides improving gait and balance, this pose can help with sleep and depression. In this modification, we perch on a […]

August 28, 2011

Modifying Child’s Pose

One of the more restful of yoga positions, Balasana, or Child’s Pose, taps into an inner peacefulness. In Balasana, the spine elongates and the shoulder blades broaden, sending messages throughout the nervous system that relay an overall calming. I can recall a great number of times checking on my son when he was younger. There in his crib, he epitomized child’s pose. With bent knees supporting his upper body, his tailbone touched down between both heels, an arm stretched along each side, and he breathed that full, rhythmic breath of a sleeping child. Someone with a movement disorder, however, may find this position not only challenging but counter productive. Bent knees can trigger involuntary dorsal flexion in the feet for someone recovering from a stroke. Pressure on the feet of a person living with Parkinson’s or dystonia can result in painful cramping in the toes or plantar area. That said, those […]

November 4, 2011

Haiku Yoga

It could be said that haiku is the yoga of poetry. The art of this traditionally seventeen-syllable piece rests in words that flow into a focused, present, meditative form. The beauty of yoga lies in the mind-body that flow into a focused, present, meditative form. I like to read poetry in yoga class, weaving the heart of the quotation or stanza through our asana practice. Today in class, we created our own words to move by. At the start of class, we took turns around the circle. Each of us listed one word that, to us, represents yoga. We moved through the warm-ups and poses, the adjectives and verbs in the air around us. Following savasana, they were turned into pure poetry: Council on Aging Yoga Class Haiku #1: Fun concentration focuses on opening, stretching attitude Council on Aging Yoga Class Haiku #2: Relax into peace, movement brings serenity pleasure, […]

November 30, 2011

Sign Up

A beautiful yoga studio sign! It stands, however, on the brick sidewalk outside the door of local clothing boutique. The bottom of it offers holiday gift cards for the shop. The sign struck me more, though, for the true gift it offers during this rushed holiday season: Breathe. Be present. Enjoy. Perhaps we all need a joyous reminder to keep from getting caught up in the next several weeks of To Dos and To Buys. As a person with PD, the sign’s living and being approach helps reduce the stresses that come with this time of year, stresses that can exacerbate my symptoms. It’s a yogic reminder that brings me back into the moment and out of past and future worries. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, may many eyes rest on this sign. Enjoy the beauty, moment to moment.

December 5, 2011

Yoga Teacher Training

Dear Yoga Teachers, If he or she hasn’t already, someone with Parkinson’s will attend your class. Or it may be someone recovering from a stroke. Or living with MS. Not only are there more and more yoga students living with a movement disorder, the number under the age of 60 with these diagnoses is increasing. And this growing population is turning to yoga. Ahimsa leads us to approach with compassion, which, considering the yoga teachers I’ve met over the years, is a given. Satya and asteya also influence that approach. With satya in mind, its truth dictates that meeting the special needs of a student with a movement disorder requires more than compassion. Considering asteya, we’d be stealing from our students’ time and effort if we didn’t try to meet those special needs with specialized training. Please consider learning more about strategies for managing rigidity, tremor, dystonia and balance and safety […]