yoga for brain injuries
For people recovering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussion, or head injury, yoga offers a gentle exercise with therapeutic benefits. Many survivors find themselves unable to follow previous ways of staying fit. Balance, loss of motor control, vertigo difficulties, and neck injuries limit physical activity, further restricting an already restricted lifestyle. Fortunately, a yoga practice can be adapted to any illness or injury, lending itself particularly well to TBI recovery.
Where to start? With the recent popularity of yoga in the West, students can now choose anything from hot yoga to Kundalini to Ashtanga. People with neck or back injuries, as well as head trauma, probably want to start with a trained Iyengar yoga teacher, who uses props to support proper alignment without strain. Kripalu-trained teachers also tend to offer calmer, more restful classes. Any yoga class that emphasizes flow (though not too fast) will help retrain sequential processing, a boon for people who have sustained left-brain or rational-brain damage. A vinyasa sequence links breath and movement, emphasizing step-by-step progression in a set order. Learning and remembering such movements through repetition becomes a form of cognitive therapy.
Before beginning a yoga practice, survivors should speak with their treatment providers, as well as their intended yoga instructor. Most teachers ask about injuries at the beginning of class, but few people understand the intricacies of TBI on their own. Explain any unusual sensitivities or restrictions you experience, and ask the instructor for recommendations within your own class, or suggestions on where to find more compatible classes. Yoga is supposed to support and nourish growth, not exhaust the body and nervous system.
For this reason, survivors may initially want to steer clear of Kundalini Yoga or Bikram Yoga, both of which offer intense workouts. Kundalini Yoga aims to awaken latent energy potential, which sounds like a good thing for TBI survivors. In fact, it can be of great help, once the neurons have stopped failing and “shorting out.” However, most survivors mistime their stamina and are easily overstimulated. Kundalini Yoga works powerfully on subtle levels, making energy levels more difficult to monitor. Sometimes the quickly awakened kundalini proves too much for a sensitive TBI survivor. Bikram Yoga is done in a very hot room, moving quickly through postures that encourage sweating of toxins. As with Kundalini, Bikram’s followers praise its benefits. However, for a hypersensitive survivor, Bikram’s excessive heat, body odor, and physical appearance make it a less safe option. At first, look for class titles like: “Fixer”, “Beginner”, “Iyengar”, “Kripalu”, and “Smooth”.
Yoga Journal offers many DVDs, should survivors prefer to learn in the comfort of their own homes. Start with short sessions to build mental and physical stamina. Twenty-minute DVDs allow survivors a sense of accomplishment, without the potential fatigue caused by hour- to hour-and-a-half-long face-to-face classes. Downward Dog Productions with Sarah Bates also offers accessible yoga DVD workouts designed especially for people with disabilities. Yoga exercises at home eliminate most of the expense of learning yoga, as survivors can invest in a DVD or two to practice each day, instead of paying for the class each time. On the other hand, a good yoga teacher can customize routines to support the unique health challenges of survivors.
In addition to sculpting strong, lean muscles and naturally realigning the spine, yoga offers TBI survivors the opportunity to reconnect with their bodies in a positive way. Robin Cohn, a TBI survivor and vice president of the New York State Brain Injury Association, recognized the transformative effects of yoga on her own recovery: “I started with a gentle beginner yoga class, where I slowly began to move the atrophied muscles again. The more I went, the better I began to feel.” Inspired, she began co-teaching yoga classes designed especially for other survivors. “These students are so excited to have the opportunity to practice yoga and reap the wonderful benefits of asana and pranayama (breathwork)… The happiness, tranquility and peace that yoga brings them is so rewarding! Their smiles just make it say a lot about how happy they are to be practicing.”
Yoga brings awareness of over 5,000 years of connecting the human body, mind and spirit. It began as a means to calm the endocrine system and relax the body so practitioners could sit longer in meditation. Its calming, strengthening, and relaxing effects make it an ideal practice for TBI survivors whose systems are running under constant overload. Slowing down and focusing on yourself can help anyone deal with stress. However, for TBI survivors, yoga offers insight into more than just “normal” functioning; Yoga also provides the opportunity for optimal health and well-being. Many practitioners experience peace and self-acceptance for the first time in their lives, even before the injury. Yoga becomes part of a larger awakening (facilitated by TBI), helping survivors find and appreciate the hidden blessings of their journey.