Yoga for Parkinson's disease: Video tips for bringing calm to your life
Mind- body approaches are important to restore balance in the busy and sometimes crazy world around us. Most of us are plagued by endless texts, intrusions from social media and continuous “bad” news in the media. Starting a mind-body practice can be daunting. I (I.S.) worked with Matthew Sanford in a deliberate effort to create an assortment of short videos and discussions revealing the simplicity and power of yoga and related practices. Matthew Sanford is the author of Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence. He is the founder and director of the non-profit organization Mind Body Solutions. He teaches adaptable yoga and is passionate about bringing yoga to as many people as possible. He has been a champion for using yoga in persons living with disabilities.
“When Matthew Sanford was just thirteen, his family’s car skidded off an overpass on an icy Iowa road — killing his father and sister, paralyzing him from the chest down, and changing his life forever.”
In one video from the series, we (I.S. and M.S.) discuss the sensations of “connection” and “disconnection” — connecting the body to breathing. We practice a technique called “grounding” —- connecting to the feet and the sitting bones.
We talk about the importance of combatting loneliness. Loneliness is an important risk factor for many poor health outcomes ranging from increased mortality, to increased risk of depression, anxiety, to increased risk of dementia. In Parkinson’s disease, being lonely is as bad for you as the beneficial effects of exercising seven days a week for 30 min a day is good for you. Some practices like yoga and mindfulness can help us feel connected to others when we do them in a group and even when we do them through virtual modalities.
https://youtu.be/zFvbc2iS-nk
In video #2 of the series, we talk about developing inward and outward awareness. We use awareness to help relax the muscles where we carry tension and where we package stress. We work towards relaxing the body to increase the sense of calm— in a deliberate effort to combat anxiety. We also use the breath to help tap into the autonomic nervous system and to help elicit the relaxation response. People living with Parkinson’s disease frequently find that anxiety is a tough symptom to treat. Many pharmacological treatments for anxiety are not well tolerated or may lead to nausea or unsteadiness on one’s feet. We believe that:
Using integrative medicine approaches such as yoga and mindfulness can help to combat anxiety and to restore a place of calm.
These practices can also help pain, sleep, depression and cognition.
To watch the interview with Matthew Sanford and Indu Subramanian see below:
https://youtu.be/qMmxzvz_LW0
To read more books and articles by Michael S. Okun MD check on Twitter @MichaelOkun and these websites with blogs and information on his books and http://parkinsonsecrets.com/ #Livingwith Parkinson’s #EndingPD #Parkinsonsecrets #LessonsFromTheBedside
He also serves as the Medical Advisor for the Parkinson’s Foundation.
To see more on Dr. Indu Subramanian she does live interviews of experts in Parkinson’s for the PMD Alliance.