Yoga for Brain Injury

for people recovering from traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussion or head trauma, yoga offers a gentle exercise with therapeutic benefits. Many survivors find themselves unable to continue in the former way of staying in shape. Balance problems, loss of motor control, dizziness, and neck injuries have limited physical activity, which further restricts the already limited lifestyle. Fortunately, the practice of yoga 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 now can choose everything from hot yoga to Ashtanga Kundalini in. People with neck or back injuries, head injuries than you probably want to start with a teacher trained in Iyengar yoga, which uses props to support the proper alignment, without stresses. Kripalu-trained teachers also tend to offer smoother, strengthening class. Any yoga that emphasizes the flow (not too fast, but it) will help retrain sequential processing, the advantage for people who suffered damage to their left-brain or rational strani.Vinyasa follow links breath and movement, with an emphasis on step-by-step progress in meeting that order. Learning and memory, as well as movement through repetition becomes a form of cognitive therapy.

Before starting yoga practice, the survivors should talk with their treatment providers, as well as their intended yoga instructor. Most teachers ask about the injury at the beginning of class, but few people understand the intricacies of TBI on their own. Explain any unusual sensitivity or limit your experience and ask the instructor for recommendations within their own class, or for suggestions about where to find more compatible classes. Yoga is supposed to help and nurture the growth, does not exhaust the body and nervous system.

For this reason, the survivors in the beginning you might want to stay away from Kundalini Yoga or Bikram yoga, which offer intense workouts. Kundalini yoga aims to awaken the dormant energy potential, which sounds like a good thing for TBI survivors. Indeed, it can help tremendously - when neurons have stopped misfiring and "short circuit". Most survivors inaccurate measure of their durability, however, it is easy to over-stimulation. Kundalini Yoga works powerfully on subtle levels, making the energy levels tend to follow. Sometimes suddenly awakened kundalini proves too sensitive for TBI survivors. Bikram Yoga is done in a very hot room, moving quickly through the poses that stimulate sweating of toxins. As with the Kundalini, Bikram supporters talk about their benefits. For hypersensitive survivors, however, excessive heat, body odor, and the physicality of Bikram make it less safe option. In the beginning, look instead for the class titles such as "strengthening", "Beginner", "Iyengar", "Kripalu" and "Gentle ."

Yoga Journal offers a number of DVDs, in the case of survivors prefer to learn in the comfort of their homes. Start with short sessions to build mental and physical endurance. Twenty minutes of DVD-enable a surviving sense of accomplishment, without the possibility of fatigue caused by the hour or hour and a half long in-person classes. Downward Dog Productions with Sarah Bates also offers access to yoga workout DVD designed specifically for people with disabilities. At-home yoga workout to take most of the expenditures from the teachings of yoga, too, because survivors can invest in one or two DVDs in practice every day, rather than paying for the class each time. On the other hand, a good yoga teacher can personalize your routine to support the victims' own unique health challenges.

In addition, sculpting lean, strong muscles and realigning the spine, of course, yoga offers a TBI survivors a chance to reconnect with their bodies in a positive way. Robin Cohn, TBI survivor and vice president of the New York State Brain Injury Association, recognizes the transformative effects of yoga in their recovery: "I started with the initial gentle yoga, where I slowly began to atrophied muscles moving again. I have more, the better I started feel. "Inspired, she began co-teaching yoga classes designed especially for other survivors. "These students are so thrilled to have the opportunity to practice yoga and reaping wonderful benefits of asana and pranayama (breathing). ... Happiness, serenity and peace that yoga brings to them is so rewarding! Their smile just say a lot about how are happy to be practicing ."

Yoga brings awareness of the 5000 + years of linking the human body, mind and spirit. It began as a means of calming the endocrine system and relaxing the body, so that practitioners can sit longer in meditation. This calming, strengthening and relaxing effects makes it an ideal practice for TBI survivors, whose systems work in constant overload. Slowdown brings herself to the center can help anyone cope with stress. For TBI survivors, however, yoga offers a glimpse not only "normal" functioning, yoga also gives the opportunity for optimal health and well-being. Many practitioners experience peace and self-acceptance for the first time in his life, including pre-injury. Yoga is becoming a larger part of waking up (facilitated by TBI)-helps the survivors to find and appreciate the hidden benefits of their trips.