Yoga for brain injuries

For people recovering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussion, or head injury, yoga offers gentle exercise with therapeutic benefits. Many survivors find themselves unable to follow previous ways of keeping 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 accommodate 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, in addition to head trauma, will probably want to start with a teacher trained in Iyengar yoga, which uses props to support proper alignment without strain. Kripalu-trained teachers also tend to offer calmer, more restorative classes. Any yoga class that emphasizes flow (albeit not too fast) will help retrain sequential processing, a boon for people who have sustained damage to the left or rational side of the brain. A vinyasa sequence unites 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 complexities 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 nurture growth, not exhaust the body and nervous system.

For this reason, survivors may initially want to stay away from Kundalini Yoga or Bikram Yoga, both of which offer intense workouts. Kundalini Yoga aims to awaken latent energy potential, which seems like a good thing for TBI survivors. In fact, it can be of great help, once the neurons have stopped misfiring and “short-circuiting”. However, most survivors mismeasure their stamina and are easily overstimulated. Kundalini Yoga works powerfully on subtle levels, making energy levels more difficult to monitor. Sometimes the rapidly awakening kundalini becomes too much for a sensitive TBI survivor. Bikram Yoga is performed in a very hot room, moving quickly through postures that encourage sweating out 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 him a less safe choice. At first, look for class titles like: “Repairer”, “Beginner”, “Iyengar”, “Kripalu” and “Soft”.

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 endurance. Twenty-minute DVDs allow survivors a sense of accomplishment, without the potential fatigue caused by hour- or hour-and-a-half in-person classes. Downward Dog Productions with Sarah Bates also offers accessible DVD yoga training 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 every day, rather than paying for the class each time. On the other hand, a good yoga teacher can customize routines to support survivors’ unique health challenges.

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, acknowledged the transformative effects of yoga on her own recovery: “I started with a gentle beginner yoga class, where I slowly began to move muscles atrophied again. The more I went, the better I started 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 (breathing)… The happiness, calmness and peace that yoga brings them is so rewarding! Their smiles just make me happy.” say a lot about how happy they are to be practicing.

Yoga brings awareness of over 5000 years of connecting the human body, mind and spirit. It began as a means of calming the endocrine system and relaxing the body so that practitioners could sit longer in meditation. These calming, strengthening, and relaxing effects make it an ideal practice for TBI survivors whose systems are running on constant overload. Slowing down and focusing on yourself can help anyone deal with stress. For TBI survivors, however, yoga offers insight into not just “normal” functioning; yoga also provides the opportunity for optimal health and wellness. Many practitioners experience peace and self-acceptance for the first time in their lives, even before the injury. Yoga becomes part of a greater awakening (facilitated by TBI), helping survivors find and appreciate the hidden blessings of their journey.