Yoga provides gentle exercise and therapeutic benefits for people recovering from traumatic brain injury [TBI], concussion or head trauma. Many survivors find themselves unable to pursue the way they used to stay in shape. Difficulties in balancing, loss of exercise control, dizziness and neck injuries limit physical activity and further limit the lifestyle that has been reduced. Fortunately, yoga practice can adapt to any disease or injury, especially for TBI rehabilitation.

Where do you 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 may wish to start with a teacher who has been trained in Iyengar Yoga, which uses props to support proper alignment without stress. Kripalu's highly trained teachers also tend to offer more calm, restorative courses. Any yoga course that emphasizes mobility [though not too fast] will help retrain the sequence – this is an advantage for people with left brain or rational impairment. The vinyasa sequence links breathing and movement, emphasizing step by step in a set order. This type of exercise becomes a form of cognitive therapy through repeated learning and memory.

Survivors should talk to their treatment providers and their prospective yoga instructors before starting yoga practice. Most teachers ask about injuries at the beginning of the course, but few people understand the complexity of the TBI itself. Explain any unusual sensitivities or limitations you encounter and ask the instructor for advice in his or her own class, or where to find more compatible courses. Yoga should support and nurture growth, not exhaustion of the body and nervous system.

For this reason, survivors may initially wish to stay away from Kundalini Yoga or Bikram Yoga, both of which provide intestinal exercise. Kundalini Yoga aims to awaken potential energy potential, which sounds like a good thing for TBI survivors. In fact, it can help a lot – once the neurons stop the fire and "short circuit". However, most survivors do not accurately measure their endurance and are prone to over-stimulate themselves. Kundalini Yoga works strongly at the secondary level, making energy levels more difficult to monitor. Sometimes Kundalini, who is quickly awakened, proves too much for sensitive TBI survivors. Bikram Yoga is carried out in a very hot room, quickly by encouraging the toxins to sweat. Like Kundalini, Bikram's followers praised its benefits. However, for survivors of allergies, Bikram's excess calories, body odor and physical condition make it a less secure option. In the beginning, look for similar titles: "Restoration", "Beginner", "Iyengar", "Kripalu" and "gentle".

The Yoga Diary offers a lot of DVDs to prevent survivors from learning to live in a comfortable home. Begin with a short course to build mental and physical endurance. The twenty-minute DVD gives survivors a sense of accomplishment and no potential fatigue from one-hour or one-and-a-half-hour face-to-face courses. Sarah Bates' Downward Dog Productions also offers accessible yoga DVD training designed for people with disabilities. Yoga training at home also costs most of the cost of learning yoga, because survivors can practice one or two DVDs a day instead of having to take classes every time. On the other hand, a good yoga teacher can personalize the routine to support survivors. Your own unique health challenges.

In addition to sculpting lean, strong muscles and naturally realigning the spine, Yoga also provides an opportunity for TBI survivors to reconnect with the body in a positive way. TBI survivor and New York State Brain Injury Association Vice President Robin Cohn recognize the revolutionary role of yoga in self-healing: "I started with a beginner's gentle yoga class, where I slowly began to shrink my muscles and move again. More, I started to feel better. “Inspired, she began to teach yoga classes specifically designed for other survivors. “These students are very happy to have the opportunity to practice yoga and get the wonderful benefits of body and breathing [breathing]…. The joy, peace and peace that yoga brings to them is so beneficial! Their smile is like this. A lot of happiness about how they practice."

Yoga has brought more than 5,000 years of connection to the human body, mind and spirit. It begins as a means of calming the endocrine system and relaxing the body so that the practitioner can sit for a long time in meditation. These calming, strengthening and relaxing effects make it an ideal practice for TBI survivors, and their systems continue to be overloaded. Slowing down and taking yourself to the center can help anyone cope with stress. However, for TBI survivors, yoga not only provides a glimpse of “normal” function. Yoga also brings the best health and happiness opportunities. For the first time in life, many practitioners experience peace and self-acceptance, including before injury. Yoga becomes part of a larger awakening [driven by TBI] – helping survivors find and appreciate the hidden blessings of their journey.

Brain injury yoga was originally published on Spring