Written By: Smt Hansaji Jayadeva Yogendra | Updated : May 22, 2014 11:30 AM IST
April 11 World Parkinson's Day
On the occasion of World Parkinson's day let's all try to understand that no disease or illness can stop you from doing what you really want to do. So why let this disease stop us? Why give it so much importance? We can attempt to understand what the Parkinson's is all about and what we can do to live a joyous life with all the restrictions and constraints that it may imply.
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the Central Nervous System and has five major symptoms tremors, slowness of movement, rigidity and stiffness, postural instability and voice disorders. We can tackle each one of these with various yoga techniques like poses, breathing techniques, relaxation techniques and simple yogic philosophy.
Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of parkinson's.
Before we discuss how to counter the major symptoms of the disorder I would like to mention that mind and body beautifully complement each other. When one of these stops functioning at the optimum level the other has the potential to make up for it. So if you feel your body doesn't respond the way it should then you must remember that you can make up for this by using your mental ability in the right way and the right direction.
1. Tremors:
We should first become aware of our body and understand it well. To achieve this we must start observing first. When do we experience tremors? Is there any pattern to it? Any particular angle or movement that often triggers tremors? Once we recognize this half the battle is won. We must then avoid those movements and angle.
Rechak is a yoga technique that one can use to reduce or control tremors. It requires that you sit in Sukhasana The happy pose and take a deep breath in, then exhale out completely and hold your breath for a few seconds. Then you repeat the same circuit for maybe three times initially and then the no. of circuits you practice can be gradually increased. This technique helps you get rid of any underlying stress and depression thus relaxing your mind and body.
2. Slowness of movement:
I would say that if your movements are getting slower and you feel bad about it then you must not. There is something very interesting we can do to make this situation better. We can use the synchronizing technique to actually benefit from the situation. We can breathe out while bending forward and breathe in while bending backward. When we do this we learn to focus on every single action that we do and we can do it with mindfulness.
Rigidity:
In Parkinson's disease, rigidity and stiffness can be quite an irksome symptom because it resists the movement of the limbs and restricts the individual from moving around freely. However, it is important to know that the muscles of the neck and shoulder are usually affected prior to the muscles of the face and extremities. As far as stiffness is concerned, firstly, keeping your body warm and maintaining the ideal body temperature is of prime importance. Secondly, basic neck and shoulder exercises can prove to be useful. Rotate your neck clockwise and anti-clockwise and repeat the same for your shoulder. You can also look downward and upward alternately, to your right and to your left to exercise your neck muscle.
Postural Instability:
The best way to deal with this is to practice asanas that require neuro-muscular coordination. Asanas like Talasana the palm tree pose and Utkatasana the chair pose stretch the muscle of your body well and strengthen them. When you practice these asanas you must hold the pose for as long as you can. This will help you improve your coordination and balance.
Voice Disorders:
For voice disorders, we must be very careful about everything that we consume right from our toothpaste to our food. Our intake should only comprise of those ingredients that suit our system. A certain type of food may make someone's throat go bad but may work for some other person. So there's no pre-fixed formula to this really. However, practicing Simhasana -the lion pose can alleviate your voice troubles.
To sum it all up for you in a nutshell, here's what you need to do to conquer Parkinson's disease:
For voice disorders, practice Simhasana the lion pose
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