Yoga's appeal broadening to disability community

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Yoga's appeal broadening to disability community

Yoga can be adapted for people with health conditions, disabilities

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http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_health/~3/272860045/index.html

By Georgiann Caruso

CNN

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A middle-aged woman arrives at yoga class,

a guide dog beside her wheelchair. She slides onto a mat on the floor

and begins warming up with help from the instructor, stretching her

knee and leg muscles to the side.

Adaptive yoga takes into consideration the individual's limitations

but still provides the benefits of stretching.

Nearby, a man lying on a bench gets an assist from a class helper as

he lifts his leg and brings his knee toward his body. Another person,

an overweight student, sits and places his feet on brick-like props

to enable him to stretch higher.

This is the scene at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where

students attend weekly adaptive yoga class. Derived from traditional

yoga, poses are modified for those with disabilities or health

conditions.

Hundreds of miles away, longtime instructor O'Donnell e

says the limitations could have a number of sources: multiple

sclerosis (which she has), a sports injury, fibromyalgia or even a

sedentary lifestyle. Post-surgical conditions, Parkinson's disease,

stroke and arthritis may also cause some impairment. " Pretty much if

you name a health condition, yoga can help with it, " she says.

Physical therapist Knopf says the class' popularity is due to

many patients asking what else they can be doing to strengthen their

bodies or overcome a health challenge quicker.

" The adaptive yoga will take into consideration the patient's

limitations, " Knopf says. " A lot of patients with MS, for example,

don't do well if they get overheated. So, with adaptive yoga, the

instructor will take things nice and slowly, focusing more on

breathing and relaxation.... If you are doing yoga in a gym, it's a

little faster-paced. "

Instructors say one benefit of adaptive classes is that more than one

or two people in the group are doing something differently.

Evette Abron, who attends weekly adaptive yoga class at Jai Shanti

Yoga in Atlanta, has MS and suffers from poor balance. She says she

feels less self-conscious in this environment. Because of the

personalized attention, she doesn't feel bad if she can't do

something correctly or even at all.

Adaptive yoga is not just for those who have balance problems. People

in wheelchairs can also benefit. The poses are modified in a way that

anyone can take part.

Kruger, who uses a wheelchair because of a car accident in

1998, says he took yoga about four times a week before his injury.

Since the accident, he's found adaptive yoga to be relaxing. " Life

with a disability sometimes can be a little overwhelming, " Kruger

says. The classes help him stretch muscles he can't stretch on his

own, so he's more comfortable physically, especially with leg

tremors. " Since I've been coming to the yoga classes, because of all

the stretching, the tremors are a lot less, and when I do have them,

they're a lot less painful. "

Bill Hufschmidt, his instructor, says any consistent practice of yoga

will help the student strengthen his or her body and increase

mobility in the joints. He adds, " People who do this practice

regularly have more awareness of their breath, and by taking deeper

breaths, by taking longer breaths, there is a greater sense of

vitality in the body, in their life. "

Breathing exercises help prevent wheelchair patients from developing

poor posture, Knopf adds. She says someone with poor posture may find

it very difficult to take a deep breath, and yoga opens the chest.

Exercise and disability

Concentrating on breathing techniques is a major focus, says

instructor Terri Leonard. She also likes to teach students to break

awareness down into sensations of pain, how to relieve them,

tightness in the body or numbness.

" If you have a disability and you're struggling with managing your

body, managing your symptoms, coming to a yoga class is all about

slowing down, and really focusing on your body in a way that perhaps

you didn't focus before your injury or illness, " Leonard says.