Yin for post-stroke recovery

Please use this forum to ask any questions you may have about yoga in general or Yin Yoga in particular, or to discuss anything you have discovered that may be of general interest. Note, spam will be removed and the user deleted, and this includes putting website in your posting that are purely commercial.
Post Reply
tonyab67
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 4:07 am
Location: Little Rock, AR

Yin for post-stroke recovery

Post by tonyab67 »

Hi- my partner suffered a mild stroke in March. She deals with left-sided weakness and some vision issues. She has recovered very well--only walks with a cane for stairs. Her left hand is coming back slowly, but is coming back. She has expressed interest in doing some yoga (and she loves watching me do Yin Yoga with Bernie on Gaia TV). She wants me to help her/instruct her. So, I am here asking for advice. She has a hard time getting up from the floor still, so I was thinking of trying to use a chair at first in case I can't help her get back up from floor. I know sphinx would help her low back (she sits a lot kind of rounded over). Any guidance here is appreciated! Thanks!
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Post by Bernie »

My first question would be, what does her physical therapist recommend (and if she doesn’t have one, why not get one?) It is great that she wants to be active, and yoga can certainly be part of her therapy. Motion is the lotion of life! My next question would be, are you already a yoga teacher? If so, why not guide her through some gentle chair yoga (Hatha): that might work for her. (Check out this site for some suggestions on Chair Yoga for stroke patients.)

Having said all that, certainly she can do modified Yin Yoga. In general, Yin Yoga holds postures longer with relaxed muscles. You can do this with the Chair Yoga postures, but do not hold them as long as a normal Yin Yoga practice would suggest. Between 1 min (for upper body) to 3 minutes (for lower body) should be plenty to start. She can do the Chair Yoga postures like forward bends, twists, side bends for a minute at a time/side. For some hip work, should could try just crossing her legs, or doing Butterfly with her feet on a block, and eventually on a coffee table. Make sure she doesn’t only do Yin Yoga though, add some yang at other times so she gets both.

As always, ask her to be mindful and pay attention to sensations: both while in the postures, when coming out and even the next day. Pain should be avoided. Let us know how it goes and what you learn along the way. I am sure that there are many other people would love to hear what you discover.

Cheers
Bernie
tonyab67
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 4:07 am
Location: Little Rock, AR

Post by tonyab67 »

Thanks for the response, Bernie.

She had PT while in the rehab in April, as well as at home in the weeks after that. But she hasn't had a PT in a while. She is doing her own program of walking and light resistance training. She really only tolerated the PT anyway because she knew she needed the guidance in the beginning. But she is an exercise enthusiast and so knows her body pretty well.

I am not a yoga teacher... but before the stroke happened, I was in the process of doing an online certification, mostly for my own knowledge but also because I am a massage therapist and instructor and I own my own studio. I was considering adding some very small classes or one-on-one yoga sessions to my offerings. I am really attracted to Yin yoga but I love hatha as well. That got put on hold when all of this happened. I am going to get back to it soon, though. I have your Yin Yoga book as well as some others and some dvds from the course. I also use my roku to stream Gaia tv. So, I can help her with some basic yoga.

Thank you for the input and guidance about how long to hold poses, etc. I will definitely keep you posted as we move forward. I want to offer her any and all ways to completely recover if possible and even improve past where she was pre-stroke.
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Post by Bernie »

That all sounds great. Good luck! I hope it goes well.
Post Reply