I’ve recently had a renaissance with yoga in my own health and wellness journey. I’ve done yoga before but never got to the point where it was a staple of my routine. My renewed interest partially stemmed from yoga’s close connection to meditation (which I also started this last year) and partially because your girl’s mobility is trash and she needs to work on it.
I’ve been enjoying my yoga era so much lately that I started working it into my professional practice as well. Research suggests yoga definitely has its place when it comes to physical rehabilitation. Many studies suggest the use of yoga AND physical therapy can lead to better outcomes. I saw a couple articles that even found yoga was possibly better than PT intervention.
I’ve experienced the benefits of yoga myself and I’ve seen the same for my patients. Some mentioned in research and some not. Keep reading to find out why I’m loving yoga in my PT practice right now.
Yoga is useful for a wide array of conditions
With yoga integrating flexibility, ROM, strength, balance, and control it’s almost hard NOT to find a population that may benefit from yoga.
From a flexibility and ROM standpoint I’ve been loving it for my low back pain and hip pain patients. Yoga places a strong focus on the hips which I’ve found helpful for my super active individuals and athletes who have tight, sore muscles and need that mobility to perform. It has also been a great tool to initiate pain-free spinal ROM and eventually work into larger amplitudes for patients with acute or chronic LBP. When appropriate, I’ve also used yoga with low back pain patients to help with core strength and awareness.
The emphasis on core strength and postural muscle activation has been the game changer with some of my neuro patients. Those with postural or core ataxia and weakness have noted large improvements in their functional mobility after beginning a regular level-appropriate yoga practice. They also have demoed better balance and report increased confidence in balance-challenging situations.
I’d be remiss not to mention the potential benefits for older adults. In recent years, Tai Chi has been a largely praised intervention for the geriatric population due to its blend of strength and balance. Yoga does the same. Many classes like chair yoga have been modified specifically for seniors.
So as you can see you really can’t count yoga out for anyone! It’s a multifaceted practice that translates nicely into functional mobility which is also multifaceted.
Do you use yoga for your patients? Who’s your favorite to use it for and what moves are you prescribing? Share in the comments section! Keep an eye on the PT Page Instagram the next couple weeks because I’ll be sharing some of my personal favorites as well.
Yoga can be modified for all levels
It may be a little hard to believe yoga is applicable to so many populations since all those mentioned in the previous section are likely at VERY different levels in their movement capabilities. HOWEVER, the thing about yoga is it can be modified appropriately for just about anyone.
As I said in the previous section I use poses for my LBP patients to work on spinal ROM. Most of the time, at least initially, I have the patient only go to where they’re working just into the edge of that discomfort. Gradually then we can push it and work into a larger ROM, but it’s that initial modified pose that gets the ball rolling.
Geriatric and neuro patients may need to change poses for safety. An upper extremity support can easily be added to many of the standing poses, but still keep it challenging for them. Chair yoga is also a perfect example of how modifiable yoga can be! There’s even wheelchair classes adapted to be SCI friendly.
Not only is yoga easily adaptable, but it even encourages modifications. I’m overall not a very flexible person. I frequently need to take an easier variation of a pose. In my experience, yoga instructors are not trying to get you to over-do it. Yoga is very much about each person’s unique experience in their body and their needs.
It’s not uncommon in yoga to hear instructors to say something like:
“If this feels a little too strong you have the option to…”
“Some options here are…”, or
“Feel free to do whatever feels good here.”
Yoga has a way of creating a very safe space and supporting pose variations without judgment.
This has been one thing I’ve really appreciated learning in my own yoga practice. As a former athlete who definitely had a “go hard or go home” mentality I used to think if I didn’t do the hardest possible version of a pose then why was I doing it at all?
I finally got my head out of my own ass and realized I was doing something I’d never tell my patients to do. Everyday I have to tell a patient not to force it or push past a certain level of discomfort for their own good. Sorry, just me out here proving healthcare workers make the worst patients.
However, I think some patients can relate to my previous “no pain, no gain” attitude. If yoga can make a stubborn retired-athlete more accepting of modifications, it certainly can do the same for patients. Sometimes the mental benefits are just as important as the physical, which brings me to my next point.
Yoga as a gateway drug . . .
Many of our patients have a negative relationship with exercise and movement in general. Oftentimes they feel the ability to have an exercise routine or painless mobility is out of reach for them. Or their only experiences are with exhaustive exercise that made them way too sore or even caused injury, which likely made them hate it…
As I said in the last section, yoga is very moldable. Intensities can be altered to something even the patients with the most irritable symptoms can tolerate. It does this with understanding too. It guides us to become in-tune with our bodies, accept what we feel, and seek what it is we need most.
Yoga emphasizes self discovery through movement. It’s a very self-aware form of exercise that encourages us to acknowledge both our physical and mental needs. To put it in healthcare terms one could say it is a very biopsychosocial intervention.
Physical principles in combination with the other underlying themes of yoga make it the perfect opportunity for patients to have a “reintroduction” of sorts to movement and exercise. Yoga may very well possibly be the first positive experience someone has had with movement in awhile.
The one positive experience someone has with yoga may be the catalyst for them. It could lead to regular yoga practice and then they think “well if I can do yoga maybe I can do this.” Before you know they’re trying weight lifting too or pilates, anything really. Maybe they start a meditation or journaling practice in tandem with yoga. Yoga is the perfect gateway drug to physical and mental health. It’s possible for us to be the healthcare professional that sets that in motion by incorporating yoga where appropriate into our clinical practice.
Yoga resources for patients
So we can’t all be yogi’s but where do we lead patients who might show interest in beginning a yoga practice?
For higher level patients or our weekend warriors that don’t need many modifications there are several Apps and YouTube Channels with both free and paid options. Personally, I’ve used YouTube channels. It took some trial and error to find what I liked but now I’ve got my “go-to” channels. I use Yoga with Kassandra and Cat Meffan yoga the most. I love both of them because they stress the importance of not having anything to prove when you step on the mat. They also frequently give variation options and encourage modifications in their videos.
Asana Rebel and Glo are two apps worth mentioning for those able to participate in a traditional yoga class. The downside is the majority of their content requires in-app purchases in order to access it. They do get great reviews about their instructors. They also offer bonus tools such as nutrition, meditation, sleep tracking, and other workouts! A good free option is the FitOn app, however I will say their yoga sessions maybe don’t “flow” as nicely as some others. FitOn does offer other workouts and has an easy search/filtering system to get someone exactly what they’re wanting.
For our patients who wouldn’t be able to tolerate or safely participate in a traditional yoga class there are some options out there. MindBody Solutions is a non-profit organization that offers live adaptive yoga practices over zoom. They have classes appropriate for wheelchair level, ambulators, and those with intellectual disabilities! With these options it’s likely your patient could find something that works for them. I believe recordings of the week’s classes are available when you sign up. There are some on-demand videos for wheelchair level available on the website as well.
Another similar option is YogaMoves. They offer live classes free and an on-demand option for a fee. Just like MindBody Solutions they have different class options to give patients at all levels an opportunity to participate.
If you are just looking for chair yoga there are lots of YouTube videos and channels or apps out there. I would say a lot of the time patients likely need a little more of a challenge than that. Elderly or neuro patients are usually looking for functional improvements that happen in standing. A seated class is only going to do so much to help with that. Unfortunately, in my experience, finding something that’s quality and in that “in-between” stage can be difficult.
MindBodysolutions and YogaMoves are great options. If those don’t work for some reason don’t fear. I’ve actually created a resource for you and your patient’s of modified yoga poses. The handout includes explanations and pictures of the poses. Give it to your patients or use it for your own reference. You can get this resource for free by hitting the subscribe button below! If you’re already a subscriber it should’ve been in your new post email!
I hope this post helped you consider using some yoga with your patients! Or helped with some ideas of how to use it! Like I said earlier, I’ve experienced and seen the benefits in myself and my patients. Any other good resources out there for integrating yoga into PT? For PTs or patients? Books, channels, experts, or classes?? Know one likes a gatekeeper so drop it in the comments section.
Share this post to someone who may be interested in using yoga in their PT practice! And don’t forget to hit “subscribe” below to get that free modified yoga resource! Plus you’ll get notified when new posts are available 🙂 Follow @the_pt_page on Instagram because we’ll be sharing some yoga ideas there over the next couple weeks. Lastly head to the blog page to get caught up on previous posts and thanks for following The PT Page!
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