Healing Ways

Adaptive Yoga is a Tool For Building Resilience

September 2019 Issue

September 17, 2019 BY Allison Mitch

The examined health benefits of yoga are vast, from stress reduction and reduced fatigue to improved posture, balance, strength and joint health.

by Allison Mitch
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The examined health benefits of yoga arebr vast, from stress reduction and reduced fatigue to improved posture, brbalance, strength and joint health. More than 5,000 research articles brhave been published examining yoga in some way: yoga in general, healthybr populations, yoga by specific populations (such as yoga and veterans brand yoga and inmates) and yoga for alleviating specific diseases, brconditions and symptoms, such as multiple sclerosis and cancer.
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Yoga’s efficacy is in part related to the relaxation response (lowered blood pressure and heart rate), interoception and proprioception (awareness of inner states and where we are in space), as well as mindfulness practices of nonjudgement and nonreactivity.br These responses can change our relationship to external and internal brstressors and create a sense of well-being, social connection and brresilience.

Resilience is the ability of a person, brphysically, mentally and/or spiritually to adapt to and accommodate brstressors and challenging situations. Yoga can build resilience by brhelping an individual become aware of and relate to their environment brand selves in new ways, such as improved self-regulation, improved brsocial connection and pro-social behaviors, reappraisal of a situation br and improved self-compassion.

Diana Carranza, age 37, from Streamwood,br who utilizes yoga as a complementary and integrative healing modality, brsays, “When at the tender age of 29, I suffered a stroke, along with my brmobility, I lost that playful essence present in any young lady. Throughbr yoga and its poses, the life energy in me is moving once again and brslowly I’m remembering what that lively essence felt like. Yoga has brbecome for me such an integral component in my healing.”

brIt is noteworthy that complementary health practices, yoga in brparticular, are known to be used at higher rates by individuals with brchronic disease and differing abilities. Studies show that not only do brindividuals receive the general benefits of yoga, but for persons with brchronic disease or ability challenges, yoga can create a sense of brempowerment (and by extension, resilience), in part by providing them brwith tools of self-care.

However, accessibility to an braccommodating yoga class or a skilled teacher is challenging, and can bebr viewed as a social justice issue. This is where adaptive or therapeuticbr yoga can assist individuals with specific needs. Adaptive yoga is brdesigned to adjust to the needs of the participants, whether that is brproviding yoga from a hospital bed or wheelchair or adjusting postures brto accommodate people of larger body size, empowering all bodies, brcreating resilient people and improving health and well-being.

Anneke Bender, a physical therapist and adaptive yoga instructor at the Shepherd Center, in Atlanta (Shepherd.org),br says, “In a very real sense, those of us who practice yoga all practicebr adapted yoga. We are all applying yogic principles to our personal brmind/body situation with the intention of cultivating something—greater brawareness and presence, ease in our bodies, whatever it may be—and we brmodify asanasbr based on our current physical capacity. There is nothing special about braccommodating a unique physical or mental issue other than the brcreativity it requires. Those dealing with disability will require brgreater awareness of safety, specificity of prop placement, cueing, bretc., but the subtle experience of any yoga pose can be found in any brbody.”

And the benefits and resilience of yoga, subtle or not, specifically adaptive or not, can be found in any body, as well.

Dr. Allison Mitch, DPT, is a physical therapist and healing arts practitioner of yoga and reiki,br part-time professor and faculty member of The Resiliency Institute. Shebr sees clients individually for adaptive yoga, offers adaptive yoga groupbr classes through NextSteps, teaches outdoor yoga classes and facilitates Wild Woman Project Circles for the Institute. For more information, visit WildWomanInTheSuburbs.com. See ad at NAChicago.com.