Therapeutic Benefits of Yoga for Parkinson’s Disease

by Melinda Atkins, MEd, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT

Yoga Therapy is an evidence-based approach for helping individuals who have been recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease be proactive in slowing down the disease’s progression and learn to manage their symptoms, through the use of yoga therapy protocols designed to meet specific needs generally encountered in the early, most crucial stage.

There is a large demographic of underserved patients who are not equipped to manage their disease and don’t know where to turn when they receive the news. Over the past few years, we’ve met many of these individuals at Aum Home Shala, and they’ve benefited not only from the practice of yoga, but also through the community we’ve built to support them through their treatment options.

According to the American Parkinson Disease Association, yoga therapy has been shown to visibly reduce tremors and improve the steadiness of an individual's gait. In addition, a University of Victoria review study found that yoga positively impacts fall-risk factors, including abnormal posture, poor balance, and lower-body weakness. This is important, since improved physical functioning may also contribute to improved mental well-being and the capacity for independent living. The evidence also presented improvements in depression, sleep, and quality of life. As Dr. Jill Marjama-Lyons writes in her book, titled What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Parkinson’s Disease: A Holistic Program for Optimal Wellness, it’s helpful for yoga teachers to have familiarity with the emotional stages students go through after receiving a diagnosis in order to share effective tools to help those students progress through these stages.

Additionally, some neurologists recommend that individuals who have been recently diagnosed with PD consider alternative, holistic or complementary therapies as well as a “mind-body approach” to complement their treatment, early on in the course of their PD. “Our hope is that as a student’s symptoms progress and the eventuality of traditional treatments is introduced, a patient will begin to combine traditional and non-traditional therapies to achieve optimal wellness and minimize the symptoms of Parkinson’s,” Dr. Marjama-Lyons writes. Evidence bears this out: A study performed at the John F. Kennedy Institute in Denmark recorded a 65% short-term increase in dopamine levels during restorative yoga and meditation in the test group.

The ultimate goal of classes for this population is to help educate them on the positive impact of yoga during the early stages of Parkinson’s, with the hope that they can incorporate that knowledge and practice into their daily lives to complement treatment and serve as a preventative health care measure. At the start of the program, each new student completes an intake form and pre-assessment, which are designed to measure their balance and awareness of the position and movement of the body, known as proprioception. It’s important to measure balance and proprioception at the start of the classes in order to prevent individuals from falling during a class, which can be a side effect of symptoms from PD.

Protocols are implemented to ensure that each individual is comfortable and safely supported while moving through their postures and breathing exercises performed during class. The instructors also measure each individual’s progress through quarterly post-assessment reviews, and modify those protocols depending on the individual’s performance and needs.

Receiving a Parkinson’s diagnosis is frightening and overwhelming. But yoga can offer social and emotional support, as well as scientifically validated physiological benefits. The earlier they become involved in regular, breath-based movement and exercise, the more hope for success in slowing the progression of the disease and managing its symptoms.