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Tag Archive for: yoga

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COPING WITH COVID– Staying Active

FunctionAbility’s Elly Baker and Lynne Harford discuss staying active while working from home and review some helpful exercises to help keep you moving.


About the Expert:

Elly Baker is the Director of Physiotherapy Services at FunctionAbility. Previously to this role, Elly spent many years in the role of Physiotherapy Practice Leader at Toronto Rehab, University Health Network, as well as a physiotherapist on the inpatient, Acquired Brain Injury program. She has extensive experience helping individuals living with mild to complex neurological and orthopedic injuries and has special interests in concussion management and higher-level balance re-training post-traumatic brain injury.

Lynne Harford, BA, MSW, RSW, D.VATI is a Registered Social Worker, Director of Pediatrics and a Clinical Supervisor with The Social Work Consulting Group. She obtained a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Glendon College-York University. Prior to her university studies, Lynne pursued a career in business and received a Marketing Administration Diploma from Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology. In 2013, Lynne achieved her designation of Art Therapist graduating with an advanced diploma in Art Therapy from the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute.

Lynne has had an extensive work history in both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining The Social Work Consulting Group in 2008, she was employed at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) where she spent five years providing clinical social work services to children and their families in the Trauma Program. Throughout her career, Lynne has been an active member in the larger community participating in various committees as well as presenting at a number of community-based, insurance and legal conferences. Other areas of specialization in which Lynne has focused and devoted her practice to include, acquired brain injury in children and youth, acute and chronic illness, domestic violence, separation/divorce and issues related to grief and loss. Lynne is both a therapist and advocate who is committed to enriching the lives of children and adults in the aftermath of physical and emotional trauma.

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The A to Z of OT: Y is For… Yoga Therapy

After experiencing physical trauma, there is a severe body and mind separation that impacts the abilities of the nervous system and alters the pattern of the body, breath, and mind structure. This is where the practice of yoga and mindfulness meditation can assist the recovery.  Learn more about Occupational Therapy and the use of Yoga, Mindfulness and Meditation in our post, Yoga for the Healing Brain.

 

October is Occupational Therapy Month and to celebrate we will be sharing a new series called the A to Z of OT.  In our attempts to further educate the public about what Occupational Therapists do we will be highlighting twenty-six of the awesome ways OTs provide Solutions for Living.  

We encourage you to follow along and to add to the discussion by highlighting other awesome things OTs help with for each corresponding letter!

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Yoga for the Healing Brain

Guest Blogger Samantha Hunt, Student Occupational Therapist

In celebration of Brain Injury month in June, we wanted to highlight the benefits of yoga and mindfulness meditation as a solution for living with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

What is Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation?

While there are many different types of yoga practices, in general yoga involves physical movement, breathing exercises, meditation, and moral observations in a set period of time, with the goal of connecting the mind and body. Likewise, mindfulness meditation is described as “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally”, in order to help train us in awareness, concentration, and acceptance. Yoga can be practiced with one-on-one instruction, or in a wheelchair or sitting down as well, through adapted yoga.

Yoga, Mindfulness Meditation and TBI

After experiencing physical trauma, there is a severe body and mind separation that impacts the abilities of the nervous system and alters the pattern of the body, breath, and mind structure. This is where the practice of yoga and mindfulness meditation can assist the recovery. By consciously and consistently focusing the mind, we are reprogramming the neuropathways in the brain that have been impacted. By quieting the mind and focusing on building strength and flexibility, practicing yoga can also assist with the mental distractions and stressors that commonly occur after TBI, such as over excitement and anxiety.

Benefits of Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation for TBI

·       Improved concentration

·       Decreased stress, anxiety, and depression

·       Better sleep

·       Improved attention abilities

·       Improved working memory

·       Reduced mental fatigue

·       Improved strength, balance, endurance, and flexibility

Where to Begin

There are several simple ways to start incorporating yoga and mindfulness into your life. Some suggestions include:

·       Reading for inspiration (mindfulness books, yoga books)

·       Joining a group or taking a class

·       Free apps (such as “Headspace” or “Happify”)

·       Practicing 4-8 minutes of mindfulness breath each day

·       One-on-one adapted yoga with an instructor, such as (in the Hamilton Ontario area):

o   Christina Versteeg, Paradigm Rehabilitation (Christina@paradigmrehab.ca)

·       Following yoga practice videos online, such as:

o   http://www.loveyourbrain.com/yoga-videos/

o   https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene

 

References:

www.braininjurycanada.ca/yoga-webinar/

www.tbitherapy.com/yoga-meditation-brain-injury/

www.ontarioabiconference.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/C2-Yoga-Therapy-for-Acquired-Brain-Injury-.pdf

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Chair Yoga Promotes Workplace Health

Co-written with Lindsay Sinclair, Occupational Therapist

Have you ever reflected on how much time you spend sitting at work? Do you ever try to find reasons to move around during the work day to resolve that restless feeling?  Do you ever wish you could take a moment during the day to relax and de-stress?  Perhaps Chair Yoga will be the answer for you!

In recent years, yoga has become the new “it” thing, with individuals of all age groups participating in this ancient activity. Originally created in India, yoga is a practice that combines breathing exercises, meditation, and assuming various postures to elongate muscles and promoting stretching. This time-tested practice aims to achieve harmony between the body and mind to increase overall well-being.

Yoga has many benefits, including positive impacts on physical and mental health. Yoga can help increase flexibility, reduce aches and pains, strengthen muscles, protect joints, and decrease the risk of arthritis. It can also enable us to cope with stress, improve focus and concentration, restore energy, and find peace of mind. These benefits may translate into increased productivity at work and enhanced satisfaction with work-life balance.

Chair yoga is a gentle style of yoga that can be practiced in a mostly seated position. It is particularly useful for individuals who are sitting at a desk the majority of the day, confined to tight spaces for long periods of time (ex: long bus ride), and individuals with mobility issues.

Seated yoga is a great way to take a break from the everyday stresses at work and can easily be incorporated into your daily routine.  Check out About Health for some seated yoga poses you can try at work or at home!

For other strategies on how you can promote workplace health, consult an Occupational Therapist and check out our Healthy Workplace page.    From ergonomics to mental and cognitive well being, we are the profession that can promote productivity and function in the workplace.

 

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Keep Calm and Yoga On – For KIDS!

Guest Blogger Jana Maich, Occupational Therapist

Working as an occupational therapist in pediatrics, I am always on the lookout for simple strategies I can offer to parents and classroom teachers that can be easily be implemented. One of the main difficulties expressed to me by concerned parents or teachers is that a child is having difficulty controlling their activity level, focusing or attending, or controlling emotional outbursts. In other words, a child is having difficulty self-regulating.

What does this mean? Self-regulation is our ability to monitor and control our body’s arousal level (in other words, our level of alertness) in order to remain in an optimal state that is appropriate for the current situation. Self-regulation is critical to being able to attend, focus, and learn (1). When our body’s arousal level gets too “high,” we may feel anxious, nervous, or stressed. When our body’s arousal level gets too “low,” we may feel lethargic, sluggish, or tired. Often unconsciously, adults participate in a variety of self-regulation strategies to remain in an optimum state throughout our day. For example, in a boring meeting where your level of alertness may be “low” you may tap your pencil, shift in your chair, apply pressure to your mouth or chin with your hands, or drink water in order to bring your arousal level up. After an intense day of work when you may be feeling too “high” you may take a bath, read a book, or participate in some other sort of relaxation promoting activity (1). There are many ways to regulate ourselves, and just as adults require self-regulation strategies, children do too. Yet, in today’s changing and fast-passed society, children are more stressed than ever before. School demands have increased, daily schedules are jam-packed, and they don’t have as much play or “down” time as kids once did. Unfortunately, unstructured play activities that are critical to a child’s innate self-regulation needs have been replaced by TV and electronics. All of this has ultimately stressed our young generations, resulting in disrupted self-regulation.

Yoga is one activity that has become recognized as a suitable and helpful regulation activity – for people of all ages. (2). For children, yoga offers many potential benefits – both physically and emotionally. Benefits include improved postural control, immune functioning, body awareness, strength and flexibility, emotional control, attention, sleep, and a decrease in stress and anxiety. Yoga is a simple strategy with a variety of exercises that can be completed anywhere including at home, when on vacation, while lying in bed, or as a group in the classroom. Depending on the current needs of the child, there are various poses and breathing exercises designed to bring arousal levels up or down as appropriate. Over time, children begin to develop an enhanced mind-body connection and an improved ability to monitor and manage their own levels of arousal (2).

In my personal experience, using simple breathing strategies and poses in my practice, has demonstrated firsthand how yoga can positively affect children with both physical and mental disabilities including autism, ADHD, emotional difficulties, mental health conditions, and motor coordination difficulties. In older children, learning how to control their own emotions and arousal levels empowers them and creates both self-esteem and self-control.

So what are you waiting for? Search out local yoga programs for you or your child. Try these links: www.yoga4classrooms.com or www.childlightyoga.com. Consider that many places will let you try a class without a commitment, or offer great starter incentives. Or, buy a CD or DVD or check out some poses and breathing exercises via online videos to see if this might work for you or your family.

Check out some of our other resources and articles for kids health here.

(1) Williams, M., & Shellenberger, S. (2012). “How does your engine run?” A leader’s guide to the Alert Program for self-regulation.” Albuquerque, NM: Therapy Works

(2) Flynn, L. (2010). Yoga 4 classrooms. Tools for learning, lessons for life. Dover, NH: Yoga 4 Classrooms.