Balance Yoga Restore Stroke Patients

Damage to the brain due to stroke sufferers will cause physical or mental disability, hence post-stroke rehabilitation is needed. Doing yoga is included in the recommended follow-up therapy after recovering from a stroke.

According to research, practice yoga on a regular basis even though the stroke happened a long time continue to provide positive benefits, one of them to restore balance.


"It's exciting because people could recover their balance after a stroke many years. They can change the brain and body so that it is not caught in post-stroke conditions," said Arlene Schmid, researchers in the field of medical rehabilitation.

In their study, Schmid and his team recruited 47 stroke patients who had a stroke six months earlier. 75 percent of them are war veterans, including World War II. The study participants were divided into two groups. About 10 people are not given therapy and the remaining 37 people were trained yoga by yoga therapist.

At first, the veterans' refused to do yoga because it's just a stereotypical sports for women. But after some time did they begin to feel the benefits of yoga.

During eight weeks of research, they continue to practice yoga movements. At the end of the session, a group of yoga group showed significant improvement in the balance.

Yoga exercises also increase the veteran's confidence and reduce fear of falling. Previously, a third of respondents had experienced falls to fractures.

In addition to yoga, pilates exercise and tai chi seperit also known to help brain and body to readjust after the stroke.