Yoga for rehab (chronic illness etc)

YOGA FOR REHAB: I’m adding to my yoga knowledge and practice right in my home, via youtube mostly! Yup.

I started yoga while still in bed. It rehabbed me from having been totally atrophied and hardly able to stand more than a couple of minutes. Yoga got me out of bed after being bedridden for many years. It took months of raising one arm and a time, one leg…turning the foot around, then the hand. Micro movements quite often in fact.   Mindful slow repeated movements in bed! Start experimenting and use YouTube. Make as many adjustments as you need and don’t worry about form.

The philosophy of yoga helps in other ways which I’ve rarely addressed specifically but I talked about it some here: yoga off the mat: living ritual

I’m still not well enough to go to a class, nor am I well enough to make regular appointments with anyone, but I’m very committed to getting healthy, so slowly, slowly my yoga practice grows. It’s very gratifying even if very slow.

For someone like me who was once an athlete going this slowly can be difficult sometimes, but since my rehab is taking so long…my body is so damaged, I’m also learning patience as well as how to listen attentively to my body which are both  great things to learn.

Yoga is ideal for rehab.

One can start while still in bed if they are bedridden and it can take one to great heights of physical fitness if one is so inclined and able. It’s simply not what is necessary for most of us. I remember my young athletic days so it’s something I think about. I don’t push myself at all!

I want to give an example of how I add to my practice.

Today I had a very tight chest and shoulder area. I actually often do and some of what I practice already helps, but I thought, “I need more yoga exercises for this.” And so I did a search on youtube: “yoga open chest”

And voila — the very first video was just wonderful and really helped me feel better. At just six minutes long I learned a few new moves to add to my overall routine when right too.

Remember to modify any position you need to modify or skip it all together if it’s too painful or if you’re simply not ready for it. I rarely, if ever, do anything just like the teacher does it. The point is not be be just like the teacher. The teacher is a fit and healthy person. If you are sick or in pain like I am it’s absolutely necessary to listen to our bodies and only do what we can.

So to reiterate feel free to make any adjustments your body finds necessary.

Absolute form isn’t terribly important when it comes to first learning yoga and accommodating oneself for comfort and lack of pain are actually very important. It’s all even more important when we’re ill or in pain. Just slowly move and feel your body. Yoga is among other things a mindfulness practice. Be mindful of your body. If it doesn’t feel good, stop. This is not to suggest it never hurts in a good way…it can and does quite often for me, but if it really hurts in a bad way, stop.

Some days I can do more than others.

On occasion, still, I can no nothing at all. It’s really important to pay attention to our bodies so that we don’t do too much and become discouraged. (2025: I actually have started living yoga in every movement. House cleaning for example. If I need to pick something up off the ground I turn it into a stretch. I don’t have enough energy to not take advantage of every moment I am on my feet.) I do standing stretches while getting gas for example. I will do sitting and standing stretches just about anywhere I am and even in public. I wouldn’t be able to move at all if I didn’t do this and it’s maintained a resiliency even while I get bedridden again and again over the years. )

I thought I would share some of this from time to time since many people think you need to spend a lot of money to learn yoga. At least initially when one is learning simple stuff it’s really not necessary. Classes are nice and helpful no doubt. It’s good to have a teacher. But if you can’t afford it, or if it’s difficult to leave the house, learning at home is totally doable.

The woman who started me on my journey is a friend who lived nearby at the time.

Kaoverii Weber  visited me while I was bedridden and gave me the inspiration and direction (in just one visit ~~ I ran with it!) to do yoga while atrophied and bedridden. She is amazing and teaches yoga teachers how to do what she calls SUBTLE YOGA. Kaoverii has since become a very popular internet teacher but is also know internationally in the yoga community as a teacher of teachers. She is scientifically oriented and a very skillful teacher.

Check out Subtle Yoga on Facebook and Instagram pages.

Also see: Yoga for the challenged nervous system

For my other posts on beginning yoga with more videos see these posts:

• Yoga back bends: feels yummy on the autonomic nervous system
• Yoga postures, breathing and waking-up
• Belly breathing and a bit of yoga
• Yoga: it works!
• Yoga for Trauma Survivors (and info on trauma and the body)
• Yoga: Changing The Brain’s Stressful Habits
• Yoga for your health and wellbeing, helps with your heart and anxiety and depression
• Yoga for sleep, insomnia, or deep relaxation
• Some do-it-yourself yoga resources
• Coping strategies for the bodily pain of withdrawal
• Want Better Health? Practice Yoga at Home
•  Yoga is being researched and supported at the National Institute of Health

A collection of links:  Information and inspiration for the chronically ill

And some inspiration watch this stunningly beautiful routine by a very advanced yogi…the sky really is the limit but we need only start laying on the ground or bed and stretching a bit! Remember, though, it’s completely unnecessary to EVER be able to do the below. I just thought it was beautiful. I have no desire or intention to ever be able to do anything approaching what she can do.

(if you’re offended by women in their underwear, which apparantely some people were, when this went viral, I recommend you skip this…I can’t see anything but sheer beauty here, so that is what I’m sharing)

If seeing a super fit young person will be more stressful than helpful, then skip the below video.

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