Yoga as a Parkinson’s Disease Treatment

I never cease to be amazed at the things I learn in my line of work. As someone who works almost exclusively with business owners, I’m always finding ideas, thoughts, services and products that are brand new to me.

Carol Fisher of Inner Key Yoga

For example, recently I have had the great pleasure of getting to know Carol Fisher, who is an instructor of yoga in Walnut Creek, CA. Carol is one of those people you run across that is truly a delight. She was referred to me by a mutual friend several months ago, and we were able to get acquainted during the course of helping her with marketing strategy for her business.

I’ve learned a few important things from Carol, some of which we’ll save for a different post (since it has very little to do with yoga). But in the process of learning about the work that she does, she helped me understand something about the importance of movement, balance and strength for persons suffering with Parkinson’s disease.

Now, I already have a fair amount of knowledge about Parkinson’s disease, in no small part thanks to the Parkinson’s disease doctor who has been a client of ours for several years now. So I’m familiar with the tremor, the gait and other unique symptoms that Parkinson’s sufferers have to deal with.

But until I met Carol, I never would have imagined that training under a yoga instructor could really improve the quality of life for a Parkinson’s patient.

Why Yoga for Parkinson’s Disease?

Evidently, there’s quite a bit of research which suggests that exercise is helpful for Parkinson’s sufferers. Since that’s true, it makes perfect sense that yoga might just be an ideal form of exercise for Parkinson’s disease patients.

And while yoga (nor any other form of exercise, for that matter) doesn’t truly treat any Parkinson’s symptoms, one can see how the flexibility, balance and strength gained through engaging in yoga could, in fact, really improve the overall health, confidence and quality of life for someone facing this disease.

A Parkinson’s diagnosis can, in and of itself, bring a great deal of stress along with it. Yoga is widely known as a great tool for dealing with stress. In addition, the average age of Parkinson’s onset is approximately 60 years. Thus, Parkinson’s sufferers are also dealing with the normal issues related to aging. This means that staying physically active and improving balance and strength are more important than ever… and much more so given the symptoms of the disease.

And this is only the beginning. Carol has begun writing about Parkinson’s disease and yoga, and she is doing a fantastic job of explaining in greater detail how yoga can serve to help Parkinson’s sufferers. Be sure to check it out! And if you happen to be located in the area east of Oakland, California, then Carol and Inner Key Yoga may be just the physical fitness solution you’ve been looking for — regardless of your age! Perhaps a visit to her yoga in the park in Walnut Creek would be a great way to start!

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