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Are Yoga, Meditation and Exercises Effective In Curing Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s Disease is a debilitating neuro-muscular disease usually characterized by trembling limbs and a slow shuffling gait.

Symptoms: Different people exhibit different symptoms. Symptoms start on one side of the body, and that side always remains the worst affected. It usually starts with a mild tremor in one hand, and is barely noticeable. Gradually this becomes more acute.

Muscles in the face, neck and limbs become rigid. This leads to loss of facial expression, speech becomes mumbling and soft, and posture becomes stiff and stooped. The body loses its power of balance and while walking, the steps taken are short and shuffling. All motions become very slow, and even simple day-to-day activities become very time-consuming and difficult. Some people get unblinking eyes and a fixed staring expression. Sometimes, dementia too occurs in later stages.

Causes: Parkinson’s Disease is caused by the lack of dopamine, which is the chemical messenger in the brain. It is difficult to pinpoint what sets off this disease, but heredity, age, gender (more males seem to have it) and sometimes exposure to toxic materials, such as found in pesticides, seem to trigger it.

Treatment: As yet there is no cure for PD. But relief is sought through medications which increase the supply of dopamine. Sometimes a surgical procedure involving deep brain stimulation is done. Physical therapy, massage and exercise have been found helpful, along with lifestyle changes to incorporate all these.

Yoga, meditation and exercise have been found effective to bring some relief and improve quality of life.

Yoga helps improve balance and flexibility, and since the movements are slow and gentle, they are safe to do. Some of the poses can also be modified and performed sitting in a chair or lying down. Yoga also improves flexibility of the spine, and strengthens other muscles. It also loosens the muscles of the neck and throat, thus allowing improved swallowing and chewing, and better speech control. By increasing energy levels and decreasing stress in the muscles, it allows deeper sleep. Even 15 minutes of yoga every day can be relaxing.

Meditation is also helpful in PD. Because of its debilitating nature, PD is very stressful. Meditation is a good way to de-stress. You can achieve this by setting aside even 15 minutes every day to just sit quietly and watch your breath, while your mind wanders freely. Your mind will slowly calm down. You can also try a chanting a mantra.

Other exercises have also been found to be helpful. Swimming is gentle and safe. Chinese martial arts and Tai-chi are some other exercises which help. While none of these can cure PD, they will make living with it a little more tolerable.

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