Below you will find my project on Sangha support as part of my distance education for my yoga teacher training.
I started the search for this project with these questions:
How can I strengthen ties to my community through communication, connection and support?
How can I reach out to members of the community I wouldn’t otherwise connect to in my teaching?
How can I help raise consciousness to the availability of yoga to everyone?
Where is there opportunity for me to learn more about myself, my teaching, and be humbled by others, their practice and their bodies?
The answer to these questions came in the form of the project below.
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Wheelchair Yoga as a practice exists in many different forms. Different sequences exist out there – some for more elderly individuals that include work in a chair, then on the floor, others that are designed for rehabilitation. From the research I did, and with collaboration of two amazing ladies, I realized even more than in the asana that I'm used to practicing and teaching at Moksha or elsewhere, that no two people are the same, no two poses are the same. With varying abilities and limitations for those in wheelchairs, nimbleness and ability to adapt both as the teacher and as the student is of utmost importance. Interestingly enough, while breathing, containment and expression are all important and play a role in yoga, I found the expression the most powerful and beautiful for those practicing in a chair, especially as the postures can look different on everyone. This is really where each individual works toward expressing the pose to their fullest capability while honouring their abilities and limitations.
From my research, I discovered that the benefits of wheelchair yoga are all the same as yoga in general (i.e. improved flexibility, strength, reduced levels of stress, tension, anxiety, improved mental clarity and focus, improved sense of well being, better sleep) but that one in particular stood out as more important than others, and that is of an increased feeling of connection and decreased isolation. This can stem from the physical connection with the teacher, the ability to share in a practice so accessible to others, but also, and perhaps most importantly, to the mind body connection, developing this depth of body awareness and realizing power and strength from so deep. As one of my contributors Tracey pointed out, we spend a ton of our time fighting our bodies instead of learning to read them, as well as maximize and appreciate movements that can help future function.
In addition to the main physical reality of some sort of paralysis or altered ability to walk (with certain muscles compensating for others where loss of function has occurred), people who spend much or most of their time seated or in a wheelchair can develop a slouch. The strength in the back muscles may not have been maintained from a weakened core and / or overdependence on the backrest, and muscular imbalance from overuse (biceps, shoulders) may further encourage a tendency to be round-shouldered or concave in their thoracic area. As a result, the neck may also be unnaturally curved. The inner effects of this outward slouching or leaning can compromise breathing, results in weakened and contracted abdominal and thoracic muscles, reduced blood and lymph circulation, and possibly sluggish digestion.
When a person has been limited to a wheelchair much or all of the time, especially for a period of years, they can become accustomed to thinking of what they cannot do. Yoga is compassionate in its adaptability to any person’s body, the body’s current strengths, and level of flexibility. Once a little more flexibility is reached, or a little more strength obtained so that muscles do not ache with use, there is even more hope and more enthusiasm to do the postures.
To modify the Moksha series into a wheelchair series was tough. I wanted to stay as true to the sequencing as possible, understanding postures are sequenced with deliberate intent, but wanted also to make it as accessible as possible to anyone in a wheelchair (not assuming, one can come out of the chair to lay on the floor for example), working within the range of abilities that each person has. I also wanted to address some of the possible internal and external physical complaints identified above. Below you will find what I've developed and what I have had the opportunity to obtain feedback on from my contributors. Tracey is an athlete, who was left paralyzed at the age of nine by a spinal surgery. She regained some function so is able to walk with the use of orthotics. She is about lumbar level 4-5 in terms of function but has some sacral function too, albeit weak. Jana has cerebral palsy and has recently started bringing activity back into her life, heading to the gym to work on mobility, cardio, and strength. This newfound commitment to fitness has allowed her to gain core strength, reduce spasms in muscles, and gain extension of her limbs and muscles. They each went through the series, commented based on their experiences and helped me shape the final product. I look forward to testing the series on these models, offering adjustments and shaping it further with time. Tracey and Jana’s full bios are posted below.
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Wheelchair series
Start in a seated meditation. Finding a tall spine. Shoulders relax down and shoulder blades melt on the back. Eyes are closed. Palms can rest gently on the thighs. Enage the lower belly and start lengthening the inhales and the exhales. Focus on the rise and fall of your belly and chest and come back to this breath if and when you notice your thoughts drifting. If the back starts to ache, relax it back into the backrest for a few breaths, and then re-engage the core, finding a strong, tall spine as you reach out of the crown of the head. Reach your arms overhead and give yourself a stretch by interlacing the hands and reaching up towards the ceiling but allowing your hips/legs to stay grounded in the chair.
Pranayama breathing: bring your hands to the centre of your chest, palms together. Allow the elbows to lift and spread away from each other, a slight pressure between the palms. Let the armpits lift, shoulders relax back. Inhale here. Exhale through the mouth, interlock the fingers and start to press the hands down towards your thighs keeping the spine long. Inhale through the nose, press the palms out in front of you drawing the interlocked hands all the way up over your head, keeping your gaze fixed to your hands for a cervical stretch. Exhale, palms together, draw the hands down the centerline, interlocking the fingers as they cross the heart pressing the palms down. As you inhale up, straighten the arms, feeling a stretch in the back and side body, allowing the shoulders to stay relaxed. On the exhales, stay tall in the spine squeezing the air out of the belly and finding a tone in the lower belly. Repeat for 6-8 breaths, inhaling and exhaling steadily for a count of 5.
Tadasana (mountain pose): Lift the back of your hips away from the back rest while you allow the sits bones to stay heavy in the seat. Lift the crown of your head toward the ceiling. Lift the sternum and roll your shoulders down and back without curving the chest forward. Arms can be straight down at the sides (if you are able to sit in a chair without sides for support) or relaxed in the lap (if you are able to keep the spine upright without too much muscular effort). With each inhalation, picture yourself growing taller and straighter; with each exhalation relax into the pose. Help strengthen the spine and correct posture here, while also reducing pressure on vertabrae that spend a lot of time constricted.
(Variation on Ardha Chandrasana, Crescent moon) Side bend: Inhale and lift your left arm up over your head, bring your right arm to your hip, or bring your right forearm on an arm rest for support. Staying rooted and heavy in the pelvis, inhale as you reach the left fingertips up, then exhale your body to the right, extending the left arm up then over your head with your palm facing down. Keep the core tight and use your breath here to feel the opening and stretch in the intercostal muscles, opening the ribcage. If the left shoulder rolls forward, bring it back in space so your chest is open and broad and your shoulders are in line or stacked if your side bend is deep. If comfortable for you, you can bring your gaze up to the left hand, keeping the back of the neck nice and long. Hold the pose for 3-5 breaths as you continue to breathe deeply. Repeat on the other side. Caution: if you have rods, refrain from going too deeply into this pose, really focusing on an action of "up and over" not "over and down".
Garudasana (Eagle pose): Inhale and lift your arms. Exhale sweep the right arm under the left crossing at the elbows, forearms and rotating your hands so they are palm to palm. Squeeze the palms and forearms together and then allow the shoulder blades to melt towards one another for an upper back stretch. If you cannot reach opposite palms, grab onto opposite shoulders and allow the shoulder blades to come closer together and soften down. Keep the shoulders relaxed and the chest lifted. Squeeze inner thighs towards one another energetically, if available for you. Lift the elbows up to shoulder height to deepen the stretch in the upper back. Hold for 3-5 breaths. Release your arms and repeat on the other side.
(Variation on back bend): Active forward bend: Inhale, lengthen through your spine. Exhale, bend forward from your waist placing your hands on your wheelchair arms or thighs for support. Hinge forward at the hip creases not the waist. Keep the spine long on the inhales, exhale, reach the heart forward, keeping the chin away from the chest and the back of the neck long.
Pranayama breathing and seated meditation: Inhale deeply to a count of 5, hold for 1, exhale for 5, hold for 1, repeat. Place one hand on the heart and one on the abdomen. As you inhale, feel the hand on the stomach move first, then the chest. On the exhale, chest, then stomach. Feel the ribs expand, relax the mind.
Pavana Muktasana (Wind relieving pose): Inhale, lengthen through your spine. Exhale, lift your right knee as high as it will go comfortably. Reach forward with your hands around your shin or the back of your thigh so you can support your leg as you stretch. Interlock the fingers right at the webbing, and get a nice tight grip. You can relax your spine back into the backrest and as you bring your right knee closer to your right shoulder. Breathe into the front of the hip and expand your rib cage as well to massage the internal organs. Hold for 3-5 breaths. Continue breathing deeply as you hold the stretch. Gently release and repeat on the left.
(Variation on Sucirandhrasana, Thread the Needle): Inhale, lift the right leg and cross your right ankle over your left thigh, right below the knee. Exhale, allow your right knee to soften as you relax your right hip flexor. Inhale lenghten your spine and, if you want a deeper stretch and you have good trunk stability, exhale and lean forward from your hips, deepening the stretch in the periformis. Continue to breathe as you hold the stretch for 3-5 breaths. Gently release your leg and move to stretch the other side.
(If you are unable to lift the leg to cross the ankle at the thigh, you can work with your teacher to find a stable platform – such as the teacher’s thigh or shoulder if the teacher is sitting on the floor – that is the right height to rest your ankle on across your body. While the foot may be away from the body, you will still feel a stretch on the outside of the hip.
Core and "flows": working on upper body strength and engaging the core while using breath. Inhale, bring your hands onto the arm rests or on the wheels (in a set-lock position), gripping firmly but bringing the shoulders down and back. Engage your core by scooping up your lower belly and cinching your transverse abdominus muscles as if you're wearing a corset. Keep the core super engaged, exhale, push through your palms, lifting your bum and hips out of the seat and straightening your arms. The strength here comes from the core of the body, as you engage the sides of your waist and scoop in the lower belly. The chest is proud but the ribcage pulled slightly back and the shoulders are strong while the shoulder blades pull down and slightly together. Inhale here, keeping the heart lifted and the crown of the head tall. Exhale, lower with control. Repeat 5 times.
(Variation on Bhujangasana, Cobra): Inhale, lengthen through your spine. Exhale, bend forward from your waist placing your hands on your wheelchair arms or the outside tops of your thighs for support. Allow the heart to lead forward as your shoulders come back in space, creating a curve in your back and mini back bend. You can energetically draw your hands back on your arm rests, but keep the shoulders soft. Keep the core engaged and breathe for 3-5 breaths.
(Variation on Sasangasana, Rabbit) Cat pose: Interlace your fingers with arms in your lap, palms facing your face. Inhale as you lift your arms up to the level of your chest. Exhale as you round your upper body forward, dropping your chin toward your chest allowing the spine to round back. Allow the shoulders to roll forward, allow the crown of the head to be heavy, feeling the stretch through your spine. Hold in this position for a few deep breaths.
Spinal twist: Inhale lengthen through your spine. Bring your right hand across to your left leg and your left arm on your arm rest for support. Keeping the spine long on the inhale, on the exhale, begin to twist to the left, allowing for your left hand to aid your twist to deepen. Keep grounded through the sits bones, keep the spine lifted and use the exhales to twist further, eventually looking over your left shoulder. Gently release and switch to the other side.
Kapalabhati pranayama breathing: Kapalabhati consists of alternating short, explosive exhales and slightly longer, passive inhales. The exhales are contractions of the lower belly in an action that looks like you are snapping the belly in and up. This pushes the air out of the lungs. It may resemble blowing out the candles on a birthday cake as your force the air out with a sharp short audible exhale. The inhale will happen naturally and you will do a set of 30 short exhales.
End in seated savasana: Finding a neutral, comfortable position. Close your eyes and allow your breath to come back to its own natural cycle. In addition to quieting the physical body, try also to soften the sense organs. Soften the root of the tongue, the channels of the inner ears, and the skin of the forehead, especially around the bridge of the nose between the eyebrows. Let the eyes sink to the back of the head, then turn them downward to gaze at the heart and allow the skin of your eyelids to soften. Stay here for 5 minutes or as long as you'd like.
Pranayama
Variation on crescent moon
Variation on back bend (heart opener)
Variation on rabbit
Core work / flows
Contributors:
JANA DOUGLAS
My name is Jana Douglas I have a neurological condition called cerebral palsy diagnosed at age two. It basically causes severely spastic muscles, and I notice fatigue is a lot more common as I approach 40. As a result, I use a manual wheelchair for travel long distances like to and from work. I have found pursuit of fitness over the last 8 months tremendously beneficial in terms of increasing range of motion, and reducing spasticity and muscle fatigue. It is my firm belief that adapting yoga poses as part of part of my regime will increase my overall health and wellness. This is of particular importance to someone living with a disability as it would reduce the likelihood of developing secondary health conditions.
TRACEY FERGUSON
Tracey has been a member of five Paralympic Teams and is no new comer to high performance sport on the world stage. As a key member of the gold medal winning wheelchair basketball teams in 1992, 1996, 2000 and of the bronze medal winning in 2004, she definitely knows what it takes to reach the podium.
Always a competitor, Tracey grew up playing street hockey and competing in everything she did, including Easter egg hunts. Her competitive spirit and love of winning fuelled her dream of one day representing Canada on the Olympic Podium.
That dream wasn’t derailed by a spinal surgery that left her paralyzed at the age of nine.
Four years later, Tracey returned to competitive sports when she discovered wheelchair sports through a local fitness centre. Her dream of standing on the podium, representing Canada at the international level was renewed.
Of all the sports she discovered, it has been wheelchair basketball that has allowed her not only to reach the podium at the international level, but to reach the top level of the podium at both World Championships and Paralympic Games and also be named to two World All-Star Teams (1998 and 2002).
Always up for a new challenge, Tracey also qualified for the Paralympic Team for Beijing 2008 in wheelchair athletics. Her debut performances demonstrate that Tracey is force to be reckoned with on the track. She placed 2nd (200m), 3rd (400m) at the 2006 Paralympic National Championships; qualified for the finals (800m) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games; and again at the 2006 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletic World Championship (200m).
A four-time recipient of the Ontario Wheelchair Sports Association’s Female Athlete of the Year award, Tracey has also been honoured by the YMCA's Young Woman of Distinction Award and the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award. She truly believes that representing Canada as an athlete is an honour.
