I wondered if you could give me a quick answer for a friend of a friend (age 39) who practices power yoga nearly every day. She just had 2 strokes in her face and is in the hospital. The Doctors are telling her that yoga may have caused this. She doesn’t do headstand but does a beautiful shoulderstand (engages shoulder external rotation very well). Do you agree with the medical diagnosis? My first thought was that this could be a virus (bells palsy). They also told her not to do yoga anymore.
Thanks in advance for you advice to this female. Namaste Karen Susi
Strokes in the younger age groups are usually due to emboli that originate in the legs and pass through a hole between the right and left atria of the heart. Inactivity or prolonged sitting is the major risk factor.
The vessels in the neck are not likely to have significant atherosclerosis, so even extreme bends would not be dangerous.
Bell’s palsy is often mistaken for a stroke, but the diagnosis should be obvious to a medical doctor. In Bell’s the entire side of the face is involved. In a stroke the upper face has crossover innervations and is spared.
Her friend needs another opinion. If they blame Yoga then they might not be looking for other causes. Mark Pierce, MD Internal MedicineAlthough anything is possible, after reading the various replies so far, I think we have to acknowledge that even yoga, in very rare circumstances could possibly, but not probably, play a role in causing a stroke, but the circumstances would be extraordinary with a substantial underlying congenital or physiologic predisposition, some of which have been nicely articulated in preceding replies, as well as a certain amount of avidya and karma on the patient’s/student’s behalf. Even from an Ayurvedic perspective one can imagine a student with a pitta/vata pkruti and a substantial vata/pitta vkruti imbalance further aggravating the condition with an unsuitable yogic practice over a long period of time resulting in stroke like symptoms, but again this is more in the realm of possibility than probablility. Less than optimal accomodation of a student’s yoga practice with their particular jyotish and pranamaya kosha predispositions can create all kinds of havoc of which we are ususally unaware unless blessed with guidance from a teacher knowledgable in such matters. Patients with uncontrolled hypertension, poorly controlled diabetes or hypoglycemia, occult brain tumors, cerebral aneurysms (of which patients are typically unaware until significant symptoms occur), etc can possibly stroke out with inversions, overly vigorous pitta/kapha practices, and non-yogic breathing patters (increased breath retention). Lots of possibilities, very few predictable probabilities from an allopathic forensic perspective. As a physician and yogi who often must wrestle with causality assessments in my day to day practice, I am acutely aware of the consistently seemingly logical but really delusional assumptions we tend to project onto our observations in hopes of “explaining” such observations.
I think it is important for all of us to be humbled and compassionate with respect to our mutual ignorance on such matters (including the doctors treating Karen's friend). We do not have all the facts, with much of what we know 2cd or 3rd hand hear say, and the doctors very likely do not have all the facts, let alone a constructive knowledge of the various yoga disciplines. Power yoga very well may not be the best practice for this individual, but I am sure that there is some form of yoga that will be therepeutic and healing for her. Hamsa beutifully outlines a sensible and wise approach. I have certainly had the privelage of seeing approaches such as Hamsa's work wonderfully as an adjunct or even replacement for stroke rehab- but again, we should not assume the diagnosis without better data.
Karen, please send your friend’s friend our prayers for a healing recovery. Namaste, Bart Goldman, MD
I believe that this physician and many others unfamiliar with yoga, are misinformed and misguided. Blaming yoga for a stroke is absurd. Chances are that there was an underlying, undiagnosed condition that unfortunately caused her stroke. Ther could be many reasons such as medical, head trauma, circulatory…but I don’t believe yoga is one of them. With regard to the doctor’s edict that she not longer practice yoga, I believe this is misguided. In working with stroke survivors, I have seen time and again how a gentle approach helps in recovery. Some components that have proven helpful are:
-The presence and attentiveness of the teacher, and yogas traditional student-teacher relationship
-Working with an attitude of witness consciousness, self study and understanding
-Pranayama! helps lungs rehabilitate and encourages them to regain their elasticity
-Tongue and mouth games
-Relabeling the sides as right and left, not good and bad
-Meditation
-Gentle ROM movements
-Assisted stretches for increasing ROM
-Strenghtening healthy musculature
-Working to strengthen muscles involved in gait and hand/arm usage
-Encouraging verbalizing movements and visualizing movements, patience, guided imagery, deep relaxations using restorative yoga poses
With a gentle, patient approach, and respect and compassion for who the student is NOW, strength and mobility improve and there are great improvements. Yoga appears to give post-stroke students a feeling that THEy are in control and I have seen many work through their challenges with a renewed sense of empowerment and grace. For those who are open to yoga’s spiritual side, inviting them to explore those aspects can also be profoundly healing. Keeping the yoga practice firmly on the side of YOGA has also been a successful strategy. Student tend to feel like they are doing an acitivity rather than “patients” doing “therapy” I don’t call my visits treatments, rather practice. Once the student has recovered sufficiently, I believe she would benefit enormously from a gentle yoga program: I agree, though, that headstands, shoulderstands, and poses that raise pressure to the head are contraindicated. Maybe she should find a doctor woht understands yoga and its benefits, so she will be supported to return to a practice that has brought her joy in the past. Perhaps she could be provided with literature from IAYT to provide education about how yoga might benefit.