Is there something like stretching or exercise or yoga that can be done to best improve flexibility?
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Answer transcribed from the Brightway Answers interview with recreation therapist Holly Auth:
Definitely. I love yoga and actually studied it for a semester while I was still in college - I was in the best shape of my life after just one semester taking classes. Yoga, Tai Chi, and light stretching are great ways not only to improve your flexibility, but also to increase your strength, muscle tone, and your overall endurance.
There is a great yoga program called Love Your Brain yoga, which is geared towards survivors of brain injury as well as their caregivers. They offer a free six-week program in person in some areas, but I believe it's also offered online now. So if you're interested in trying out yoga or learning more about it, you can go to https://www.loveyourbrain.com/mindset - it’s a great opportunity to see if it’s right for you.
So yes, yoga is great - it works your mind and your body: strength, balance, flexibility. I’d definitely recommend trying it out.
Answer transcribed from Brightway's interview with Dr. Cristen Gordon (pt.1):
Yes, yoga or tai chi stretching. If you're not sure what stretches to do, of course, every person's body is different, you would want to get with a physical therapist. There are even some athletic trainers and personal trainers who are good at working with patients who have had brain injury. They can figure out which muscles you may need to stretch to give you some relief, whether it's pain or maybe you just feel tight. They can help show you the exercises and train you how to do them so you can do them on your own.
Other opportunities include yoga. Yoga is wonderful because not only is it a range of motion, it's highly adaptable. If maybe you can't stand or your balance isn't that great, you can adapt the yoga positions in order to be able to get the stretch you need but in a safe way without losing your balance, falling, or having to get on the floor. The same goes with tai chi, it’s also very adaptable. There are a lot of local chair yoga or chair tai chi classes that you can join. We're in Maryland but they're everywhere and all over the world. You can find these adaptive classes and especially now, a lot of them you can do virtually as well. The other thing you can do is if you have a physical therapist that you work with, you can just call and ask them if they can direct you into some classes that may be in your area as well.