Using the Discipline of Yoga to Empower Parkinson’s Patients
Many yoga practitioners do not have the background and understanding of Shruti Keskar. Back in India, she got her bachelor of science degree in naturopathic medicine and yoga sciences. There she learned to incorporate yoga into a holistic healing modality. She says it’s an amazing way to study it, starting with its history, philosophy and practicality. With a solid foundation of human anatomy and physiology, along with study of Yoga postures, Shruti was able to incorporate both eastern and western science to get a deeper understanding of the body and how yoga poses have an effect on it.
Armed with that background and skill, she moved to the US, living briefly in Connecticut, where she married her husband, and Kansas, before settling in Colorado in 2011. As her older son grew and was joined by a younger brother, Shruti concentrated on raising her family. Then in 2019 she went back to teaching yoga at community centers. At that time, she had a friend, Jen Wilking, who was teaching yoga for Parkinson’s Pointe. She suggested Shruti help teach those classes and learn how she tailored them to Parkinson’s patients. When Jen moved on, Shruti took over all the yoga classes until the Pandemic hit, moving instruction to remote Zoom sessions.
As things started opening back up, she taught classes at Parkinson’s Pointe and became involved with the Parkinson’s Association of the Rockies, teaching for them, too. She still teaches for both organizations.
“Yoga is very adaptable to people’s limitations. At Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital I teach chair yoga for Parkinson’s patients and people doing rehab post-surgery. It’s a perfect practice for people who aren’t comfortable standing or getting down on a mat, but still want to improve their mobility and overall health.”
She gets a lot of satisfaction out of teaching yoga to Parkinson’s patients in an environment where she can personalize it to people’s needs. She says it’s very satisfying to use yoga as a therapeutic tool. It’s is a mind-body class that can help Parkinson’s patients on different levels, including managing stress levels and symptoms.
“The instructors at Parkinson’s Pointe really learn from our patients. When they have progression of the disease, we can adapt the instruction to those new limitations. It helps us understand how the different positions feel to different patients.”
