Yoga As Therapy For Stroke

A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain comes to an end.



There are two different types of stroke, the most common of which is an ischemic stroke. This is the result of a blood clot, which blocks a blood vessel or artery within the patient’s brain. The other one is less common.



It is called a hemorrhagic stroke. This is the result of a blood vessel in the brain rupturing and spilling blood into the surrounding tissue. Brain cells in the area start to die.



This happens, either since they stop receiving the oxygen and nutrients they require to stay alive, or they are destroyed by the bursting of the blood vessel and sudden leakage of blood.

Cerebro-vascular disease, on the other hand, is injury to and impairment of the blood vessels in the brain. This also results in a stroke. The blood vessels can get blocked as a result of fat deposits. They can also get blocked by a wandering blood clot that obstructs flow of blood to a part of the brain. Oftentimes, the blood vessels could rupture, break, or burst. This could also result in a hemorrhagic stroke. Those suffering from with diabetes stand a higher risk of cerebro-vascular disease.

Yoga, as a science as well an art of healthy living, physically and mentally, offers many ways of combating and coping with strokes. Yoga is not a religious belief. It is a way of life. This, in turn is based on positive psychological facts. Yoga aims at the development of a perfect balance between the body and the mind, which facilitates union between body and mind, i.e. perfect harmony in the individual. Further, the continued practice of Yoga helps the practitioner find union with the cosmos.

Relaxation and meditation help reduce stress. Specifically Transcendental Meditation and Vipassana have been proven to reduce atherosclerosis – and risk of heart attacks and strokes – going by the findings published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.