Functional neurological disorders: can yoga improve wellbeing?
Sarah Wall, Sumeet Singhal, James Povey, Emma Hopewell, Kathryn JackBackground:
Functional neurological disorders are complex conditions characterised by involuntary motor and sensory symptoms, in addition to psychological disorders such as anxiety and brain fog. Treatments aim to reduce the effects of these symptoms, but are not curative.
Aims:
The aim of this project was to establish if people with functional neurological disorders would find an adapted hatha yoga online intervention to be a supportive and beneficial tool to aid symptom management.
Methods:
A once-weekly, one-to-one, 10-week course of yoga was designed. The intervention was comprised of simple and physically unchallenging physical movements, such as stretches, breathing exercises and guided meditation.
Findings:
Six participants were recruited and all reported positive feedback; 50% ( n =3/6) reported more daytime energy, 50% ( n =3/6) experienced less sudden panic and 66.7% ( n =4/6) reported an increase in looking forward to events.
Conclusions:
Yoga has the potential to improve wellbeing and symptom management in this population.