Yoga for mobility

14/09/2020

I am delighted to announce that Yoga For Mobility has teamed up with the registered NDIS provider, All Ability Yoga. Now our services are more accessible to members of the disabled community and come under the umbrella of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

All Ability Yoga is run by Julie who has a disability herself. Like Yoga For Mobility she applies the yoga therapy that she developed to deal with her own disability to people who have similar disabilities.

Both Julie and me are very excited about the synergy we have and are looking forward to working together and sharing yoga and yoga therapy with people dealing with a disability.

15/08/2020

15/08/2020

Mark Workman, shares how he (& others) can use yoga to help when there’s been an amputation.

04/08/2020

I am delighted to let everyone know that I will be presenting on yoga for amputees and people suffering limb loss at the Global Yoga Therapy Day on the 14th of this month (August).

I will also be on a panel convened by Yoga Australia discussing Yoga Therapy for diverse communities.

I encourage anyone interested in adapting yoga to the needs of people with a disability to click on the link and register for the presentations.

https://global-yoga-therapy-day.heysummit.com/speakers/mark-workman/

16/07/2020

Little meditations - I want...

We are told by many traditions of that desire or craving is the root of all suffering. We often make the mistake of thinking it is the things we desire that are the problem, however it is really the state of desiring or craving that causes us suffering and affects our decision making. Food, s*x, money etc., are not in themselves causes of suffering but being driven by the desire for them causes all manner of misery and discontent.

A little meditation can help us understand how that functions in our life. I like to do this at night when I am laying in bed getting ready to go to sleep.

Simply say 'I want', silently in your mind or quietly out loud a number of times and notice how it makes you feel. Once you have established that, consciously relinquish the whole experience of wanting. Rather than say 'I don't want' simply let go of the whole concept of wanting. In my practice I find it doesn't take long before I just want to lay there peacefully and am completely dissatisfied with the driven and discontented state of wanting. So I just lay there content with that very moment, the past is gone and the future isn't real.

I like to reflect on the story of St Anthony, one of the Desert Fathers of the early Christian Church. He was pestered to visit Alexandria by the bishop. When he got there the bishop showed him the great new cathedral and told him of the wealth the church had gained since it became the religion of the Roman Empire.

On hearing this St Anthony said "Wealth? What is wealth?"

The bishop replied, "Wealth is when you can have anything you want."

"Ahhh..." said St Anthony, "Thank you bishop, I understand. So if I want nothing then I am wealthy." And he promptly returned to the desert.

15/07/2020

It is past time for me to update everyone on the trial 8 week program with Amputees NSW. I haven't posted anything for a while because the program with Amps NSW and the necessities of keeping body and soul together have taken all my time. So here's all the news that is fit to print...

The participants in the program range from new amputees to people that have been living with a prosthesis all their lives and include bilateral amputees, above and below the knee amputees, young people and old people.

The 8 week program has been a great success for all of them on two fronts. Firstly they have really benefited from becoming aware of their own asymmetry and having some techniques to deal with it. It has been a group effort and by applying the fundamental principles of asana practice to each person's particular situation we have adapted three asana practices, one each for laying down, sitting and standing, to the needs of all the attendee with great effect.

Secondly, focusing on the breath during asana practice and learning two pranayama techniques has given the participants considerable control over their mood and helped them improve their focus and concentration considerably.

All of the classes and discussions have been recorded and it has left me with a wealth of material to refer to in my efforts to improve the application of yoga to amputees and other people suffering limb loss. In addition to improving future programs the experience and the material that I have collected will give greater depth and broader relevance to the book that I am writing. I hope it will help broaden the reach of yoga and demonstrate its real value to people with disabilities.

Anyone who is interested in what we have been up to can have a look at the classes in a raw and unedited form on the Yoga For Mobility YouTube channel. I will post a link here once I have uploaded video of all the classes. The YouTube videos have been invaluable for people attending the program because they can go back and revise what they have learned at their leisure.

I hope to continue with the online work. At the moment I am trying to work out how to afford to buy suitable lighting etc so I can turn my former office into a more suitable place for delivering online classes and recording instructional videos. If anyone has any bright ideas on that front please don't hesitate to tell me. I have been doing all this on a meagre government benefit and it is quite a challenge.

The plan now is to offer the program to the amputee community in general and do another trial program for upper limb amputees. Thanks have to go to Amputees NSW and all the people who have helped me get this far for their amazing support and encouragement.

30/05/2020

Phantom Limb Pain Success!

I could not be more pleased. I taught a practice to deal with phantom limb sensations to a lady in Kashmir who was very troubled by phantom limb pain. She found it helped with pain very rapidly and after only four days her phantom limb sensations have decreased significantly. She has stopped taking the strong pain medication she was on and is feeling much better. Such is the power of authentic yoga. :)

28/05/2020

In spite of the fact that I am not personally that comfortable with a lot of exposure I created a YouTube channel to help make yoga for people with limb loss more accessible and give students the ability to revise what they have learnt. If you feel so inclined check it out.