Pages

Labels

12th anniversary 21st Amendment Monk's Blood Abbaye De Saint Bon Chien abhyasa abuse abyss active vs. passive poses acute pain agility agitated depression ahimsa Al-Aksir alasya ale alesmith alignment Allagash anatomy Anchor Brewing Anchor Brewing Company anchor steam Anchor Steam Brewing and moderation Andrea Gilats Angel's Share anger ankle circles ankle injuries ankle joint ankle problems ankle sprains anti-aging solution anxiety aparigraha appetite arm pain arm strength arms arthralgia arthritis arthritis (menopause) arthritis of shoulder joint atrial fibrillation avery avery maharaja award winning beer store ayurveda B.K. Bose baba back care back extensor muscles back pain balance Ballast Point baltic thunder bandhas bandwagon of healthy eating baroreceptors basque cider Baxter Baxter Bell bay area beer beer beer advocate beer castro beer club beer club san francisco beer list Beer of the Month beer of the month club beer pong beer shop san francisco beer store Belgian beer belgian beer glasses belgian beer san francisco Belgium. Japanese best beer store in the world BFM Bhagavad Gita Bhramari Bikram Choudhury biological clock Birra Troll Birrifio bitches brew Bittersweet Lenny black butte black lager blood lactate blood pressure body image bone strength Bonnie Maeda bottle bag bourbon Brad Gibson brain strength Brasserie Caracole breath breath practices Brettanomyces Beer Brewing Bridge pose Bridget Frederick Bruery Coton Bruery Mischief Bruery Saison De Lente bruising Brussels Bruton beer bursitis bypass surgery California beer Callifornia beer caloric restriction Cantillon cantillon san francisco Carol Krucoff cascade apricot cascade sang rouge cask strength sake Castro Cat pose Cat-Cow pose cataracts central nervous system cervical nerves Chair Cat pose Chair Downward-Facing Dog pose Chair Purvottansana chair yoga chair yoga sequence challenging pose charlie papazian chatoe rogue cheese Child's pose children Chimay chimay san francisco chocolate indulgence chondromalacia christmas beer chronic illness chronic inflammation chronic pain chronic stress cognitive decline cognitive health collapsed lung commenting comments community community yoga compassion compression of joints connective tissue conscious relaxation contacting writers contentment cortisol counter-poses Cow pose craft beer craft beer san francisco craft beer store craft brew creaky knees Cucapa Barley wine Cuvee de Tomme Cuvee des Champions Damnation dave hauslein david hausein David Hauslein Dayna Macy De Dolle De Proef De Ranke Dead Guy Ale Decadence Pomegranite Saison Decadent Evil degenerative disc disease dementia dental disease depression Depuceleuse san francisco DFH Faithful Ale DFH Twenty dharana dhyana dhyanam diabetes diet digestion digestive disorders digestive system dogfish head Dogfish Head Theobroma Dolphin pose dominus vibiscum doshas double ipa Downward-Facing Dog pose Downward-Facing Dog pose (variations) drake's denogginizer Drie Fontinen duck feet Eagle pose Easy Inverted Pose eating habits eating healthy Einbecker El Camino (un) real emotional wellbeing endorphins endurance training enteric brain equanimity eric's ale European Society of Cardiology exercise extensor muscles eye floaters eye problems facebook beer Fantome fatigue feet felt real happiness fifty fifty brewing company Firestone Walker first growth first trimester fizzy yoga Flanders flat feet Flemish Primitive flemish sour ale flexibility Food pyramid guide forehead skin forward bends fred echardt front body frozen shoulder full sail topsail fun gait Gandhi ganglion cysts Garudasana genetics Georg Feuerstein George Gale ginjo Gonzo goose island goose island san francisco Goouden Carolus gouden carolus Grand Cru greed grief grow your own Gueuze gueuze girardin Haandbryggeriet hakutsuru Halasana (supported) hands Handstand Hanssens lambic happiness hard cider head position head rush headaches health care professionals healthy aging healthy eating Healthy Eating Ideas healthy spirits healthy spirits Mikkeller 1000 IBU healthy spirits san francisco healthy spirits. Deschutes Jubel Ale 2010 healthy spirits. san francisco healthy spirits. san francisco beer healthy spriits healthy style of eating heart problems Hedonist Beer Jive herbs hernias high blood pressure himsa Hinduism hip arthritis hip dysplasia hip replacements history of yoga Hitachino Nest Hitachino XH hoarding home brew home practice home yoga practice hop wallop Howe Sound Hugh Malone hummus hypertension hypotension ida immune system inflammation inguinal hernias injuries insomnia Inverted Lake pose Irritable Bowel Syndrome Jalandara Bandha Japanese beer jatharagni jay hinman jizake John John joint health joint pain joint replacement joints Jolly Pumpkin Jon Kabat-Zinn Judith Lasater kampai karma yoga karuna Kausthub Desikachar kidney kleshas knee alignment knee joint knee pain knee replacement Koningshoeven Krishnamacharya Krishnmacharya kundalini lactic acid lager Lambic large women leg cramps leg length discrepancy (LLD) Legs Up the Wall pose life coaching Life Coaching Executives Life coaching problems ligaments lips of faith longevity Lost Abbey Lost Abbey Brewing Company low back low back pain low blood pressure Luciernaga Lucifer lying male hormones male menopause malnutrition Man Bites Downward-Facing Dog marijuana marin brewing barrel aged old dipsea massage medical advice medical conditions (informing teacher of) medical conditions (yoga for) meditation Melina Meza Melitta Rorty men menopause mental health Mephistopholes micro brew micro-brew middle-eastern Midnight Sessions Lager Midnight sun brewing midnight sun hop dog midnight sun san francisco migraines Mikkeller Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast Mikkeller Black Mikkeller chipotle porter mind-body connection mindful yoga mindfulness mini office yoga sequence mini yoga practices miracle mission statement mood Morton's Neuroma motivation Mountain pose Multiple Sclerosis Muriel Zimmerman music nadis napa smith nate breed neck anatomy neck pain neuroma neuropsychiatric disorders new arrivals new belgium new releases nigori Nina Zolotow Niroga Institute noble pils nocturnal leg cramps Nogne-O non-hoarding non-violence Norwegian beer nutrient-dense foods oak aged oak aged ale oatmeal stout Odonata Rorie's Ale odonata saison office yoga Old Inventory Barleywine ommegang Ommegeddon oral hygiene Orval osteoarthritis osteopenia osteoporosis Oyster Stout pain pain management parabola partner yoga Paschima Namaskarana Paschimottanasana passive vs. active poses Patricia Walden Paul Grilley peanuts Pearl Jam Pearl Jam Beer pelvis perimenopause pes planus philosophy physio-yoga pigeon toes pingula pinto plantar fascitis Pliny the Elder Pliny the Younger Plow pose (supported) pneumothorax Port Brewing postural control posture Powerful pose practice practice (changing your) prana prana vayu pranayama pratipaksha bhavanam pregnancy private lessons proprioception psoas Puppy pose purusathas Purvottanasana Purvottansansa quadruppel questions R. Sriram Ram Rao rami barqawi Rami's Mommy's range of motion (ROM) rate beer ratebeer real ale Reclined Cobbler's pose red lentils Redemption relaxation Relaxation pose relaxation response religion (and yoga) resistance training resting restless leg syndrome restorative backbend restorative yoga retreats Reverse Prayer pose Richard Rosen Rodenbach barrel 230 Rogue Brewery Russian River Russian River Sanctification sacroiliac joint sacrum sacrum (anatomy of) safety saint somewhere saison Saison Du BUFF sake Salvation samana vayu samaranth san francisco san francisco Beer San Francisco beer store San Francisco Beer Week san francisco bottle shop san francisco craft brew san francisco fantome san francisco odonata santosha Sarah Powers Sarvangasana (supported) satya saucha Savasana scalene muscles scar tissue Schaerbeekse Kriek Schlenkerla Ur-Bock Schneider scientific studies Sculpin sedentary behavior Seedstore seniors sequencing Setu Bandha Shari Ser shochu shoulder blades shoulder joint (arthritis of) shoulder joint replacement shoulders shoulders. sequences Shoulderstand (supported) sierra nevada sierra nevada 30th anniversary Signature Ale sitting-rising sleep smiling soy speedway stout spiritual health spiritual wellness split peas squatting steenbrugge stem cell regeneration stillwater Stone stone brewing company stopping yoga practice store hours beer strength stress stress management stress response Stretching stroke strong cheese styana suffering Sukasana supplements Supplication Supported Child's Pose Supported Forward Bend Supta Badha Konasana surgery sushumna nadi Swiss beer Table pose tabouli Tadasana teacher (choosing) teachers teaching seniors Temptation testosterone Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Day Schedule The abyys san francisco The Bruery Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Thoreau tilting the pelvis timing poses Timothy McCall top sail toronado total knee replacement towards healing and finding the solution transferring transitions trappist trauma trial run coaching session truth tucking the pelvis TV Twilight and Life Coaching ujjayi breath unfiltered sake unibroue Upavista Konasana upper body flexibility upper body strength Upward Plank pose Upward-Facing Plank pose urthel Utkatasana val dieu Valley Brewing Company variety vata vayu vegetarian way vertical epic vestibular system victory Victory at Sea viloma breath vintage beer violence Viparita Karani vyana vayu Warrior 1 Warrior 2 pose Warrior 3 wedge weight loss weight management wild ale wild devil will power William Broad workshops wrist problems wrists wu tang clan xyauyu yamas Yin Yoga yoga history Yoga Journal conference yoga nidra yoga philosophy yoga sutras yoga therapy yogic breathing yogic phases of life yulesmith summer

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Yoga After Cataract Surgery

by Baxter

A teacher wrote in to ask us about a student who will be having cataract surgery. The teacher said that the student's doctor told her she should avoid lifting for two weeks, and asked us: Are there any yoga poses that should be avoided? Inversions come to mind but does that mean downward dog as well? Because cataract surgery is one of the most common surgeries performed in the US each year, many of us will have students in this very situation, and some us will find ourselves there as well. So I decided to do a full post on the topic.

It is estimated that 50% of adults over the age of 80 have a cataract. Cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye that lies just behind your pupil and iris, the front and center most parts of your eyeball. The lens allows light and images to pass through to the back of eye onto the retina, which is the part of the eye that sends that image info to the brain. The clearer the lens, the better the image. The lens also focuses the images onto the retina, not unlike the focus feature on a slide projector or movie projector.
What causes the clouding of the lens that we call a “cataract”? The lens is made up of mostly water and proteins. As we get older, some of the proteins begin to clump together. If the clumps get big enough, they begin to partially block the light trying to pass through the lens. As long as the clumps stay small, you may not even notice the changes, but if a clump gets big enough, your vision will start to get blurry or even color tinted, usually brownish.  Even though cataracts are sometimes referred to as “age-related” and I mentioned the percentage of elderly with them, you can sometimes develop cataracts in your 40s or 50s, and there are even rare forms of congenital cataracts that infants can be born with. You are at increased risk for developing one if you have prolonged exposure to sunlight, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, or have diabetes.

The good news is that treating cataracts with surgery is quite safe in general.  However, during the post-surgery period, there are risks of developing problems such as bleeding, infection, or changes in the pressure inside the eye, either up or down. And there is a very slight increase in the chance of the retina at the back of the eye coming away from inside surface of the eye, a condition known as retinal detachment. This last complication is considered a medical emergency as it can lead to sudden loss of vision. To learn more about cataracts in general, check out this National Institutes of Health-sponsored web page Facts About Cataracts.
 
On the NIH web page, I found the following recommendations for modified activity after cataract surgery, but without specific connection to the above risks:

“When you are home, try not to bend from the waist to pick up objects on the floor. Do not lift any heavy objects. You can walk, climb stairs, and do light household chores.”

I can only assume that these recommendations are made to reduce the risk of bleeding, pressure changes in the eye (which can be position- and exertion-influenced) and retinal detachment. So, how should you modify this student’s yoga practice during the two-week post-operative period, and maybe for a full eight weeks, the typical time for the surgery to completely heal up?

Inversions should certainly be avoided. This includes standing forward bends like Uttanasana and Prasarita Padottanasana, and even Downward-Facing Dog. You can still include modified poses like Half Dog pose at the wall.  If you apply the rule of not bending past 90 degrees from vertical, you will minimize the pressure increase to the head and subsequently to the eye.  As far as I know, there has not been a specific study to confirm eye pressure changes doing inverted yoga postures, but it seems likely that they would potentially cause it and are therefore best avoided. Also, as I think I have mentioned before regarding yoga and high blood pressure, you also need to limit the length of time you stay in a static or held pose, especially the standing poses, as the exertion required often leads to an overall increase in blood pressure, which could also influence pressures in the eyes.  Other rather obvious poses that could have a similar effect are those that require strong, sustained contraction of the abdominal muscles, which would also increase blood pressure in the eyes.  Poses like Boat pose (Navasana), deep held twists (even sitting versions), and arm balances like Crow pose (Bakasana) also fall into this category. 

In a time of healing—for cataract surgery or any other health recovery time—you want to keep the nervous system quieter, spending more time in the “rest and digest” part of the autonomic nervous system. So spend this two week healing period doing gentler practices, including lots of supported restoratives and guided meditations on health and healing. It would be great to hear back from the person who sent in the question on how things turn out for your student, and from any of our readers who have worked with this situation before.
 

Sample text

Sample Text

Sample Text