Yoga for Caregiver Resilience
What is Caregiver Resilience and Why Does it Matter?
As a Physical Therapist, I spend a lot of my time around caregivers. As a mother, and daughter of a parent with Parkinson’s Disease, I spend pretty much the rest of it caregiving myself. So, if there is one thing I know, it’s that caregiving is EXHAUSTING. Caregivers not only carry an immense mental and emotional load, but are often required to perform challenging physical tasks repeatedly, day in and and day out. Helping your loved one move around in bed, get up and off the toilet, and even pushing a wheelchair can push your body to the limit, and when you combine this with aging, in a population that has very little time to take care of themselves, this can lead to injury, illness and a general decline in health. While that alone is bad news, it comes with the added pressure of being unable to care for your loved one when you aren’t well yourself.
While I wish I could tell you I have a solution, I don’t. It’s easy to say ‘get more help,’ but that looks past the fact that not only does ‘more help’ cost money, but home health agencies are understaffed and overwhelmed. So, it often stays on ‘us,’ the caregivers, to manage the ever-increasing needs of our loved ones at home. As such, it is CRITICAL that we also find ways to take care of OURSELVES, the Caregivers, so we we can stay healthy enough to care for our loved ones. They key to this is developing RESILIENCE. Resilience is both physical and mental. Physical resilience is becoming strong enough to have ‘gas left in the tank’ even after we finish whatever tasks are required of us for the day. Physical resilience improves our immunity and ability to fight of disease, prevents back and joint injuries and helps us manage pain and can even increase our lifespan. Emotional resilience involves developing effective coping skills and stress management techniques, allowing us to have a mindset of capability and strength, instead of overwhelm, frustration and anxiety. While we can’t remove all sources of stress, we can learn to take care of our mind and our bodies to make sure they are up STRONG and RESILIENT and up to the task.
Yoga for Caregiver Resilience Class Details:
Yoga for Caregiver Resilience is an 8-week course taught by Dr. Katie Wadland, PT, DPT and Board-Certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist, and Erica Garland, Yoga Teacher, Personal Trainer and ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor. Offered over Zoom, so you can participate even if you must be home to watch your loved one, this class will meet weekly on Monday afternoons from 2:00-3:15PM. Class will start with a 45 minute Yoga Flow session focused on postures that promote improved core strength, postural stability and bone density, followed by a 15 Minuted Guided Restorative Practice. This is an All-Levels class and beginners are welcome. All postures can be modified as needed, and Erica will demonstrate the classic postures, while Katie will offer modifications and chair-based alternatives. We will finish each class with some education and open discussion. We can talk about body mechanics and assisted mobility techniques, the importance of proper nutrition to manage your own health and wellness, taking good care of your bones and any other topics that you feel would be beneficial. Conversation will be open-ended and hopefully be a source of support for one another as we all navigate these challenging waters.
Registration and Payment:
There are no current Yoga for Caregiver classes scheduled. If you are interested in hosting a Yoga for Caregivers course, please contact Katie @ (617) 851 - 5315 or Katie@HealthyAgingPT.com.
Cost: $160 for the 8-Weeks
About the Instructors:
Erica Garland is a 200 hour Yoga Teacher, an ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor, and an Ace Certified Personal Trainer. She has been working as a fitness professional since 2015, after discovering a love of movement and exercise through martial arts that motivated her to change her lifestyle and career. She now teaches yoga, strength & conditioning, HIIT, rowing, and bootcamp style classes along with training small group and personal clients. An avid hiker, when not teaching you'll likely find Erica enjoying time outdoors in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Dr. Katie Wadland is a Doctor of Physical therapy, Board-Certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist and PWR! Moves-Certified Therapist with more than 15 years of experience in inpatient, outpatient and home care rehabilitation settings. Since graduating in 2008 from the MGH Institute of Health Professions, she has worked at some of the region's best hospitals and home care agencies, including Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital and Beth Israel Lahey Health at Home, and now owns and operates a Mobile Physical Therapy Practice called Healthy Aging Physical Therapy. She specializes in working with older adults, people with Parkinson’s Disease and other complex medical and neurological diseases and disorders. Katie approaches clinical care with a strong emphasis on both holistic and evidenced-based care. By looking beyond a specific injury or impairment, instead focusing on the whole person, she takes great pride in helping each of her patients to achieve meaningful goals, use exercise as medicine, and to become stronger, fitter and more functional.