by Nina

Shelly Prosko, who has written for us in the past, recently let me know about an important study she was on the research team for that was studying how to prevent fall-related injuries in older women. The study, which is called “The Effect of Yoga on Decreasing the Risk of Fall-related Injury in Peri- and Post-menopausal Women” was done at the School of Rehabilitation Science at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada by a whole team team of researchers.

The project determined the effect of 12 weeks of hatha yoga on fall risk factors such as balance, strength, mobility, confidence and incontinence, and the ability to control landing and descent of a forward fall. Through focus group discussions, they also explored the participants’ perceived changes in overall health and well-being and some of the facilitators and challenges to participating. The results were promising, showing significant improvements in fall risk factors and many perceived benefits and positive changes on quality of life and healthy aging.

Although the study has been completed, the paper won’t be released until next year. However, because the results were so promising, the research team made a video about that highlights the main themes emerging from their focus groups and that demonstrates the key principles and practices of Balance Flow Yoga, which was developed especially for this project. Balance Flow Yoga was designed by the two physiotherapists on the team who are also yoga professionals, including Shelly herself. So I decided to share the video with you today.

The creators of the video say:

“We invite you to view this video, and watch for future messages of training workshops and information sessions for leaders in healthcare, fitness, yoga and yoga therapy communities.We hope this video will provide insight and guidance on ways to safely and effectively integrate evidence into yoga practice.”

You can find more information about this study and video here.  Also, you can contact Shelly physioyoga.ca/contact or shelly@physioyoga.ca.

 

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