“ALS set me up perfectly for entering into Prana. It (Prana) is like a life force.”
This is how Dr. Scott Stieber describes his relationship with the life force energy that yogis call Prana. When Dr. Scott was diagnosed with ALS in 2012, he decided to explore the disease through the doorway of yoga and meditation. As his ALS progressed and his physical body became less accessible, the energy doorway – or what I call the Prana Portal – opened wider. Throughout our many conversations and practice time together, Dr. Scott’s understanding of Prana blossomed. Working in collaboration with documentary filmmaker Chip Duncan, the short film Pizza & Prana was created and released in 2020. Pizza & Prana chronicles Dr. Scott’s journey with Prana through the doorway of his experience.
Since connecting with Dr. Scott in 2018, I’ve continued to work with ALS clients and have developed a curriculum that outlines the structure and philosophy of Yoga Therapy and how Prana fits into that structure through the model of the Koshas. As a former high school teacher, I believe that educating clients with supporting neuroscience and the holistic philosophy behind the practices is motivating and empowering. Each session builds on the previous session and, over time, clients report that the Prana work helps them improve their quality of life with ALS.
The Sanskrit word Prana describes the matrix of energy that integrates every cell of the physical body. The word Prana is often translated as energy, but the experience of Prana also includes breath, awareness, and vitality. Much like the Chinese concept of Qi, Prana is a balancing factor that can influence body, mind, and heart. The practices or tools for accessing and moving Prana include mindful movement, breathwork, deep relaxation, visualization, and mindfulness meditation. Just as each client’s experience and presentation of ALS is unique, so is their relationship to these tools. Finding the doorway and cultivating a relationship with Prana is a dynamic experience that expands with time, patience, and practice.
Each of the client’s I’ve worked with have their own unique relationship with ALS and with Prana. As director of the surfing program at UC-Santa Cruz, Ward compared the experience of connecting with Prana to surfing the potential and kinetic energy of a great wave. It’s not something you do, he told me, it’s an interactive and dynamic experience. This “energy exchange” expanded beyond Ward’s physical experience with ALS. His wife, Paula, describes it this way: “Tina’s work with Ward became very important to him. It not only helped him maintain movement, it also lifted him emotionally.”
Another client, Randy, found access to Prana through the doorways of mindful movement and breath practices. Mindful movement focuses less on “doing” and more on “sensing, feeling, and being with” the experience of moving. When clients add in patience and non-judgment, stress is reduced and acceptance increases. Randy reports that mindfulness in our sessions has expanded into mindfulness in his daily life. Over time, Randy’s balance has improved and so has his confidence.
Randy describes the breathing techniques in the ALS curriculum as “game-changers.” Breathing from the diaphragm, Randy is now able to create a new relationship with breathing that feels more available and comfortable, allowing him to bypass the bulbar neurons that shut down in the throat area. By adding in Step Breathing on the out breath, Randy is now able to mindfully create more space for the inhalation to grow on its own (passively), while increasing his core connection. Some clients report they are able to clear ropey saliva more easily and maintain normal range CO2 levels longer when they practice this kind of breathwork regularly. According to Randy, “The breathing techniques and movements Tina has taught me have helped me be mindful of my body and breath, allowing me to relax and open my airways when I feel short of breath instead of reaching for my BiPap.” Randy moves through the breath series numerous times during the day to empower himself and reconnect with his moment-to-moment experience.
Many ALS clients find the Yoga Nidra practices (also called Non Sleep Deep Rest or NSDR) to be especially helpful. Yoga Nidra is a systematic method of connecting to Prana in specific guided steps that induce physical, emotional, and mental relaxation while maintaining connection with the subconscious. The Rotation of Consciousness step is especially supportive for clients with physical challenges. In this step, clients are instructed to connect with a part of the body and then release it, moving sequentially through the body in an intentional order that includes left/right awareness, and broadens and narrows focus. The practice of connecting and releasing keeps the mind engaged with the body in a non-judgmental way that allows the brain to drop into Alpha or even Theta brain waves that are deeply relaxing. What many clients appreciate is that they’re not trying to relax, it just happens and it feels great. Yoga Nidra offers ALS clients an important break from the challenges associated with their day-to-day. Randy describes the feeling as a flow where he can release the struggle for a while and “just be.”
I’m honored to offer these practices to all my clients. If you’re interested in learning more about yoga therapy or the ALS curriculum, please contact me at tina@tinalangdok.com