9 minute read
On Healing: Post-Stroke and Iyengar Yoga, Jennie Williford, Chris Saudek and Sara Anderson
by IYNAUS
The Three P’s of Recovery: Post-Stroke and Iyengar Yoga
BY JENNIE WILLIFORD, CHRIS SAUDEK & SARA ANDERSON
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This article is the culmination of a conversation between Chris Saudek (CIYT, Level 4) and Sara Anderson facilitated by Jennie Williford (CIYT, Level 3). Chris and Sara have worked together for seven years. Jennie has observed and participated in working with Sara since moving to LaCrosse in 2019.
In 2009, at the age of 27, Sara Marie Anderson suffered a nearly fatal stroke, altering her life completely. Sara describes the tragic event of her stroke, plus her recovery that has included
Iyengar Yoga, in her book, STROKE:
Overcoming my worst
Nightmare. Her main purpose for sharing her story is to help other young women who may have no idea of the dangerous contraindication of using combined estrogen and progesterone birth control when experiencing migraines with aura (also called classic migraines). She hopes to help save lives with the information provided in her book by encouraging young women to switch to a progesterone-ONLY birth control to avoid her fate.
She also hopes to promote her mantra of the three P’s— positivity, patience, and persistence—to anyone who may be presented with such an overwhelming challenge in life.
Sara grew up in Westby, a small town near La Crosse, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison where she completed her B.A. in Linguistics and Spanish. She went on to graduate studies at the University of Hawaii where she finished her Master of Arts in Second Language Studies. At the time of her stroke, she was at the beginning of a promising career, working as an English as a Second Language professional at the University of Southern California. POSITIVITY
“It doesn’t matter how you fall, rather, how you pick
yourself up.” —Sara Anderson
Initially, Sara’s stroke completely paralyzed both sides of her body. It was only after a month that she was able to even move her little finger on her less affected right side. After six months of major recovery efforts in California, including physical and occupational therapy, Sara was able to be transferred back to her home in Wisconsin where she continued therapies with the support of her family nearby.
In 2014, Sara’s therapy expanded to include Iyengar Yoga after her mother read an article in the La Crosse Tribune about Chris Saudek and Iyengar Yoga taught at The Yoga Place. Those who meet Sara immediately see her inner light, her sense of humor, and her personal motivation to consistently improve. Her positive attitude toward recovery led her to believe she would be able to participate in a regular weekly yoga class with Chris. Sara is not someone who feels sorry for herself.
When Sara first called Chris and described her stroke and her abilities over the phone, Chris was quite sure that a regular class would not be what she needed. They decided to work together in private sessions instead. For the first several months, Sara walked into The Yoga Place with a lot of help from her mother or father. Chris initially observed Sara’s gait, noting her pattern of walking, her imbalances, strengths, and weaknesses. Chris wanted Sara to gain independence from always needing help from another person and become confident with her walking.
Not long after they began, Chris identified that Sara’s physical deficits were not the most important obstacle to address. Sara’s physical drive was there, but her mental focus was lacking. Balance and stability for her posture and for walking needed sharper mental focus. Sara came with the impression that yoga was “just stretching,” not something in which you have to involve the mind and concentration. Chris aimed to teach her that yoga is effective as a mind-body-breath discipline and can “penetrate into all of your cells.”
PERSISTENCE
“Yoga changed so much for me—it improved me physically and mentally. I knew I had to be patient. Nothing is fast—I’ve learned that from my stroke and
from yoga.” —Sara Anderson
Sara says yoga has been her most challenging therapy and the one at which she has had to work the hardest. She admits she could have easily quit without the urging of her parents. Some inner knowledge made her believe her practice would be worth it in the long run and gave her the patience to persist.
Progress in yoga was not quick and the experimentation needed during her early sessions took a lot of patience from both Sara and Chris. Sara had learned to dislike and disregard her less intelligent, more affected left side. She had no concept of using her quadricep muscles to straighten her knee, a common problem in stroke patients. It took a number of trials with props to help her avoid hyperextension of her knee joint on her more affected left side. The prop that eventually worked best was a simple crossed strap put on tightly at the back of her knee when it was bent. This provided enough resistance to teach Sara how to co-contract the quadriceps and hamstrings in straight-leg, standing poses.
Sara regularly thought some of the movements Chris asked of her were impossible due to the effects of her stroke. Despite Sara’s constant questioning and reluctance to try some things, Chris used many different ways to introduce the same actions to help Sara realize she could do things she never imagined she would be able to do. Patience with each other slowly turned into what Sara calls “reluctant trust” between them.
“It is imperative to keep trying to get up no matter how
often you find yourself down.” —Sara Anderson
Chris and Sara have both wondered at times why the other wanted to continue with their lessons. Chris knew persistence in practice of asana would bring much more than physical advancement and the physical balance Sara craved would require more than muscular action. Chris encouraged Sara to regard the side that was more affected by her stroke not with dislike but with needing more education. She encouraged her to regard her other side as just more intelligent and to use it to teach the more affected side with loving attention.
The mutual trust that Chris and Sara built helped bolster Sara's now seven-year yoga practice. While other teachers, being unsure of what Sara could accomplish, approached her with fear and trepidation, Chris brought her confidence and years of training to help Sara experience poses such as Urdhva Dhanurasana and Salamba Sarvangasana, in turn giving Sara her own confidence and coordination. Sara now says that she trusts Chris more than anyone with her physical ability and possibility. Trusting Chris has developed into self-trust and now Sara often comes to lessons reporting some new ability she has discovered on her own.
freely while brushing her teeth or doing dishes at the kitchen sink. Those experiences keep Sara motivated to continue when faced with other pose struggles like Ustrasana and Paripurna Navasana. She will readily say she still particularly dislikes Salamba Sarvangasana, but feels the struggles of standing on her shoulders makes it worth the ease of standing again on her own two feet!
Sara credits Iyengar Yoga as being the most effective long-term means to rehabilitation of the deficits in the mind-body processes that resulted from her devastating stroke. While Chris is her regular Iyengar teacher, she has also worked with Carol Anne Kemen and Jennie Williford, both certified Iyengar teachers under Chris’s guidance.
THE PRESENT
“Yoga must become a part of you—where what you learn at the studio feeds into a home practice.”
—Sara Anderson Due to the restrictions of COVID, Sara and Chris could not work together for some time. However, this experience gave Sara the opportunity for a stronger home practice. To observe Sara’s practice is inspiring and nothing short of amazing. Her three P’s mantra has obviously kept her going despite this completely life changing event. The journey from complete paralysis to an independent and strong home practice program is a testament to Sara’s inner fire, Chris’s supportive guidance, and the systemic genius of Iyengar Yoga.
Below are some excerpts from Sara’s current home program. She continues to choose a balance of poses she loves and hates as she understands the amazing benefits of each one. She also makes sure to pick poses she likes to refer to as being “more bang for her buck.”
Supported Virabhadrasana III and Vrksasana with intermittent support.
“Balance is something I desperately need, so I continue, despite not being a big fan of this pose.”
Salabhasana
“I practice this because I can feel activation of so much of my back—from my upper back, to triceps, to mid- and lower back, and even to my gluteals and calves.”
Paripurna Navasana
“Good strength for my hip flexors.”
Paschimottanasana
“This used to be the most difficult stretch for me. I made it my goal for 2019 to improve by practicing it for 90 seconds every night, and it did improve!”
Ustrasana Baddha Konasana
“I am proud of this pose. I used to despise it as I felt I would surely paralyze myself by doing it. Through persistent practice, I no longer need assistance, and I actually now enjoy it!”
Chaturanga Dandasana
“I can feel this pose activating a lot of the front of my body.”
Adho Mukha Svanasana to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
“This is a confidence booster! When I first started working with Chris, I was too scared to go from Adho Mukha to Urdhva Mukha. I needed Chris to hold a gait belt around my waist and stand above me so I wouldn't faceplant into the mat. Now I can do these poses just fine without support.” “I really like this pose and Chris even says that I’m more flexible than her in this pose!”
Chris Saudek has been a devoted student of the Iyengars since 1980 when she first made a trip to the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. She took classes from B.K.S. Iyengar until he stopped teaching and also studied under Geeta S. Iyengar, and Prashant S. Iyengar during numerous trips to study at RIMYI. She founded The Yoga Place in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1988 and ran the studio until 2016. She continues to teach there. Chris is also responsible for the renowned laminated therapeutic sequences, the Iyengar Yoga for Pregnancy book done in collaboration with Geetaji, and an illustrated book of Yoga Karunta. She holds an Advanced Junior I certificate, has served on the Certification Committee, edited some of the magazines for conventions, and written articles for Yoga Samachar.
Jennie Williford now lives in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She has had the privilege of working with Sara under Chris’s guidance and of observing Sara and Chris working together on several occasions.
