Asanaverse

Balance and Movement with Parkinson’s

8 Week Yoga Program for Balance in Early to Moderate Parkinson’s

The stoop arrived before you noticed it. Turning around takes more steps than it used to, getting out of a low chair takes a run up, and the thing that has quietly changed most is how much you are willing to attempt.

Our yoga teachers built this eight week program on the dosage that the two largest trials in this field used, and on the one thing those trials could not put in a video: a chair in front of you for every standing position, and a slow, staged way of getting up at the end of every session.

Twice a week, plus ten minutes on the days between. Four sequences, eight weeks. Eight weeks is not a round number here, it is the length of both of the largest trials in this area.

Length

8 weeks

Practices

32 in total

Rhythm

Twice a week, plus ten minutes on the days between

Made for

Adults who can stand and walk unaided or with a stick, alongside physiotherapy

What the research says

This is one of the better researched conditions on this site. A meta-analysis of 10 trials with 359 people found improvements in motor symptoms, balance, functional mobility, anxiety, depression and quality of life, all significant. That is an unusually consistent picture for a neurological condition.

The strongest single trial is also the most useful one to read carefully. 138 adults with mild to moderate Parkinson’s were randomised to eight weeks of mindfulness yoga or to a stretching and resistance training programme. Yoga was clearly better for anxiety, depression and disease-specific quality of life, at eight weeks and still at twenty. Mobility was not among the outcomes where it won. Against active exercise, the psychological gains were the reliable part.

The trial closest to this program’s title ran eight weeks at twice a week with people who reported a fear of falling. The yoga group improved in motor function, postural stability, functional gait and freezing of gait, and significantly reduced their fall risk. It had 27 participants and a certified yoga therapist in the room, which is worth holding in mind about the size of the claim it can carry.

See every study and guideline behind this program →

How the program works

3 phases, and you stay with the same practices for the whole of each one. That repetition is the plan rather than a shortage of ideas. A body changes when the same ask comes back often enough, and the trials this program follows repeated for weeks before they made anything harder.

Weeks 1 to 2MoveGet accurate before getting strong.Weeks 3 to 6BuildBuild what standing balance actually runs on.Weeks 7 to 8IntegrateTrain the movement that decides how an ordinary day goes.

Twice a week for thirty to thirty-five minutes, plus ten minutes on the days between. Open a session below to see every pose and its timing. Three things run through all eight weeks: a chair for every standing pose, twelve minutes of back extension against the stoop, and a staged way of getting up at the end.

Who this is for

  • ·You have early to moderate Parkinson’s and can stand and walk unaided or with a stick.
  • ·Your medication is settled and you know roughly when your on-periods are.
  • ·You have not fallen in the past year and you do not have freezing of gait.
  • ·You have a solid chair, a wall, and ideally someone in the house.
  • ·You are doing this alongside physiotherapy and your neurologist rather than instead of them.

Before you start

This is for early to moderate Parkinson’s, where you can stand and walk unaided or with a stick, and it belongs alongside physiotherapy and your neurologist rather than instead of them. Every trial ran in person with a qualified teacher who could steady someone, which is why every standing position here keeps a chair under one hand and why single leg work in this program goes no further than a heel lift.

Read the full safety notes in the practice guide →

The practice

Two practices per phase. Open one to see every pose, its timing and the reason it sits where it does.

Move · Weeks 1 to 2

Two Weeks at the Wall

Get accurate before getting strong.

The first two weeks are slow on purpose. Standing with a hand on a chair and moving your weight deliberately, turning the trunk while seated, and practising the transitions themselves. Bradykinesia makes slow movement harder to produce and easier to feel, which is exactly why a practice at this speed is worth two weeks.

  1. 1.Mountain Pose3 min
  2. 2.Mountain Pose with Side Bend1 min each side
  3. 3.Upward Salute2 min
  4. 4.Thunderbolt Pose2 min
  5. 5.Cat Pose2 min
  6. 6.Cow Pose2 min
  7. 7.Revolved Easy Pose2 min each side
  8. 8.Bharadvaja's Twist1 min each side
  9. 9.Butterfly Pose2 min
  10. 10.Knees to Chest Pose2 min
  11. 11.Corpse Pose3 min
Open the full sequence →

Week by week

Week 1Practise during an on-periodNot when medication is wearing off. It sounds obvious and it is the single most useful scheduling decision in this program.
Week 2Getting up in stagesRoll to your side, wait. Sit up, wait. Stand holding something. Blood pressure drops on standing are common in Parkinson’s and the pauses are what handle them.
← Back to the balance and movement with parkinson’s practice guide

Build · Weeks 3 to 6

Leg Strength and the Stoop

Build what standing balance actually runs on.

The middle four weeks are the working part. Standing positions that ask the legs to hold something, and then twelve minutes of back extension on the floor. That second part is the one that argues with the forward stoop, and it is done lying down where a loss of balance is not possible.

Week by week

Week 3Widen the stanceIn every standing position, wider is more stable. Take a wider base than a class would normally suggest and stay there.
Week 4One hand off, for a breathLift the hand from the chair for a single breath and put it back. That is how it comes off over months rather than in a session.
Week 5Small lifts countIn the back work on your front, half an inch of lift is a real repetition. What matters is that the extensors switch on, not how far you get.
Week 6Keep the head high if you get dizzyIn the forward fold, use the chair seat and keep your head no lower than your heart. That version is not a lesser one.
← Back to the balance and movement with parkinson’s practice guide

Integrate · Weeks 7 to 8

Balance and Getting Out of a Chair

Train the movement that decides how an ordinary day goes.

The last two weeks add the sit to stand: five slow repetitions, three counts down and three counts up. It is the movement that most often goes wrong in a day and it is trainable in a way that most of Parkinson’s is not. In the trial that measured fear of falling directly, it dropped alongside the balance scores.

Week by week

Week 7Three counts down, three counts upSlow is harder than fast in the sit to stand, and control on the way down is what stops a drop into the seat.
Week 8Keep goingIn the largest trial, the psychological gains were still there twelve weeks after the programme ended. The motor gains in a smaller one were not. Continuing is not optional here.
← Back to the balance and movement with parkinson’s practice guide

The 19 poses in this program

Every pose has its own page with alignment, common mistakes and the energetic effect. Look one up when a shape does not make sense in your body.

Mountain PoseMountain Pose with Side BendUpward SaluteThunderbolt PoseCat PoseCow PoseRevolved Easy PoseBharadvaja's TwistButterfly PoseKnees to Chest PoseCorpse PoseTree PoseWarrior IITriangle PoseDownward-Facing DogBaby CobraLocust PoseBridge PoseChair Pose
Go to the Asana Lab →

The guide behind this program

Why these poses and not others

The Balance and Movement with Parkinson’s practice guide explains what each pose does and why it belongs to this goal. It also carries the safety notes and every study this program is built on. Read it if you want the reasoning rather than the plan.

Read the guide →

Frequently Asked Questions

Does yoga help with Parkinson’s?

The evidence is more consistent here than for most conditions. A meta-analysis of 10 trials with 359 people found improvements in motor symptoms, balance, functional mobility, anxiety, depression and quality of life. The caveats are that the trials are small and heterogeneous, and every one of them ran in person with a qualified teacher.

Is yoga better than ordinary exercise for Parkinson’s?

For some things, on the best evidence available. In a trial of 138 people comparing eight weeks of yoga against a structured stretching and resistance programme, yoga was clearly better for anxiety, depression and quality of life, and those differences held twelve weeks later. Mobility was not one of the outcomes where it won. Treat it as an addition to your exercise rather than a replacement.

What about tree pose and the standing balances?

They are the poses with the best rationale for gait and balance, and they are also the ones with the highest chance of a fall. In this program single leg work is a heel lift with both hands on a chair, and it stays there. The full versions belong in a room with a physiotherapist, not on a screen.

When should I not do this on my own?

If you have fallen in the past year, if you have freezing of gait, if you have untreated drops in blood pressure on standing, or if you need a walking frame or wheelchair. All of those need someone physically present, and none of the research covers them.

When in the day should I practise?

During an on-period, when your medication is working, rather than as it wears off. That single scheduling decision changes what the session can be more than any choice of pose in it.

Why does every session end with instructions for getting up?

Because drops in blood pressure on standing are common in Parkinson’s, and the one fall documented in this body of research happened during a change of position rather than in a pose. Rolling to your side, waiting, sitting up, waiting, then standing with a hand on something is the whole technique.

Creator of this program

Manish Rana

Manish Rana

Founder of Asanaverse.de. Manish writes about yoga, Ayurveda and meditation, and owes his deep connection to yoga to his Indian roots. With over 1,000 hours of Yoga Alliance Teacher Training, he shares his knowledge with the community.

More about Manish →
Registered Experienced Yoga Teacher, E-RYT 500

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