How Yoga & Breathwork Ease Parkinson’s Symptoms

Introduction to Yoga and Parkinson's 0:00

Welcome to the Parkinson's Solutions Summit. I'm your host, Dr. Ken Sharlin I'm so pleased today to introduce Richard Rosen, who himself has Parkinson's disease. But he is also an expert in the area of yoga. We're going to talk about yoga and movement. Movement is medicine. And yoga is, probably many types of movement. We're going to learn more about that. here at Sharlin Health, we have always promoted quality sleep movement, mind body work, all kinds of work to increase resilience. And so this is an important practice to those who suffer from Parkinson's.

They should give serious consideration to integrating yoga into their life. It is a lifestyle. So without further ado, Richard Rosen from Berkeley, California, to, Missouri, southwest Missouri. It's a great connection to have. And welcome to the Parkinson's Solutions Summit 2.0. Thank you for having me on. Well, Richard, tell, you know, I did ask you it confirms that a lot of people in the, in the community know I have Parkinson's. Can you, as we start in this, tell me a little bit about your personal journey, and, you know, how do you even been practicing yoga even before you, first had a symptom?

I was practicing for about, 22 years when I was first diagnosed in 2002. So I've had Parkinson's for, like, half of my yoga career. 44 years. My intent? Yes. No. Go ahead. No. Go ahead. Please. So tell me what you. What do you first notice? What? What is your journey then like? well, the first thing I notice was numbness in my toes, and, and then I was I feeling very anxious about things,

Diagnosis and Early Symptoms 2:06

and for no particular reason. I was just feeling anxious, and I was it was it was. I was invited to go see a neurologist, which I did. And the neurologist I saw who that was, said there was nothing. It was there was no big deal. And then I went back and my friend told me that that's not a very useful diagnosis. So I was directed to the Parker Institute, which is in a little bit south of here. I didn't see the name, but I saw I saw a the part of the specialist after that and he diagnosed as having Parkinson's.

You see, I still have the same doctor for the last 22 years. You know. And at the time, were you having much in the way of movements that you knew were not normal movements? Not really. Well, my my doctor has always called me a miracle because he says right now, after 22 years, I should be a much higher stage. I am a, So, you know, I've been very lucky and very fortunate that I, I haven't, you know, I progressed very slowly. Do you do mind if I ask you if you use the dope at this time? Yes. Yeah.

And and we're kind of all at the pinnacle. And, I met amantadine. Is that right? Yeah. Amantadine. And then. Right. Right. Terry. Right, Terry. We just I don't know the order that the interviews will be aired, but we just, got talking done talking with, Stan Fisher, who is, with Amneal Pharmaceuticals and helped develop that drug. So very expensive. And it's expensive, but it's a very important tool in the toolbox, for sure. Yeah. So things so you have this diagnosis and at the time, not much in the way of motor symptoms.

Yeah. What did you did you say. Well, I just go on and try not to think about it or. Well, for a while I wasn't it wasn't affecting I mean with my toes with them. Other than that, you know there's really, there's really nothing much going on and the really didn't start to kick in for several years after that. I mean seriously. So no I didn't think much about it at first. There in the, in the world and from the clinical perspective of Parkinson's disease, one of the things we talked a lot about are non-motor symptoms like anxiety.

Anxiety. Or to recognize and then what are called premonitory symptoms or symptoms that may often precede and sometimes for even decades. the onset of motor symptoms prior to the diagnosis of Parkinson's. And that can include things like REM sleep behavioral disorder or kind of the patient, is often a problem. so I think, you know, clearly, the anxiety that you're experiencing probably was very much part of the condition. It was very it was very difficult. I went to see a psychiatrist, actually, about it.

And she of course, she was a medical doctor, and she gave me some medication for her but never really used it.

Yoga Basics and Daily Practice 5:09

Did you find that your practice of yoga was helping you to manage that better? you know, it certainly helped. I didn't didn't it didn't. I don't think it slowed anything down, but it certainly I felt better after I'd done the practice, which was I did daily. So, Yeah, it was very useful. But, you know, I had advantages that I would be practicing for 22 years. Now, I know you. You teach yoga. You've been involved in a number of different yoga studios over the years. Can if we were just start at the very basics because maybe there's a lot of even misunderstanding about what is yoga.

And I suspect it's really more than one thing, but could you possibly, explain the basics of yoga when we're talking about yoga in general? How long do we have? Well, we have plenty. Of that is a yoga is a practice. I mean, it's a some people take take it a spiritual practice. Other people use it for physical benefits. You can do it the way it really, you know, it's very malleable. You can use it in very different ways. And in this country, yoga is usually associated with the poses. And that's really the that's really what most of the classes consist of that I know of this is that they just people teach, awesome.

You know, and and now the most popular kind of yoga is what's called slow yoga with the oxidizers strung together that you sort of jump from one to the next. I don't do I'm an old I'm a dinosaur. By now from my yoga practice, but, but yoga, there's there's a lot more to the practice than just asana. The breathing, which is very important, especially for people with Parkinson's meditation. other stuff too, that I don't really do, but I, I'm really big on, breathing for, for people with Parkinson's.

Okay. So it's movement. It's mindfulness. Sounds so sound. Breath work. Yeah. All that meditation. And you teach people who have Parkinson's. I do yoga as a tool. occasionally I once I start a class in, at the, the school where I taught many years ago did for Parkinson's patients, and I taught for a while. Then I turned it over to someone else who's doing really well with it now, but I, I I'm welcome people to come to me, if they need some help, but I, you know, I don't charge people with Parkinson's.

Right. For my mind, for my destruction. I just I'm just happy to help people that need it. The problem is that it's not a it's not a quick fix. And, it's very it can be very discouraging for people that come in. I give the exercises. Doing nothing really happens right at first. And, you know, it's really necessary to sort of dig in and take take some time and really put some effort into the into the practice if you want to get something out. Yes. It's probably about sort of rewiring the brain, rewiring the body.

It doesn't happen right away. Exactly. Yeah. And I say I as I said, I had a real advantage because I was practicing for 22 years like that before. And it's like those that I really I knew a lot about my body already so I could, I could sort of pretend that I didn't have Parkinson's in any ways. My walking, for example. Well, you know, and some, studies of, of, exercise in Parkinson's, cycling, for example, the effects there can be actually immediate effects where when that cycling, time is complete for a period of time afterwards, the symptoms of Parkinson's are dramatically better.

Yeah, I can feel that myself. And after a practice, I feel taller. I walk more smoothly. I, you know, I don't, you know, jiggle at my desk. So. Yeah, the practice definitely. The, placated the Parkinson's for a period of time. You know, I don't know how long, but for a while. You know, by word association. If I said Parkinson's to, you know, the average non-medical person, they probably immediately think about tremor. but Parkinson's is much more than tremor. And many people do not have a predominance of tremor in their presentation of Parkinson's.

I think more as a neurologist about posture, about symmetry of movement, about the risk of falling, in fact, as being a major issue. And I I've done that. It's, it's a huge problem. Of course. I have I do not have Parkinson's. but, I have done quite a bit of yoga over the years, and I know that when I've been going to yoga more consistently, I do feel like I'm standing taller. I do feel like I'm, you know, and I think that's really important for folks to understand that there are various ways to improve symptoms.

and these movement programs, and be in some ways, certainly it's fair to say in some respects

Breathing, Relaxation, and Anxiety Relief 10:21

more effective than the drugs, but doesn't obviate the drugs. But it's but adjunctive. It can take a person to a place that the drug doesn't take them to. Yeah. To me it it's, it's like, if you have Parkinson's and you don't really know your body, you fall into Parkinson's habits. You know, we when you, when you're walking. But if you really understand what's what, what what what feels like in your body, you can sort of undo that, that habit and walk more normally. you know what? It's like a it's a like a walking meditation, almost.

You have to be very conscious of where you put your feet. And there is a program. There's a formal program referred to as the Lee Silverman Voice technique, and it is related to project of Your Voice. But there's also the what they nicknamed the Big Step program. That's very much along those lines. You know, one, one of the things I've observed, and I like to hear your your perspective on this, is that while these programs are extremely valuable and I certainly recommend them, we're not going to do them for just eight weeks and then then we're good, right?

Right. No, no. That's that. No, that would be nice. But it's not possible. No, it's it's if you got to dig in and do it consistently and see the thing too. It's not just once a week. you need to do it more than once a week. You know, you do that, you schedule, you know, all that kind of stuff. But 4 or 5 times a week would not be would not be overdoing it. So it's it's consistency and regularity for sure. Is there a time, how much time? It's, you know, it depends on the person. how much time he or she has.

But, you know, usually at least a half an hour, I would say at least. Okay, depending on the depending on what you're doing. But yeah, you've gotta do you gotta put some time to, to and so forth is. It's worth it. So if you were to take me through a session, how would can you walk me through that? Where would we start? We start on our backs on or in a sitting position on the ground. I'm, I, I, I'm trained, but I'm not, you know, anger yoga. I use a lot of props. I use a lot of props, especially for myself.

I use props for night for people that do need some instruction. So I probably start by having them lie a lie on something under their shoulder blades, like a like a yoga block or a rolled up blanket or whatever. You know, get some space in the chest. And then I would have a probably do some groin stretching by lying on their back and maybe taking their feet together to take the knees apart and just lie there for a while. and the other thing is, I think people expect a lot of luck doing when they, when they practice, but but for people with Parkinson's, there's lots sitting around, I guess you would say a lot lying around.

You know, it just doesn't easy. You have to be patient and let the things take take the course. So it has a broad stretches and it depends on the person, though, how flexible he or she might be. I give them, but I give them a belt. They have to lie on their back, take one leg up, put the belt around the foot on the belt for a stretch in the back of the legs. the most important thing I do is toward the end, I have them first. They do a breathing practice. I think that's extremely important, especially if you have anxiety.

you if you do the if you do the breathing properly, it can really, really, mitigate some of that, some of the anxiety, which is what, which is what I did. And then I have to do a relaxation of what we call the shivas in the corpse pose, which is kind of ominous, but it is really, really, really good practice. Feels really good, I must say, and I always like it when my yoga instructors come around and put a little cloth on my forehead. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm sure that some essential oils in there too.

That's really nice. Well, walk me through some of that breathing because that's that's really important. And we're going to be talking to, a few other folks who are really, you know, that's kind of their area. So give me, if you don't mind, I'd like to hear your perspective on how you teach your. Well, for Parkinson's people who are not regular yoga studio students, I hadn't lie down to do the breathing, and it had to lie on a blanket folded. I can't describe it, but I didn't lie. I put something in this by the spine to elevate the torso, and the first thing I had to do is look.

Look at it bring themselves to their self. I say, just step back from yourself and just watch yourself. I'm not sure that's that. That's very clear. But you just step away from yourself and look at yourself objectively, so much as if from a distance, just to bring yourself into your body. I have that. I have the bring the breath into the foreground. Just watch the breath for a while. You do anything. Don't change it, don't alter it. Don't make it better or worse. Just watch you breathe and that gets you in rhythm with your breath.

That's it, that's it. First really important step of breathing practice. Then I would have them, slow their exhalations down quite a bit. So I would ask them to take a lot of time for the exhalations. When they come to the end of the exhalation. I then pause there and wait for the next inhalation to come to them. I want to minimize the effort of taking the elevation. So if you if you, if you pause at the end and exhale, you just you just wait. you'll feel the breath. You feel the next generation building up inside of yourself and you just way to a point where it feels ready.

You know, there's no particular time, time, timing on that five seconds or ten. I don't know how long it would be. And so you just say taking it, take a breath. But I'm asking them to receive the breath instead. It's not really holding their breath. No no no no no no. The pausing. Yeah. But you know no no no holding, no holding breath. Yeah. are. They, are they breathing through their nose or mouth. But no. Oh. Also the nose always has. Yeah. And then I'd have them do that for a while. Just slow the breath down.

That's a very calming breath for a lot of people anyway. And, just watch the escalations. Don't don't do anything particular. Just slow the information down. Pay attention, you know, to the way the breath is moving to the nostrils or how it feels moving in their torso. I would have them, maybe sometimes if they had the imagination to do this, and the other torso in between their breathing, get to an empty part, breathing into a space where they can feel where the breath is moving in their torso.

I mean, so it's a lot of a lot of images, a lot of images. they use them for the practice, and then I'd have them, I would probably do some, counting breath. maybe, four counts in, four counts out, something like that for a while, and I wouldn't I wouldn't give too much at first. I would make it very simple, very first. And then after that, just relax for a while and then go home. You know, that's all I can do for you. Well that's important. We gotta certainly calm the nervous system down a little bit.

Your breathing is really important. I think that's probably going to get left out of a lot of yoga programs, but focus on the stretching. Maybe a strengthening the breathing is is equally important as the as the awesome is are to me. Yes. Well I would I would certainly agree with that. my my wife, I think I mentioned she, she's a coach. She, she wears many hats as she is a yoga instructor. And we utilize, tool in, the clinic and working with our patients, from a company called Heart Math. Or actually, based out of that.

Yeah, I know a little bit about heart math. Yeah. What was it? You know? Well, it's one of their. It's their inner balance device or Em wave device. She's a certified instructor. but the point is, when she first started to utilize that tool and really observe the breath of her clients or patients, it was rather shocking to discover how many folks just to put it very simply, didn't know how to breathe. Exactly. It's it's very common. I mean, it's it's very common. Yeah. And we have exercises that we, we try to help people get in touch with your breathing a little more.

more closely. And yet, folks listen to this.

Movement, Posture, and Parkinson's Symptoms 18:30

And I said, well, what do you mean? I'm breathing? Now I know how to breathe. Breathe. I wouldn't be alive here. But what is happening? Would you be able to explain, you know, in the type of breath work you're talking about? You know, what's what's happening that's really different? Why are we where are we? Besides of that, they may feel better. What's actually happening that makes them feel better? What are we really teaching them to do. With their brain? The exhalation to really, you know, you it's called laminar flow on them that you might be familiar with, that when you slow your breathing down and smooth it out.

Two things requires the brain really helps quiet the brain. So that's really what I'm trying to get you to do is, you know, just back off a little bit and be quiet. It just there's so much stimulus nowadays, you know, and that people that people are hyped up. So you gotta you have to really get them, convince them that it's worthwhile to just stop and just do nothing for a while. People think that it's kind of a waste of time to do nothing. A lot of people do, but really it's it's very important to to take some time out every day and just, you know, just be with yourself and your breath.

Most definitely. You know, I have this story that I tell a lot of my page say, look, you know, I'm sure you would. We'd probably all mutually agree that, you know, food is important, and there's something about nutrition that's tied directly to our health. Yeah, yeah, that's true. And sleeping is important. You got to get your rest. Sleeping is important. You. I would you would think I was a, you know, kind of a little off my, rocker. If I told you just that the treatment for your condition is to not sleep or not eat or like.

Yeah. That's true. That's kind of silly. You have to sleep. You have to eat and we all probably generally agree that, you know, some form of exercise is good for us. We might argue what kind of exercise, but some form of exercise. Yeah, that's true. What about being quiet? What about breathing? What about being in the moment and actually, strengthening? What I call the stress resilience muscle? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Right. Yeah. You know, it's people know themselves as a as a father or a spouse or a child, and they have all these different identities.

But very few people know themselves as a breather. I think that's one of the more important identities to find out who you are as a breather. This is my shirt says who's the breather? Yes, yes. A very important question to ask yourselves. And, a couple of the things that we see in folks with Parkinson's, of course. And it's interesting because Parkinson's is a disorder generally of slow movement. Right? We we use terms like Brady Caniggia, the rigidity. I sometimes say some folks with Parkinson's, look, when I watch them walk, it's, it's, it's it's as if the air is molasses that they're just walking through this thick air.

And if they do something very often the case folks who are affected by Parkinson's, that's the exact opposite. The rushed steps. Right. They get in a forward leaning posture and before they know they're going really fast and sometimes fall over, too. Right. Describing what I do sometimes. Yeah. And then there's the other aspect that's really this probably the same thing. But it happens with the speech, right. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. My, my students every time you slow down. So it's that that makes it very important to be with yourself and to, you know, to be aware of what you're doing during the day.

It's not just you meditate when you're lying on in your room for five minutes, but with Parkinson's, it becomes a continuous meditation on your movement, your speech, your breathing. You just watch yourself as much as you can during the day. And yoga is called the witness. It's like a, you know, it's it's like a it's a companion. Non-judgmental companion looks over your shoulder. And by that, simply by that self observation, it can change the way you you work, you work your way through the day. Do you find that the yoga practice changes a lot depending on the individual with Parkinson's, what their needs are, what their abilities are?

Yeah. You have to. It's it's important to find out before that, before I give them an instruction I need to know, you know, with your like what are your flexibilities like and what their strength is like. And you shouldn't have to tailor the instruction to suit suit the person, which is the way yoga used to be taught in the old days. Yes. We've talked a little bit about the breathing. I think we've talked sort of about posture in general. What about the up? Are you doing some things with the upper body, with the arms, with coordination?

I, I do a lot of, I do a lot of laying around lying around it. Yes. And you say I lie over bricks. I have a I have a I'm. And you've ever seen this, but they have, in yoga schools, they have all ropes, you know. You ever seen anything like that? You put some studs, simply some hooks in a wall. You hang ropes room, you do all sorts of different exercises on those things. So I have I have all groups that hang from different ways. It helps open the chest and whatever. So I do that quite a bit. I lie on bricks, but.

Well, so foam foam rubber bricks, I have sandbags, 10 pound sandbags that they lay on myself in various ways to, to, to create, release, feeling a feeling of comfort. I do all sorts of things like that. That's all my. This, I got trained from 1989. You need to actually years ago. And when you when you say, okay, we're done for today, but as you now go back into the world, what things are they taking with them that they've they've learned or they've experienced with you? Well, when you come out of I'm sorry, go ahead.

No, please. When you come out of Boston, you feel hopefully you feel calm. You feel this. You'll soon. And I always say go home with that. Stay with that as much as you can. It's for as long as you can, you know, and people can do it some, you know, for a while, maybe then life cuts in, it makes things, makes it more difficult. But it's important to again, I think the most important thing that you do for yourself as a Parkinson's person is

Adapting Practice and Staying Present 25:06

developed a way to watch yourself during the day. I think that's so true because we talk a lot about conscious movement. Yeah. Norman Deutsch, the Canadian psychiatrist wrote a couple of books that became very popular, and I think at least one was made into a PBS special. And, you know, one of his characters. And it's all about neuroplasticity. It's not just about Parkinson's, but he features a gentleman who talks about or demonstrates conscious walking. Yeah. I, I encourage people to do what I call a remembrance, a remembrance or it's like you wear a ring on a finger, you don't wear a ring on usually.

So then every time you look at the ring you remember cells that make sense. Yes. Do you, do you tell people just. I do I often that people put a twine around their wrist, some kind of colored twine, like a yarn or something like that. And every time they look at the wrist, look at yourself. It's a trigger. Move this to the right word to use. But it is. It encourages you to stay present. Yes. And oftentimes, people will tell me my my patients have Parkinson's that and this is circling back around to the point of bad anxiety, but their symptoms are worse in proportion to their level of anxiety.

Yeah. Tremor their tremor will be much worse. Their gait will be much worse. Yeah. This is why I went to the psychiatrist. and she was also a medical doctor. And she gave me these these, I don't know what they were. They they were medication for anxiety. she would give me a prescription, and I went to the the drugstore to pick it up, and I was treating myself to a chocolate bar at the same time. And I went to pay for this. The chocolate bar. The chocolate cost more than the drugs. I mean, they were just they were just handing Tuesdays hand these things out to the people with anxiety.

I said that I wasn't going to do that. I just threw the drugs away. When I got home, I, I work with my breath. and I found that it has to be done very consciously and very properly, because you can obviously make it worse if you breathe it properly with anxiety. But I mean, as I said, I had over 20 years of practice and we did a lot of breathing practice in my training. So I kind of knew what I sort of knew what to do about it. And it really helps. It doesn't, of course, get rid of the anxiety completely, but it certainly slows it down, quiets it out.

So your current tell us a little bit about where you are right now with your Parkinson's and sort of how you what what tools have you found, in everyday life to adapt the most outside of your yoga? What are you what are you doing in your home and in your life to, Well, my daughter would do lots more of it if she had a way. She treats me like a three year old sometimes. I mean, I don't I don't really have much to say about that. I don't really do much anything of anything different. I, I have to be more careful when I go upstairs and things like that.

and I, you know, I use a handrail or used to run. We should run steps at the stadium over here. But, I just have to. I just have to be careful. I just be slower, as you say, I tend to speed up with, That is not paying attention. I get all crazy. but, you know, if I, if I if I'm conscious of that, I see myself slow down. Yes, I could do that. Well, I, I have known many people who dedicate their entire lives to yoga and yoga, as I understand it from them, is really a lifestyle. It's a way of thinking. Yes it. Is.

and that extends into other areas for them. For example, have you found nutrition to be important? my wife takes care of that. she won't let me cook or anything like that anymore. So she feeds me, you know, organic food, very little meat. And every evening I've got a bowl full of. I didn't have no idea what I'm taking, but she just. She piles them on, and I just put them in my mouth, dig down whatever's in there. I know there's some magnesium in there, which is good until the part people. But, you know, they my my wife and my daughter's 30, 31, they keep a close watch over me.

So I'm a pretty well taken care of by those student. Well it's always good to have somebody watching, watching your back as it were. Not too much. But my daughter sometimes overdoes it. You know, she's, she means well. We'll have a talk with her later. Yeah. Do that. My wife says she's you know she's keeping me alive. So you know. Yeah. That's exactly what you say. Yeah. That's a good thing. how is sleep for you? How are you feeling? Not good. No, I have, I have some troubles sleeping. so I, I try to calm myself down before I try to read before it, before I go to bed a little bit. That helps, you know? Good thing.

And I take, some, what's it called? A, starts with the tea. to try to do, my doctor's prescribed hundred milligrams. I think I take that, you know, I don't know, it might work. It might not be. It's not. He tells me it's not addictive, so I'm not too concerned about it. but other than that, I do a lot of reading at 3:00 in the morning. you know, it's just like, I get maybe usually 4 or 5 hours sleep a night at the most, but I'm, you know, I'm pretty much free most of my time. I only teach four classes a week, so I.

I just take a nap. If we just eat 20 minutes and everything's. Everything's fine. But, yeah, sleep is a problem. you know, I don't sleep. I don't sleep well. To talk afterwards. Now, you're teaching for a class this week. Are they exclusively individuals who have Parkinson's? No, no, no, no. The other classes I teach this yoga school in Oakland, 2 or 2 are online, exclusively online. And to have a mix of the mix mix between online and live people. And I teach workshops around the area. They used to teach.

Sleep, Lifestyle, and Ongoing Management 31:30

They used to teach in New York. Right? So in London, I taught the Brussels, I've taught in New Orleans, I've taught Nashville, Knoxville, I mean, I taught all around the country when I was flying, but I don't think I can fly anymore. I haven't had too much trouble. Get to an airport. I think getting, getting, getting settled in. And I'm 76 years old. So that's I think that's an issue too. You know, I'm old. So I have to accept that you. Well I must say you look terrific and thank you said Parkinson's for many years.

It, you know, does look like you take care of yourself and that the yoga has paid off. Intense. I'm recommend it highly to anybody. But you know, do it. Just do it. Just just have confidence. Eventually they'll kick in and do you some good. You mentioned that some of the classes that you teach, are online. Are there ways that people that are watching this summit can connect to that? Yeah. Next, you know, they they you can you can you can you can pay for some classes online, you know, on Tuesdays and Sunday morning, Tuesday evening, Sunday morning.

But there's also hybrid classes. You ever since Covid this is a new thing. I don't know if your wife does this, but most classes or hybrid classes, you have people in front of you live people, but you have a monitor behind you with with people from all over the world. People. I still have students in England, Greece, Canada, Hawaii know of the world. And you know, that is a big advantage for them. But, you know, it's really hard to people online sometimes. You can't really do much, much adjusting for them.

But you know, they still get the chance to check in. And then you can yeah. I do like it when I, when I'm in the studio with my instructor. And I must admit, my, my posture in general is not the best. And I'm sure my form is not the best. And she comes over and she. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, anyway and, it's, it's is certainly helpful. I. Yeah. What I'm guilty of is probably just not doing it enough so as have better form and better, balance. I, you know, balance, as you said, is extreme, important.

And, for example, there's, pose. I'm, I'm quite sure, you know, called that's probably as many names as many of these poses do, but tree pose. Yeah. Which asana. Yeah. So there you go. More than one name. but I don't know my Sanskrit, so I'll call it tree pose. Okay. But, so, you know, very challenging, to some folks, certainly to me, to put my one foot, on my, you know, some people get very high up, but, probably just above my ankle. And that's not. That's good enough. It's good enough that you bring up Sanskrit.

That's one thing, actually, I'm doing for myself for my Parkinson's. I'm teaching a course in Sanskrit that's an online course. You know, it's really. I've been doing it for two years now. It really helps with my focus. My concentration is a really it's a really hard language to learn. How is it spoken, written? What are you learning? I'm really I'm learning to to transliterated from the the David augury which sets me of a bit into into Roman alphabet. And then I translate it into as best I can.

So, I'm doing this for about two years now, I think, and I'm almost done with the introductory course. well, that's that is wonderful. We, we certainly encourage people. And again, the scientific, the evidence based data is there to stimulate your brain. Right? Absolutely. Yeah. you know, if folks want to play, little games on their phone, I guess that's okay. But, I certainly think learning language, learning, a musical instrument, I think in Parkinson's. another thing that one could do, and I encourage it because I think the payoffs are multiple is take dancing classes.

Oh, yeah. For that. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well, I if you could do that, learn science. But I recommend you get a tutor or take a different language because you can. It's really hard to learn on your own. I tried well but I this is all online I'm assuming or. Yeah. Yeah. She's she's in London actually the teacher. Well that's fantastic. so any any other little, tips or tricks that you found personally useful? So, just the most important thing to me is, is to be aware. Self aware, you know, and watch yourself as much as you can during the day.

And, you know, it's not judgmental. It's not, you know, you criticize yourself, but just by simply watching yourself carefully, it sort of changes the way you you act and think and feel and speak. So I'm I'm most conscious of myself during the day now. I've been working on that for a few years to say, say, present to myself most of the time, like doing it right now just to make sure that I don't say anything silly online. So, yeah, I think it's really important for people like us to, for people like me to, to, to be conscious of themselves as much as possible.

Be, I mean, you know, it's fair to say with the things that I've learned about you in the last, you know, 40 minutes or so that you remain engaged, that you remain active to the best of your ability, your yoga, Sanskrit, perhaps other interests that you have. And I think that's and being in your mid 70s, you when you learned about your diagnosis

Closing Thoughts and Contact Information 37:30

and now looking at how you are and I don't mean how you are now in terms of your ability to move. I mean, how did you think things were going to go? And can you look back on it now and have a different perspective, or is it the same? I think the most important thing for me was not to fight it. I think I have been with a lot of people with Parkinson's that really go after it, you know, really, really, really contest and contest with is that the right word? I just, I just say that me now, it's part of who I am.

I just, I think it's really important when you, when you diagnosed with Parkinson's to, to accept it and just, you know, go from there. I think if you find it, it fights back. Sure. And keep going. Right. say, okay, my life is over, I have this no no. No no no no, that's no, no, it's not over, but over at all. And 22 years and going strong. Well strong strong ish let's say very good. That's that's a very good smile. And that's a sign that things are working. Working well. Right. And you have to think about facial expression in Parkinson's.

So your your a testament certainly. Thank you Richard. If someone did want to reach out to you learn more about the practice of yoga with you. How would they do that? Email would be the best way to do it. Yeah. And can you share that. Richard.Rosen26@gmail.com Richard.Rosen26@gmail.com And that is very, very generous of you. I hope you have, some folks taking you up on that. But at the same time, we expect to reach, you know, 50, 60,000 people. So I hope it doesn't blow. Up because, you know. at the same. Time, maybe.

All right, well, we'll see what happens. I'll get I'll send it back to you if it comes to me. Too much. Fair enough. Well, Richard Rosen, you it it's been a real pleasure. Thank you. But breathwork and living with Parkinson's. Yeah. And it's such an important message. So thank you so much for being part of the parts. And thank you. Thank you for having me on. I really appreciate it. We look forward to reconnecting soon. Right. Thank you.