Twenty patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease emulated yoga poses shown to them on a video during a group supporting meeting. PHOTO: AYSHA SALEEM/EXPRESS
KARACHI: Stretching their hands and bending their bodies to emulate their yoga instructor, more than 20 patients suffering from Parkinson's disease participated in a support group programme on Thursday.
The patients were shown a video, titled 'Gentle Yoga for Parkinson's Patients', and encouraged to copy the meditative exercises being shown to them. Equal number of men and women participated in the exercise.
The Parkinson's support group meeting was organised by Pakistan Parkinson's Society (PPS) and Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) at the AKUH Sports and Rehab Centre. We have created this group so that we can fight this disease collectively, said PPS chairperson Haroon Basheer. The platform allows the patients to share their experience with others, he claimed.
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"Some patients may encounter difficulties in coping with the disease. It may be hard for them to approach their doctors and question them. In such a situation, a support group can help them." The support group has given us an opportunity to share our experiences with one another, said a patient, Asifa Raheem, who has been suffering from the disease since the past two years.
Diseases such as Parkinson's have no cure, claimed PPS director Irshad Jan, while speaking to The Express Tribune. "One can only manage it in a better way by performing various exercises."
Jan said they organise the support meeting on the first Thursday of every month and discuss various problems and their solutions together.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 4th, 2016.
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