Yoga Influences Recovery During Inpatient Rehabilitation: A Pilot Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to add yoga therapy to inpatient rehabilitation and assess whether patients chose to engage in yoga therapy in addition to other daily therapies, to describe patients' perceptions of how yoga therapy influenced recovery, and to assess and describe patient satisfaction with the program.

Methods: This was a single-arm pilot study, adding yoga therapy to ongoing inpatient rehabilitation. Yoga therapy was offered as group yoga or individual yoga twice a week. Semi-structured interview questions were completed via telephone post-discharge.

Results: A total of 55 of the 77 (71%) people contacted about the study engaged in yoga therapy in the inpatient rehabilitation setting for this study and 31 (56%) of these completed the semi-structured interview questions. Qualitative data support that participants perceived that yoga therapy improved breathing, relaxation, and psychological wellbeing. Overall, participants were satisfied with the program, although they often indicated they would like increased flexibility or frequency of yoga. Almost all participants (97%) said they would recommend the yoga therapy program to others in inpatient rehabilitation.

Conclusion: We were able to add yoga therapy to ongoing inpatient rehabilitation and participants perceived benefits of having the yoga therapy in their rehabilitation stay.