I am not a Medical Doctor, I do not claim that I have the level of education or training that doctors have. Nor do I think I can cure Bell’s Palsy in Children. However, given the information that I know about Bell’s Palsy, my understanding of the internal and external bodies, and my knowledge as a Yoga Teacher I feel yoga can help to balance the internal and external bodies alleviating the symptoms of Bell’s Palsy in children.
What is Bell’s Palsy?
According to the Mayo Clinc, “Bell’s Palsy occurs when the nerve that controls facial muscles on one side of your face becomes swollen or inflamed. As a result of Bell’s palsy, your face feels stiff. Half your face appears to droop, your smile is one-sided, and your eye resists closing.
Bell’s palsy can affect anyone, but rarely affects people under the age of 15 or over the age of 60.
For most people, Bell’s palsy symptoms improve within a few weeks, with complete recovery in three to six months. About 10 percent will experience a recurrence of Bell’s palsy, sometimes on the other side of the face. A small number of people continue to have some Bell’s palsy signs and symptoms for life.”
-Mayo Clinic
www.mayoclinic.com/health/bells-palsy
What are the Symptoms?
According to the Mayo Clinic, Signs and Symptoms May Include:
* Rapid onset of mild weakness to total paralysis on one side of your face — occurring within hours to days — making it difficult to smile or close your eye on the affected side
* Facial droop and difficulty making facial expressions
* Pain around the jaw or in or behind your ear on the affected side
* Increased sensitivity to sound on the affected side
* Headache
* A decrease in your ability to taste
* Changes in the amount of tears and saliva you produce
* In rare cases, Bell’s palsy can affect the nerves on both sides of your face.
-Mayo Clinic
www.mayoclinic.com/health/bells-palsy
What Causes Bell’s Palsy?
According to the Mayo Clinic, “With Bell’s palsy, the nerve that controls your facial muscles, which passes through a narrow corridor of bone on its way to your face, becomes inflamed and swollen — usually from a viral infection. Besides facial muscles, the nerve affects tears, saliva, taste and a small bone in the middle of your ear.”
-Mayo Clinic
www.mayoclinic.com/health/bells-palsy
Why can YOGA help?
Our Nervous System is a extraordinary control unit; coordinating and controlling every activity within the body, including: organ function, movement and sensation. It is with the Nervous System that we function in the external world. Many conditions affect the nervous system. In fact, all conditions resulting form the stresses in our daily lives can be classified as nervous disorders.
In my experience of working with children who have Bell’s Palsy I find that they often undergo a tremendous amount of stress. Whether the stress be pre-existing or a result of Bell’s Pasly the stress exacerbates or lengthens the condition. When I work with children who have Bell’s Palsy the yoga sequence (yoga breathing, yoga poses, yoga relaxation) that I have introduced to them has helped them to slow down the worrying process and promote a sense on confidence and control.
I have been working with a client over the past month using this dynamic sequence and have had positive feedback from both her and her mother that the yoga is helping her to manage her physical and emotional stress.
As the teacher it is amazing to watch yoga create such an amazing shift in such a special person!!
The nerve that controls your facial muscles passes through a narrow corridor of bone on its way to your face.
