Anyone doing pilates or yoga as a therapy?

Hello,

I have a mild asperger's syndrom.
Among asperger's typical characteristics, my moter skills are especially bad.
I'm no good at any sports and am clumsy, and get tired easily just by doing daily activities.
I often feel nervous to see people as I cannot move or act naturally and have pain somewhere in my body.

About 3 years ago, I started to do PNF exercise w/ my physiotherapist, as well as yoga and pilates.
To make a long story short, my motor skills have improved a lot and my posture has got better. I feel less nervous, more calm and confident when my body is stable. I don't get tired as easily as I used to be.
(Although my motor skills are still poorer than the average, I still need one on one lessons as I can't do well in group sessions...)

I would really like to improve my motor skills more, and make my symptons even milder...

If anyone has similar experience to mine, would you tell me what kind of exercise works for you best and if you know a good teacher, please let me know!

Thank you,

P.S. I'm not a native English speaker, so please excuse me for mistakes in my English.

Personally, I can't really say I've had a similar experience as you in this area.

I do yoga, yes, but my balance hasn't really improved that much. You may have started it later in life, but for me, I started doing martial arts as a young kid. That taught me quite a bit in terms of balance, so I'm not terribly clumsy. Don't get me wrong, my balance isn't great either, and I still sometimes run into stuff, but it isn't really that bad.

When I had surgery, one exercise they brought me through to increase my balance was those "half bouncy balls". There's one here:
http://www.thefitnessoutlet.com/bosu-ba ... elid=FROOG

You may find that useful. I can't stand on that very long before losing balance (maybe 5 seconds, with one leg, if that). They are supposed to help with balance, so it may be worth giving a try.

Another thing you can try, and I've done this before, is hold a yoga posture that involves 1-foot, while you have your eyes closed. I also find these very difficult to do.

i had a friend who did tai chi to improve his posture and balance. he seemed to think that it worked for him. i think he had some form of ASD but he was never diagnosed.

i have dyspraxia, a common symptom of AS, but i hate anything to do with exercise. so, i've never really tried to improve this aspect of my life. candidly, my lower body co-ordination is so bad i think it's beyond redemption. add to this a congenital dislocated hip and i think you can see that physically i'm a bit of a basket case. also, i don't really value physical attributes, like being good a sports, probably because i never was.

Thx!

TDT wrote:I do yoga, yes, but my balance hasn't really improved that much. You may have started it later in life, but for me, I started doing martial arts as a young kid. That taught me quite a bit in terms of balance, so I'm not terribly clumsy. Don't get me wrong, my balance isn't great either, and I still sometimes run into stuff, but it isn't really that bad.

Yeah, I've also heard some martial arts are good for developing motor skills.
It's great doing martial arts as a kid has helped your balance improve...
What kind of martial arts did u do if I may ask?
I actually have an impression that many of martial arts like judo are difficult... involves a lot of strenuous movement.
I guess Aikido or Tai Chi are calmer, but since I'm not good at learning sequence of movement, it still seems difficult.

TDT wrote:When I had surgery, one exercise they brought me through to increase my balance was those "half bouncy balls". There's one here:
http://www.thefitnessoutlet.com/bosu-ba ... elid=FROOG

You may find that useful. I can't stand on that very long before losing balance (maybe 5 seconds, with one leg, if that). They are supposed to help with balance, so it may be worth giving a try.

Another thing you can try, and I've done this before, is hold a yoga posture that involves 1-foot, while you have your eyes closed. I also find these very difficult to do.

Thx for your suggestions! I'll try.

shock_the_monkey wrote:i had a friend who did tai chi to improve his posture and balance. he seemed to think that it worked for him. i think he had some form of ASD but he was never diagnosed.

i have dyspraxia, a common symptom of AS, but i hate anything to do with exercise. so, i've never really tried to improve this aspect of my life. candidly, my lower body co-ordination is so bad i think it's beyond redemption. add to this a congenital dislocated hip and i think you can see that physically i'm a bit of a basket case. also, i don't really value physical attributes, like being good a sports, probably because i never was.

Thx for sharing ur story.
It's good you accept yourself as you are... I'm not good at it... I tend to have a high hope... and suffer from difference between my dream and reality.

My body co-ordination is also bad and I can't do any sports, although I've been trying hard practicing...
I may value pysical attributes a bit too much, because I wish I could and I feel like, if I could, I may not be like this...
I sometimes feel like why am I doing this? contributing lots of time & money and still not as good as most people.

But for me, learning even little by little is a joy anyway.

r_G_o wrote:Thx!
What kind of martial arts did u do if I may ask?

I started with taekwondo at a super young age, younger than I can remember actually. I then moved to doing a few styles a few years later (still mostly strike-related types), then back to taekwondo in high school, then tai chi/qi gong in college til now. I still do tai chi, and qi gong - almost no taekwondo any more. I'd say my sense of balance is best improved by tai chi/qi gong, plus they give a better sense of relaxation.

TDT wrote:I started with taekwondo at a super young age, younger than I can remember actually. I then moved to doing a few styles a few years later (still mostly strike-related types), then back to taekwondo in high school, then tai chi/qi gong in college til now. I still do tai chi, and qi gong - almost no taekwondo any more. I'd say my sense of balance is best improved by tai chi/qi gong, plus they give a better sense of relaxation.

Thanks! Wow you've done a lot. Taekwondo seems a difficult sport to me... I may wanna try tai chi and qi gong as you recommend.
Thank you again.

qi gong has a few really nice benefits. First, it gets you up and moving, like any type of exercise. You're not doing vigorous exercise, but still.

The largest benefit for doing qigong is if you have symptoms similar to ADHD and/or general concentration issues. The whole point of qigong is to really pay attention to your breath, and how they relate to the movements you're performing. It helps to identify where you're holding pressure at internally. Tai Chi is similar to qigong, but you're paying more attention to the movement itself vs the breathing. The reason for this is because qigong can be the same general move for 5 minutes at a time before moving on. Tai chi, you're doing a move every 5-10 seconds or so.

I'd recommend qi gong to start. There's less barrier to entry, and you kinda learn easier to listen to your body and what it's kinda telling you. It is basically moving meditation, so you get a lot of benefits doing it. You can get plenty of DVDs all over...I'd recommend something simple like shaolin qi gong (http://www.amazon.com/Shaolin-Qi-Gong-E ... 1594772649)

Thanks!

TDT wrote:The largest benefit for doing qigong is if you have symptoms similar to ADHD and/or general concentration issues. The whole point of qigong is to really pay attention to your breath, and how they relate to the movements you're performing. It helps to identify where you're holding pressure at internally. Tai Chi is similar to qigong, but you're paying more attention to the movement itself vs the breathing. The reason for this is because qigong can be the same general move for 5 minutes at a time before moving on. Tai chi, you're doing a move every 5-10 seconds or so.I'd recommend qi gong to start. There's less barrier to entry, and you kinda learn easier to listen to your body and what it's kinda telling you. It is basically moving meditation, so you get a lot of benefits doing it. You can get plenty of DVDs all over...I'd recommend something simple like shaolin qi gong (http://www.amazon.com/Shaolin-Qi-Gong-E ... 1594772649)

Thanks, it is quite informative.
Sounds like qigong is a good one to start with.
I also practice breathing and meditation during yoga sessions and find it important to listen to my body, and know where I hold pressure before anythihg.

As I luckily find a class of shaolin qi gong near my city, I'll try it.
Thank you so much!!

Yoga is great as a therapy for AS, especially Hatha Yoga, which is the calmer, more meditative form (rather than the gym-like workout of Ashtenga Yoga, or the very stretch-orientated version of Iyengar Yoga) - I've tried all three, and Hatha is the best for AS in my opinion: I highly recommend it!

Find a class in your local area, and get ready to feel the wonderful benefits (as well as being a bit sore afterwards, as it's surprisingly difficult if you apply yourself properly!)