Meditative visualization for Strokes

Catastrophic events such as strokes or traumatic blows to the cranium, often result in neuronal loss, which can lead to a number of deficits such as reduced motor functions, clear cognition and poor perception of reality. Though all of these are negatively life changing, they are however not entirely permanent as the brain is very plastic in nature and is always constantly changing and adapting to what we do or perceive in our daily lives. It should also be reminded that though, neurons are damaged or gone from the initial trauma, other remaining neurons, can still function as a replacement to backup the loss function. To harness, the brain's natural capability of reorganizing and self- repairing would be through physiotherapy as means of recovering loss motor function, however there are other ways to recover loss movements besides moving our limbs. One such method would be through meditative visualization. Often times, the effectiveness of recovery following a brain injury is determined by how effective we can retrain remaining neurons to take over the function of the damaged cells, meditation is one effective way to hone in this ability.

When we meditate, we often assume of not thinking about anything and sitting completely still. This assumption is completely false as most meditation practitioners are still completely aware of themselves and their surroundings. As matter of fact they focus on their internal and external sensations to block mental chatter or distractions, this is called mindfulness meditation and it has become popular in recent years as it's a proven way to remain focus in the present and having a clear view of what we want to achieve. Thus most brain injury patients are encouraged to engage in this practice. When meditating, it's essential to have a clear goal of what most patients want to achieve from doing it, if it's to be able to do specific movements then the focus of the meditation should be movement visualization. Below are guided steps to starting meditative visualization, any changes can be made to these steps to suit the need of anyone:

1. Find a comfortable place to sit down i.e on a chair or on the floor with legs crossed
2. Erect the spine to a straight 90 degree angle.
3. Once the spine is straight, begin closing both eyes, close them gently with no tightness or tension in the eyelid muscles, everything must be loose 
4. Once closed begin to feel the weight or centre of mass of the body, is the weight evenly distributed on both sides? if one side feels more weight than the other, begin to slowly shift the weigh to the side that has less but only slightly, the goal is to have equal sensation on both sides to attain equilibrium.
5. With both sides having equal weight and feeling, focus on the spine again, ensure it's still straight.
6. Focus on the breathing, inhale slowly for 5 seconds and exhale for 5 seconds. Do this for 10 minutes while maintaining steps 2, 3, 4 and 5 
7. After 5 minutes of repeating the process, put both hands on the knees and feel the palms of the hand touching against the surface of the skin, try to feel where the fingers are in space and position. Begin visualizing that all fingers are tapping up and down, do this about 10 times then move only one finger at a time starting from the index all the way to the pinky. repeat each movement for every finger around 10 times.
8. Do the same movements for the wrist, visualize the wrist moving up and down for around 10 times. 
9. Then place all attention on the ankles. imagine them moving up and down, try to tune into the sensation on the soles of the feet, visualize what the sensation would be like when the ankles are moved up and down. if possible imagine both ankles on both legs are moving up down in sync. Repeat this for about 10 times, try to channel the sensation of the healthy leg into the one that's disabled. 
10. Focus all attention on the toes, wiggle them together up and down for about 10 times. the move only the individual toe in the same manner for 10 times.
11. Afterwards visualize walking normally in the mind, pay close attention to how the knees, ankles and toes are flexing. If possible try to visualize the surface of the ground that you're walking on in the soles of your feet. 
12. Arms can also be moved backwards and forwards to add a more realistic feel of the visualized running.
13. If possible shift the weight between the left and right of the body when visualizing as this is what most people subconsciously do when they run. 
14. Continue this exercise for about 5 to 10 minutes and always be mindful of the breath as the movements may cause exhaustion even though they are small compared to actual running. 
15. Once the 10 minute running visualization is over, try to be mindful of external sensations such as the temperature in the room, sounds and smell for about 5 minutes before gently opening eyes and returning consciousness to the present moment. 

When carrying out the steps above. It would be best to do them in an environment with enough sensory stimulation such as light, noises and even temperature fluctuations. Most of these maybe considered disruptive, however they are beneficial to train the mind to not only become mindful of the surroundings but also to find order in a chaotic environment. learning to find balance and order in a sensory chaotic surrounding reflects what most patients are trying to accomplish in their brains after a traumatic injury. If this can be achieved externally then internal clarity will follow suit.

Another important factor to follow between these steps would be hydration, always remembering to drink plenty of water as the brain requires hydration to keep it properly functioning, Practicing mindfulness will most likely deplete the brains energy and this in turn will result in requiring more water to properly function.