Parkinson’s is a disease that wasn’t identified until 1817. Yet, 2,600 years ago, the Buddha taught practices that can help manage the symptoms. The prescription: mindfulness, repetition, and slowness.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that disrupts the messages the brain sends to muscles, affecting both voluntary actions (such as walking) and involuntary functions (such as breathing). When you first try to learn a behavior, the brain lacks memories of how it should be performed. For instance, a baby does not know how high to raise her leg the first time she climbs the stairs. However, with each attempt, the brain records her efforts. With every effort, the brain forms a new memory that either reinforces what she has learned or alters it.
If a behavior is repeated enough times—though we do not know the exact number—it can become automatic, where doing the first part triggers the rest of it. It’s like a domino in a line being toppled, starting a chain reaction. Moving one foot forward signals the brain to retrieve the “walking sequence.” It’s estimated that between 50 and 60 percent of all our behaviors are automatic, relieving the brain of a substantial amount of processing.
With Parkinson’s, we believe that the automaticity of many behaviors ceases or degrades when the signal from the brain to the muscles is disrupted. For instance, while my brain may recognize that it’s dangerous to continue walking quickly when people abruptly stop in front of me, the message to “slow down” or “stop” may arrive milliseconds too late, causing me to bump into the person ahead. Likewise, at the end of a flight of stairs, I might continue using my “step” motions, resulting in a fall.
Other brain signal problems may manifest as a tremor, where, despite a message to “be still,” the hand moves rapidly back and forth. Parkinson’s disease may also affect speech—mysteriously softening the volume or reducing the necessary airflow, resulting in slurred speech. While suggestions that these problems can be reduced through meditation are well-meaning, meditation is actually more effective for stress reduction than for relearning motor movements. Pharmaceuticals and medical devices have shown similarly limited or unsuccessful results.
Few approaches to understanding and treating the disorder are using current research from a learning theory perspective, and none have recognized Buddhism as a body of knowledge that can serve as the foundation for managing Parkinson’s symptoms—until now.
Assuming that effective management of Parkinson’s symptoms involves retraining the muscles to function automatically—just as they did before the illness—slowness, mindfulness, and repetition act together like anchor pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.
Slowness
Thich Nhat Hanh wrote that one should drink tea slowly and reverently as if the world revolves around it. Although going slowly seems to be anathema in many contemporary societies, studies have documented its importance for learning. Slowing down makes it easier for the mind to focus on the present and relearn motor behaviors that have lost their automaticity.
Mindfulness
At its core, mindfulness is simply paying attention. It’s not only an essential aspect of Buddhism, but also a foundational concept in learning theory. For instance, Bob Bowman, the coach of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, said in an interview that he allowed Phelps to continue to practice only if his strokes were perfect. With any deviation from “perfection,” Phelps was pulled out of the pool. Bowman’s reasoning was that if he permitted Phelps to practice a less-than-perfect stroke, its memory could surface during a race. When you’re mindful of what you’re doing, you can raise your awareness of the most critical features of a task.
Repetition
As in other learning pursuits, repetition is crucial for the transmission of knowledge in Buddhism. Orally, we find repetition in Om Mani Padme Hum and other chants. Visually, repetition occurs in symbols, mandalas, and various art forms that convey wisdom. We experience tactile repetition by touching a series of prayer wheels, telling the beads of a mala, or circumambulating a stupa three times. Just as these repeated activities imprint Buddhist principles in our body and mind, with each repetition of a mundane experience—regardless of the sense through which it’s experienced—the brain solidifies a memory that may contribute to the creation of automatic behaviors like walking, reaching, or holding. With Parkinson’s disease, automaticity is disrupted even in physically fit individuals, leading to falls, dropped plates, and difficulties with tasks like tying shoes, among other challenges.
Many approaches to rehabilitation, whether for Parkinson’s or other illnesses, depend on guidance from a professional. However, this Buddhist version of behavioral relearning is different—it’s a DIY approach.
To get ready, you decide to very slowly do the activity you want to learn. This is embracing slowness. Next, with mindfulness, identify the key characteristics of the activity. Then repeat the activity again and again with awareness and record your progress
Finally, analyze the results. If you were successful, continue doing the activity in the same way. If you weren’t, change at least one element before continuing.
So, how does this blueprint manifest when applied in San Francisco, California, by me, an elderly, overweight person with Parkinson’s, as opposed to a hypothetical individual? What follows is the intervention program utilizing the three concepts I developed to help me prevent falls while running.
I began by embracing slowness. Instead of maintaining an eighteen-minutes-per-mile pace, I ran at a pace of twenty to twenty-two minutes per mile, which is slower than many people walk, but this allowed me to concentrate on each part of the running sequence.
Next, using my running watch, I counted the number of steps during my usual run. This was about bringing mindfulness awareness to the “baseline,” the starting point for progress. At my pace, for a four-mile run, there were thirteen thousand steps. Using one counter for my left foot and another for my right, I counted 125 toe stubs, each one creating the possibility of a fall.
Now, I focused on repeating the action of running slowly with awareness. I became aware of every step I took by observing my legs’ movement and running to the rhythm of music coming through my headphones. I did these activities three days a week for three months.
I recorded my progress, and over time I analyzed the results. The takeaway? After three months, I averaged two to three toe stubs per run, compared to the hundred-plus I experienced before starting the experiment. The approach was successful.
The only instance of an increase in stubs occurred after a sleepless night. Failure became a diagnostic tool—stub more, sleep more. Since it only occurred once, there was no need for me to change anything.
Now, it’s been one year, and the automaticity of my running still holds. Most importantly, I haven’t fallen when running.
A careful examination of the sutras would reveal an abundance of concepts—scientifically verified two thousand years after they were written—that could have positive impacts on other human challenges besides Parkinson’s. It only requires a bit of searching and thinking outside the box. Happy hunting!
