Pacemaker - and now?

Pacemaker - and now?

A question I am often asked concerns people with pacemakers. Most recently, the question sounded like this: "My mother-in-law recently got a pacemaker. She used to practise yoga on the chair and would like to start again now. Is there anything against it? Is there anything to consider?"

First of all, there are of course different reasons for implanting a pacemaker and many different types of pacemakers. Fortunately, as yoga teachers we do not have to worry about this. As always, what is more important for us is what personality is associated with this pacemaker. How old, fit and healthy is the practitioner or what concomitant diseases exist. The latter can limit the physical performance. In general, the implantation of a pacemaker, if it goes well and the scar has healed without irritation, is a blessing for the person concerned and makes their life safer.

Normally, pacemakers are implanted in the upper right or left front below the collarbone in the soft tissue of the chest or in the chest muscles. It is important for all those who have had surgery to stay away from induction sources and, if possible, not to use their mobile phone on the side of the pacemaker. Care should be taken with movements above shoulder level for the first 3 months until soft tissue healing is complete. The pacemaker and soft tissues need time to heal, as does the scar. After that, the range of motion can be increased step by step without risk. Often the full range of motion of the shoulder joint and the strength of the chest and shoulder muscles are fully restored. As far as yoga is concerned, from the third month after implantation of a pacemaker, every patient may slowly resume his/her normal everyday and mat movements, increasing the demands on the strength and endurance of the shoulder girdle and also of the whole body. Attention should be paid in any case to the feeling of discomfort, pain or uneasiness.