Seattle grad student helps design yoga prosthetic
A University of Washington Master’s student is one of the first people in the country to use a new type of prosthetic arm, having worked with its creators on a design that will benefit fellow yoga fans across the world.
Natalie Grazian, age 29, from Seattle, has a congenital limb difference, meaning her right arm did not fully develop before birth. Exercising has always been a passion and that prompted her to find modifications to help her do the activities she cares about. But when it came to some yoga positions and weight-bearing exercises, her limb difference presented a unique challenge.
While browsing Instagram, Natalie came across Koalaa – a London-based start-up on a mission to make prosthetics comfortable, accessible, and affordable for everyone. The soft prosthetics designed by Koalaa were so unlike anything she’d come across before that she decided to find out more.
Koalaa’s revolutionary patented design includes a soft, lightweight, breathable fabric sleeve that can be fitted with different activity-specific tool attachments. Popular activities include surfing, guitar playing, bike riding, and gripping objects such as glassware, phones, pens, shopping carts, and broom handles.
Natalie was curious to see if the prosthetic could help her with yoga. She explains: “Until recently, I was doing workouts at home using online videos. But something that always bothered me was that I didn’t have a good way to balance on my hands or bear weight evenly on both sides of my upper body – for example, when doing push-ups, planks, burpees, and certain yoga moves. I tried using stacked pillows and a few other adaptations, none of which were great for balance or body mechanics.
“That’s when I came across this interesting page on Instagram. At the time I’d been considering a traditional prosthesis with a hard socket and weight-bearing attachment, but I decided to reach out to Koalaa to see what they were about. It seemed like they were doing something unique!”
She continued: “I just took a few simple measurements at home, and Koalaa shipped my new prosthetic out to me. After using it for a while, I knew it could be just what I needed – with a few adjustments. Koalaa’s designers were only too happy to help.”
Natalie went on to work closely with Koalaa’s designers and a small group of limb-different yoga enthusiasts to help create a tool with a wide, curved base. It needed to be able to support body weight, relieve pressure on the limb while maintaining shoulder alignment, resist slipping on different surfaces, and keep up with the unique movements and balance involved in yoga. After a successful trial, the new tool is now available for users internationally.
Natalie said: “It’s been amazing to be part of the development process alongside other people with limb differences. I’m so proud to have contributed to something that will benefit limb-different users across the world.”
She added: “I remember the first time I used it to do a plank. I felt both shoulder muscles fire up equally and my whole body almost clicking into alignment. Suddenly I could transition between yoga moves quickly, and I had so much more balance, strength, and confidence in the positions. It made me think – why am I still doing this in my living room?
“I went from following along with YouTube videos at home to joining a hot yoga class in person. I even convinced a few friends to join me, and our weekly hot yoga session is now a highlight of my week. That’s the magic of these tools – they open us up to really meaningful experiences that maybe weren’t accessible before.”
Nate Macabuag, founder of Koalaa, said: “The ideas and feedback of our users are central to everything we do here at Koalaa; whether that’s inspiring the new tools and products we create or working closely with us at every stage of the development process to get their design just right. It’s been fantastic collaborating with users in both the UK and the US on this project, and seeing the tool in action in a yoga class is just incredible.”
Natalie lives in Seattle with her husband Sam and is currently studying for a Master’s degree in occupational therapy. She is also a volunteer mentor at Camp No Limits, a non-profit organization that supports children with limb loss and limb difference and their families across the US.
For more information visit www.yourkoalaa.com
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