Practice and all is coming -- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

Yoga and Chronic Dis-Ease

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Yoga can be a wonderful compliment to feeling empowered in a body living with chronic disease. Let's support each other in continuing to develop our yoga practices & in helping each other with ideas and tips on how yoga can help.

Members: 6
Latest Activity: Sep 6

Note to Beginner's & Beginner's at Heart

Yoga sounds intimidating to some.
Some types of yoga are intimidating to me.
We all breathe.
Whether we like it or not- we are a bunch of breathers stuck on this planet together.
Yoga is commonly understood as a physical exercise but there is so much more to yoga.

Physical poses (asana), meditation, breathing exercises (pranayama) & more encompass the term yoga.
Asana, what most recognize as yoga, is done in most group yoga classes.
The practice of bringing your attention to your breath & movement- of maintaining that awareness through that breath & movement- even manipulating your breath & movement to produce specific results (like preparing for sleep or to provide energy) is all yoga.
Asana provides a beautiful place to learn & practice this awareness of your body & breath.
Though you may do the same poses year in & out- the sequences will change as will the intention of your practice through time. My practice will look different when I'm 20, 40 and 60 years old.

Be curious about yoga- try it!
Go out and take a class. There are many classes out there for beginners. Go to one.
Talk to the instructor. Call the instructor.
Pick up some books- empower yourself by learning about the things you're interested in.
Try some poses from a book.
Watch a video.

Yoga is something for EVERYONE.
Each person's practice should be suited to their needs.
Find the yoga that makes YOU feel strong & empowered.
Find the yoga YOU enjoy and want to do at home.
Eventually you may find yourself doing your practice there to supplement your group classes because you enjoy practicing & it fits your schedule better.

Lemme know if you have any questions!
For more on Viniyoga, YoGa EmPoWeReD and videos visit-
http://yogaempowered.blogspot.com/

Discussion Forum

Tips & Tricks

#1 Honor YOUR body! The first & most important thing I learn everyday through yoga is to honor my body. Before each practice every day I ask myself how my body's feeling (weak, fatigued, alive,...

Tagged: restorative, tips, viniyoga, yoga, adapt

Started by Suzanne Jan 30.

Yoga

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2003 and started yoga about a week later because I knew it was supposed to relieve stress. Over the years- I've learned to live with MS- some days I forge...

Tagged: disease, sclerosis, chronic, yoga, scelerosis

Started by Suzanne Jan 21.

Comment Wall (11 comments)

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11 Comments

Comment by Suzanne on September 6, 2009 at 12:40pm: I still haven't quite figured this site out though I think it's a fantastic forum for practitioners. I wanted to let you all know I've started another blog- this one is Yoga Empowered Online 4 Multiple Sclerosis. Most of what will be posted there will also be applicable for most Chronic Illnesses. I'm teaching a Yoga for MS class & a Yoga for chronic Illness Series in Seattle & am using this as a resource. Here's the site addy- http://yogaempowered4ms.blogspot.com/
Rock YOUR Practices!
Xo- Suz

Comment by Suzanne on June 11, 2009 at 12:04pm: Amy- Thanks for posting that! It's great to have you here! Xo- Suz

Comment by Amy Domestico on June 11, 2009 at 10:20am: Some great info on metabolic disorders and weight loss, i was suprised by the amount of people effected and how many of us may be and not know http://budurl.com/WC610

Comment by Suzanne on January 30, 2009 at 10:48am: So pleased to have you here Yogamum!

Comment by Yogamum on January 30, 2009 at 9:56am: Hey all! I'm pleased about this group and hope to see much information and inspiration exchanged! I have a chronic back issue (long story) that affects my practice -- it's a challenge but I try not to let it be an obstacle.

Comment by Suzanne on January 22, 2009 at 2:32pm: Mr Dawg! You are one of my favorite Yogis- So glad you're here!
Balancing knee issues are challenging in a group class. You want to participate but many many poses can and are notso great for troublesome knees.
One of my favorite tricks is to use a blanket under my knees/shins at all times. I think I was almost adamant for a while about not using props but I realized my knees are something I want to protect so I'd better start now and get over myself. There are poses I'm able to do now with ease that I couldn't do before.
Always make sure your knee bends over your middle toe & that once bent the knee doesn't extend beyond the ankle. Many many students (I'm sure you know) repetitively practice with knees not tracking right which will also lead to more knee woes in time.
As for keepin your practice rockin at home- that's what we're here for! Think of me pokin at you next time you practice- I'm there & all your yoga friends are there if you let us be! :0)

Comment by Suzanne on January 22, 2009 at 2:25pm: Welcome Liz !
Learning to listen to my body and honor what it needs is something I feel I could've only learned from practicing over and over in this body. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only Yogini with chronic issues but who doesn't sometimes... I'm glad you're here!
As for Lower back stuff Gary Kraftsow has some DVDs dealing with low back issues where you could learn how to adapt poses for your back & to build strength at http://www.pranamaya.com/kraftsow_vyt_lowback.html
Learning how to adapt poses on my own made me feel more confident in my home practice as well as in my own skin!

Comment by YogaDawg on January 22, 2009 at 6:16am: I have bum knees which only cropped up after doing yoga for 3 years, go figure:) Anyway, it's been a challange to continue yoga a home and not in classes because I hurt too often in classes and it's hard to stay motivatied without alot of other yogis practicing around you.

Comment by Liz W on January 22, 2009 at 1:03am: Hi! I have a chronic lower back problem (strained ligaments and disk damage resulting from that), and I find yoga very good for keeping my spine flexible and giving me confidence. I also have endometriosis and IBS, and I think those are also better when I practise regularly, probably because they're both stress-related. Yoga is definitely good for managing stress!