The following is a Guest Blog from Allison Gamble.
The health benefits of yoga have been well documented for years and known for centuries in some cultures. Recent research suggests that people with chronic illnesses may benefit from yoga. Of the many different forms of yoga, some are more beneficial for certain conditions than others. It doesn’t take a psychology degree to see that the meditative benefits of yoga open the doors to a more positive outlook on life, but some of the physical elements of the exercise inspire more investigation. It may take some time to discover which one works best, but most doctors agree that yoga is a great option for those dealing with chronic issues to relax and help mentally ease the pain of their conditions.
Yoga and Chronic Conditions
Patients with chronic conditions ranging from cancer to persistent back pain are turning to yoga classes in increasing numbers. Chronic conditions can cause patients considerable stress or fatigue. This may inhibit the effectiveness of treatments and result in additional discomfort. Many doctors and health care professionals recommend yoga for exercise, meditation, relaxation, and relief of stress. Yoga basics are easy to learn and can be easily incorporated into a busy life.
Bringing Yoga to Work
Yoga can help with mental health, mitigate treatment side effects, and improve how the body handles pain and stress. All of this certainly applies at work. Chronic conditions, especially back or muscle-related pain, can make a day at the office uncomfortable and stressful. Many people think they don’t have time for yoga, that classes are too expensive, or that they’ll be too tired from work to practice. However, yoga can easily fit into your busy schedule.
Most techniques can be learned quickly and practiced for a short period before or after work or on a break. Classes can also be taken on weekends, and the techniques practiced during the week at home. Yoga classes don’t have to be expensive. Some hospitals allow patients to form unofficial yoga groups. These are often made up of patients with similar conditions, thereby establishing an additional support system for patients coping with the same difficulties.
Another way to make yoga more affordable and accessible is to form a yoga class on your own. It doesn’t have to be limited to people with a chronic condition, though that may be a means of helping you form a sympathetic community for support.
Choosing the Right Type of Yoga
There isn’t just one kind of yoga. Some types focus on movement, while others are interested in concentration and inner focus. Accordingly, a particular patient’s chronic condition might prohibit against practicing certain forms of yoga. For example, multiple sclerosis patients should avoid heat yoga, due to heat intolerance. This tendency of symptoms to worsen due to sustained exposure to heat would definitely become problematic given the increased temperature in which heat yoga is practiced.
Consider the particular characteristics of different yoga disciplines and how they might fit with the conditions of a given chronic illness:
• Hatha Yoga is recommended for beginners and is best for those who can’t overexert themselves. Gentle movements are performed while keeping the primary focus on breathing and holding poses. This form of yoga is good for stretching in a way that’s not too strenuous on the body. This would be good for patients with some forms of cancer who may tire easily due to treatment.
• Iyengar Yoga is a heavy form of yoga using blankets, blocks, and other objects. This form of yoga is recommended for those who need to work on balance and coordination, and would be suitable for patients with MS.
• Kundalini Yoga is an advanced form of yoga that may be beneficial to cancer patients as a form of exercise. The focus is on maintaining posture and breathing while in different poses.
• Heat Yoga (Bikram or Moksha) is recommended for patients with chronic pain in muscles or joints, like lower back pain. This style incorporates poses from other forms of yoga in rooms heated to about 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Proponents claim the increased heat helps remove toxins from the body while stimulating muscle and tissue.
Many patients report feeling more comfortable with a marked reduction in symptoms and side effects of their conditions after yoga sessions. Yoga tends to give patients a feeling of hope and optimism that helps make coping with a chronic condition just a little bit easier. It should be noted that yoga or other methods of relaxation and meditation are not meant to be a substitute for a patient’s regular medical treatment. Yoga will not cure any chronic illness, but it may reduce suffering and make a patient more comfortable, receptive to treatment, and promote overall health.
Allison Gamble has been a curious student of psychology since high school. She brings her understanding of the mind to work in the weird world of internet marketing with psychologydegree.net.
Mary says
While I agree on principle, you have to be careful giving this kind of advice. For people with physical limitations many poses need to be modified, and this is non-trivial. I have tried both yoga and pilates, and out of many teachers I had to deal with, there was only one who realistically was able to cope with people with chronic illnesses. It is possible to get into significant trouble even in “basic” classes if you don’t have sufficient strength and flexibility to start with, so one has to check carefully if the teacher has had any real training in dealing with people with chronic conditions.
Rosalind says
That’s a great point. This was a guest blog – written from a different perspective of just giving ‘factual info. But I’ve found the same as you that most teachers don’t know hot to modify programs for people with any kind of disabling issue. When living with any difference,you have to always proceed with caution. Thanks for pointing this out.
Liz Parrish, Iditarod's Littlest Musher says
Thanks for sharing this Rosalind. I’ve tried several different forms of yoga both for stretching and as an active meditation and do it within my ability (kind of like Pilates), and it is of tremendous value in helping me feel better.
I really liked the Bikram yoga…the heat did feel good, I could stretch further and have better form, and it felt like it did help detox. I don’t have a studio nearby anymore, but if I did I would surely partake again.
I’d encourage others to give it a try and experience the mental and physical benefits for themselves. I’m certainly not a yoga practitioner by any means, but there’s value there for sure.
Yoga Benefits says
Ola! Workingwithchronicillness,
Thanks for your thoughts, I have very low blood pressure and a very high heart rate. This makes me very tired very easily and also stops me from standing for extended periods on time. It has caused me a lot of problems at work. I am only 18 and have had to resign from my job in retail as I was constantly collapsing. I really enjoyed my work and would really like to start working again. Does anybody have any ideas of jobs that might be good for me?
Catch you again soon!
Have a great day, Michelle
Rosalind says
Hi – Sorry that I missed this when you posted it. Posting it now. My question for you is: Have you thought to get training in some concrete marketable skill that doesn’t require standing?
hatha yoga poses says
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helsblah says
Ditto Mary, and I’d take it further than that – the reference to setting up your own yoga class surely can’t be sensible advice for the general reader coming here to consider starting yoga. Although the social and bonding benefits of chronically ill people coming together to practice as a group are very likely high, someone could read that and assume Yoga requires no more than proactivity to practice and any group of people can come together and start learning it on their own. Yoga needs guidance for development of correct form and practice, only fully trained and accredited teachers should put together their own classes where advice will be given to participants and fully training involves extensive education on physiology and the muscle/skeletal structure. Everyone should attend some kind of guidance from trained specialists even if they might practice without a teacher as well otherwise bad form, poor breathing and practice are likely to develop, if not progressing too fast and injury.