Bikrams yoga

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I'm new to the post. I saw Newbie's posting and it inspired me to

share what has helped me relieve the worst 75 - 90% of my symptoms.

My arthritis was bad- I had to crawl to the bathroom at times, crawl

up the stairs- you get the picture - because of what has happening in

my toe joints. My fingers also had it something fierce.

I cut out red meat, started eating more fruits and vegies, cut back

on drinking alcohol a little, and those things helped a lot.

But what's really made a difference in relieving my symptoms is

Bikram's yoga, 'hot room' yoga. I've gone from crawling up the stairs

to solo backpacking again, mountain biking, skiing, and having a

life. Swelling is down dramatically in finger joints, my toe joint

pain is at least 75% less, and I do not take any pain killers,

including ibo.

In considering hot room yoga, if the pain is so bad at first, you can

try what I did: go slow, at my pace, ignore everyone else in the

room, and take ibuprofen. If you've moved on to more advanced pain

killers, I don't know what to recommend but I'll suggest this: do

whatever you can to help yourself holistically, take the initial pain

of stretching and excercise, be disciplined, and eat better and

continue to exercise, including yoga in your daily/weekly regime,

because from I've heard from others is that the traditional medical

path in dealing with our disease *can be* a downward spiral- more

drugs, to make up for the last drug that's no longer working, with

accompanying side effects, ad infinitum.

For older folks, I'll say this - there is a gal in that room almost

every day, who must be at least 60 and there are others older than

that who come to class more sparingly. I am 38.

For skin, I have been very, very fortunate - I've been able to hold

the worse off with spare use of soap, body lotions, and sunlight. I

noticed being in the ocean and exposed to sun was useful, but that is

more subjective since I love the ocean and sun. But I wonder about

salt solutions you can add to bath water, and combining that with UV,

natural or lamp, and if that might be OK.

I hope this is helpful to someone, certainly I look forward to

reading past posting over time and seeing what has helped others!

Best,

[Guest guest]

: your post is very interesting. Do I assume from what you've said that

you are not taking any of the meds that we who have PA generally take? I've

not heard of this type of yoga but am going to check it out.

Joanna Hoelscher

630-833-7361

[ ] Bikrams yoga

.. . .

But what's really made a difference in relieving my symptoms is

Bikram's yoga, 'hot room' yoga. I've gone from crawling up the stairs

to solo backpacking again, mountain biking, skiing, and having a

life. Swelling is down dramatically in finger joints, my toe joint

pain is at least 75% less, and I do not take any pain killers,

including ibo.

.. . .

[Guest guest]

wrote:

> But what's really made a difference in relieving my symptoms is

> Bikram's yoga, 'hot room' yoga. I've gone from crawling up the

> stairs to solo backpacking again, mountain biking, skiing, and

> having a life. Swelling is down dramatically in finger joints, my

> toe joint pain is at least 75% less, and I do not take any pain

> killers, including ibo.

I too was at the crawling point, and spend 5 weeks on the couch, using

crutches when I had to get up and around. I have controlled my

arthritis using Humira, but even with that there were things I couldn't

do, parts that were perpetually sore, or (more commonly) parts that

were less flexible from my lack of mobility during my first flare, two

years ago.

So I started Yoga again. Not Bikram, but a gentle system that is

challenging at the same time. At first I had to modify most poses in

order to be able to do them. Now - one year later - I modify very

little. I can kneel (sitting on my heels) again, something I thought

I'd never do again. I'm working on the smaller flexibilities -

fingers, toes, wrists, ankles, etc - but the larger ones are almost

back to my pre-arthritis condition.

I guess the heat can be great for the arthritis - but I highly and

heartily recommend Yoga *in general* for people recovering from, or

dealing with, the pain and lack of mobility of PA.

Thank you, , for bringing this up!

[Guest guest]

> I guess the heat can be great for the arthritis - but I highly and

> heartily recommend Yoga *in general* for people recovering from, or

> dealing with, the pain and lack of mobility of PA.

I agree too - and glad to hear it's not just my imagination!

I was having back and hip problems on and off for years - in

retrospect, my GP thinks it was probably spondyloarthritis. I was bad

enough I couldn't sit for longer than 10 minutes, stand long enough

to wash the dishes, or walk around my block without being in agony. I

had to switch to full-time telecommuting, which helped, but I was

still in pain for months on end.

Then I decided to try yoga, at home, by myself, no class. I started

out slowly and gently, but practiced nearly every single day. I

started out with a DVD for people with back pain, then worked my way

up to a beginner's tape.

It made a huge difference, enough of a difference that within a few

months I was able to walk around the block again without pain. That

was about two years ago and for the past year I was able to run about

10-12 miles a week.

But of course as everyone in this group knows, the arthritis did come

back, this time mostly in my hands, elbows and wrist, and not my

spine. For the past few weeks, I have been using yoga balls to

massage the tense little knots I've found in my forearm, neck,

shoulders, lower back, and glutes. Either I've gone into remission,

or the yoga balls are working miracles, because lately I feel fine

again.

I roll my forearm along the ball, applying body weight, kneading out

the knots. I knead hard enough I feel bruised the next day. But on

the second day, the inflammation in my fingers has gone down and

motion is restored. For the other muscle knots, I simply place the

ball on them, and lie there, relaxing until I feel them release. They

aren't quite as bad as the ones in my forearm. I have counted as many

as 6 knots in my forearm at one time.

(GP says I should still keep the rheumy appointment anyway... it's

coming up in early December... what a long wait it's been).

jen

[Guest guest]

I agree ... Any yoga or stretching is better than nothing. I

like the heat in Bikrams, as the sweating is a natural detoxifier and

I wonder with PA being a skin disorder as well, if the sweating might

not be such a bad thing. But the main bene is the pain relief...Glad

you are feeling better!

[Guest guest]

Hi Joanna,

Yes, I was heading in that direction (taking meds) as the Ibo offered

less and less relief, but fortunately I was able to avoid that with

diet change and yoga. Supplements, exercise in general, and a

positive attitude rounded out my own relief plan. (: Good luck and I

do encourage to look into hatha yoga or bikram yoga and just be

patient and disciplined and accept the discomfort. Bikram said it is

better to have 90 minutes of suffering (a Bikram class) than 90 years

of suffering.

[Guest guest]

jen wrote:

> But of course as everyone in this group knows, the arthritis did

> come back, this time mostly in my hands, elbows and wrist, and not

> my spine. For the past few weeks, I have been using yoga balls to

> massage the tense little knots I've found in my forearm, neck,

> shoulders, lower back, and glutes. Either I've gone into remission,

> or the yoga balls are working miracles, because lately I feel fine

> again.

> I roll my forearm along the ball, applying body weight, kneading out

> the knots. I knead hard enough I feel bruised the next day. But on

> the second day, the inflammation in my fingers has gone down and

> motion is restored. For the other muscle knots, I simply place the

> ball on them, and lie there, relaxing until I feel them release.

> They aren't quite as bad as the ones in my forearm. I have counted

> as many as 6 knots in my forearm at one time.

Have you tried the Yogic breathing techniques of breathing " into " the

tense body parts? Inhaling and visually/mentally directing your breath

into the affected part, and then visualizing the relaxation of that

part (in your case, the knots) upon the exhale? Several rounds of

that, added to what you're doing (and you're probably doing it too -

just maybe not consciously) will help a lot.

> (GP says I should still keep the rheumy appointment anyway... it's

> coming up in early December... what a long wait it's been).

I say he's right

[Guest guest]

I did check it out and the closest place for Bikram Yoga is about 40 minutes

from here and they recommend at least 3 times/week. I think they said a year

was something like $1,299 but I do belong to a health club that's sponsored by

both our Park District and the hospital. I've taken Tai Chi and am thinking

seriously about starting again, now that I'm feeling better but will look at the

Yoga classes they offer there, too. (Not sure if I could stand 90 minutes of

heat, anyway. About five minutes in a hot tub and I think I'm dying!!!)

Anyway, I really appreciate hearing about your success with alternative

therapies. One of my physical therapists and I were talking one day about the

fact that there is apparently a great deal of research on how to treat

auto-immune disease but I don't see a lot on how to prevent it. He said that

there were ways to treat such diseases without using the meds so many of us are

on but that they were more complicated and could be expensive. (Not much more

expensive than Enbrel, I'd bet!) Guess you are an example for us all. Keep up

the good work and keep us posted on your progress. It's amazing.

Joanna Hoelscher

630-833-7361