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Ankylosing Spondylitis and Crohn's

 
 

jerry
User

Aug 31, 2001, 6:45 PM

Post #1 of 7 (233 views)
Ankylosing Spondylitis and Crohn's Can't Post
I'm interested in finding and starting a dialogue with other yoga practitioners with ankylosing spondylitis and/or Crohn's. Let me start with a brief description of my story.

I have both ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's and have been practicing Iyengar yoga since 1993. I use no medication and control these diseases through my yoga practice.

When I first started yoga I was very sick. Ankylosing spondylitis had frozen most of my hips, neck and spine. My neck had about 5 degrees of motion to either side. I would walk kind of like a pregnant woman, kind of like a duck, waddling from side to side. Crohn's had completely taken over my sit bones with huge and painful fistulas. I had constant diarrhea. My complexion was yellowish. My first several years of yoga practice was once, twice maybe three times a week followed by complete exhaustion.

Now my hips feel normal. My thoracic spine is still tight but it moves if I stay in a pose long enough. And I think that I still have 2 vertebrates fused in my cervical spine (maybe 2 and 3). My Crohn's is still a challenge. I still have fistulas on my sit bones (although smaller and most of the time not painful), another on my ileum (which I really don't know where it goes), and occasional diarrhea.

All the best,
jerry



erin
Enthusiast

Sep 8, 2001, 2:57 AM

Post #2 of 7 (229 views)
Re: [jerry] Ankylosing Spondylitis and Crohn's [In reply to] Can't Post
We have a student at our studio who has also managed her Crohn's effectively with yoga. I teach yoga to folks that have chronic, debilitating diseases and am always in search of info about holistic treatments. I came across this interesting site last week. You may want to check it out. Good luck.

http://www.jmt-jafmeltechnique.com/

I am glad, but not surprised, that Iyengar yoga has helped you so much. It is a true gift.

jerry
User

Sep 11, 2001, 12:50 PM

Post #3 of 7 (228 views)
Re: [erin] Ankylosing Spondylitis and Crohn's [In reply to] Can't Post
erin,

I checked out the site but was really not impressed. I thank you and really appreciate your input.

Tell me a little about the practice of the student at your studio who has Crohn's and does she use one of Guruji's Crohn's sequences?

Kind regards,
jerry


erin
Enthusiast

Sep 11, 2001, 11:53 PM

Post #4 of 7 (227 views)
Re: [jerry] Ankylosing Spondylitis and Crohn's [In reply to] Can't Post
To my knowledge she has not been doing any specific practice - only coming to class regularly, sticking to a strict diet, and practicing what she can at home. Sorry I can't be more specific. She is not restricted from doing any poses from what I can tell.

I took another look at that site and it does not really explain very well the treatment and concept behind it. Here is another link that is better, an article from Natural Health which was my first exposure to this technique. It is at the very least an interesting approach and the research behind it seems to be clinically sound.
http://bcn.net/~stoll/archives/testi/50935.html


jerry
User

Sep 24, 2001, 5:36 PM

Post #5 of 7 (226 views)
Re: [erin] Ankylosing Spondylitis and Crohn's [In reply to] Can't Post
erin,

I've wanted to thank you for your posts and information on the Jaffe-Mellor Technique. I'm still not sure that it is something that I want to explore, but I will definitely keep it in mind. Again thanks.

I'm still interested in talking about auto-immune diseases and yoga. Do any practitioners out there have auto-immune diseases that aren't specifically Ankylosing Spondylitis or Crohn's. If so, I'd like to hear from you.

Kind regards,
jerry


helen
Novice

Sep 25, 2001, 2:06 PM

Post #6 of 7 (225 views)
Re: [jerry] Ankylosing Spondylitis and Crohn's [In reply to] Can't Post
Jerry,

In response to your query re. auto-immune conditions & yoga, I suffered from Grave's disease for some years (a-i thyroid overactivity). I eventually had to have part of my thyroid removed surgically. I have been practising yoga since shortly after it was diagnosed, 6 years ago.

I now practise yoga 4/5 times a week and it has made an enormous difference to my ability to manage my condition. I haven't had to take any medication since my operation, which is fairly unusual, and I feel better than I have since I was about 18 (I'm now 34). My illness affected my psychological well-being as much as my physical state and I feel extremely grateful to have discovered yoga at the time that I did - it not only allowed my to address the physical issues but, more profoundly, enabled my to find stability mentally & emotionally. In fact, I don't think I would be feeling this well now if I hadn't been ill then!




jerry
User

Sep 28, 2001, 5:41 PM

Post #7 of 7 (225 views)
Re: [helen] Ankylosing Spondylitis and Crohn's [In reply to] Can't Post
Helen,

My wife has Grave's disease, so I understand how physically and emotionally draining it can be.

You mentioned a few things that resonate true for me. I also feel better now than when I was in my early 20's (I'm 43 now) and find stability mentally and emotionally that not only was unexpected but enormously needed.

I'm curious about your home practice. Would you classify it more as the typical Iyengar "hard work" practice or more restorative. For myself I find my home practice mostly restorative.

Kind regards,
jerry



 
 
 


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