Yoga: Pranayama or breathing exercise invariable helps MS
patients. About 80 percent of oxygen that we breath is utilized by the nervous
system. So deep breathing refreshes the nerves and improves moods. Practise
Pranayama daily, and drink minimum 10 glasses of plain water a day.
“Yoga teaches us to
cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.” - B.K.S. Iyengar
Yoga is an ongoing
practice rather than an end in itself. The practice of yoga was written down
thousands of years ago as a system to live a healthy, happy life. The word
‘yoga’ means to yoke or join together—uniting the mind, body and spirit. Joining
physical poses with the breath, action with thought, and awareness with
intention can bring peace to body, mind and spirit.
The simple practice of breathing, something all of us do every day without
thought, becomes a powerful tool when you can become aware of how your
breathing affects every part of your body. As you learn how to focus awareness
on your breathing, you can observe how your mind can feel calmer and your body
more relaxed.
Each pose is designed to support the body’s joints, muscles, structure and
function. Every pose can be modified to its simplest form and can be practiced
in a variety of positions. You can be standing, sitting in a chair or
wheelchair, or even lying on the floor or in bed –- wherever you are most
comfortable at that point in time. Visualization, which involves combining a
breathing practice while imagining performing the poses, may also be beneficial
for people with MS, including those with reduced mobility.
Before you begin to practice yoga, speak with your healthcare provider(s) and
discuss any questions or concerns that you or they may have. Be aware that any
exercise can elevate the body’s core temperature and temporarily aggravate MS
symptoms.
The benefits of yoga can be experienced in just a few minutes of practice. You
should always feel better after practicing yoga than when you started!
A
simple breathing practice
Get
comfortable—sitting or lying down; Breathe in slowly through your nose and then
breathe out slowly through your nose. Cool air in/warm air out. Close your eyes
and continue to breathe in this way for a few moments. Concentrate on your
breath. If your focus drifts, bring your concentration back to your breath.
How
can yoga help manage multiple sclerosis?
Living in a body
affected by MS may be uncomfortable or even painful. Everyday tasks can be
difficult.
Practicing yoga can give you tools to help manage everyday tasks that include
balancing to stand or walk, strengthening and alignment for standing up and
sitting down on a chair, toilet or bed, and core strength for everything you
do. The relaxing benefits of yoga may also help manage the unique challenges of
MS, such as lying in an MRI machine for extended periods of time, receiving
injections or infusions, staying calm during an exacerbation and focusing when
meeting with your health care professionals.
Dr. Allen Bowling, in Optimal Health with
Multiple Sclerosis, 2014 summarizes the
existing research on yoga and concludes:
“Yoga is relatively inexpensive, generally safe, and may potentially improve
multiple sclerosis symptoms. One rigorous MS clinical trial found that yoga decreased fatigue. Other studies in MS and
various other medical conditions have reported improvement in anxiety,
depression, fatigue, bladder function, pain, spasticity, weakness and walking.
There are anecdotal reports but minimal research on yoga and sexual function.
For general health, yoga may improve arthritis pain, reduce blood pressure, and
promote weight loss. The effects of yoga on these conditions may secondarily
benefit those with MS because these conditions may worsen disability and lower
quality of life in those with MS.”
The physical benefits:
- Improved muscle tone.
- Improved balance (I have more balance now even with
vertigo than I did years ago!)
- Reduced muscle spasms
- improved digestion and regular elimination (The twisting poses are great for this. Yoga helps you go to
the bathroom regularly. Good bye, medication constipation!)
- Creates a toned, flexible, and strong body.
- Improves respiration, energy, and vitality.
- Helps to maintain a balanced metabolism.
- Promotes cardio and circulatory health.
- Relieves pain.
The mental benefits:
- Builds awareness of your body, your feelings, and the
state of your MS.
- Helps you relax and handle stressful situations more
easily.
- Teaches you how to quiet the mind so you can focus your
energy where you want it to go.
- Encourages positive thoughts and self-acceptance.
The spiritual benefits:
- Builds compassion and understanding of the world around
you, the needs of others.
- Teaches you to look at how you manage your illness with
self-awareness, self-compassion and non-attachment.
For a yoga student with MS,
there are three types of symptoms that yoga can directly target: fatigue and heat intolerance, numbness in the limbs and loss of coordination, and loss of
flexibility and balance..
Here are some tips from my own yoga journey to help you to
embark on your own yoga journey:
- Yoga is for anyone – not just for people who are super
flexible, or rich, or skinny, or athletically gifted. Yoga is about you
and where you are in this moment. I spent my first months on the yoga mat
using my 4-footed cane as a balance prop! If I can do it, so can you!
- Take your EGO out of the equation! It doesn’t matter if you can touch your
toes or if you haven’t seen your toes in ages…you CAN do yoga, one
millimeter at a time! I learned quickly to let go of my competitive nature
when it comes to yoga – I focus on my own body and any changes…maybe I can
fold forward just a smidgen more this week; or, maybe I am tighter today
than yesterday and reaching my toes is really tough today. It is all good!
- You may never master some poses. The beauty of
yoga is that you don’t have to. Yoga is a continuous learning
journey – learning to accept your body as it is, and accept your
limitations.
- It doesn’t have to be expensive. While I definitely recommend that you seek
out a studio offering a series of beginner lessons, when you start on your
own yoga journey, it need not be expensive. All you need is a sticky mat
to start! Your local library will have an assortment of books about yoga
that you can reference. Contact your MS Society – they may have copies of
yoga DVD’s that they can lend out. You can download free yoga lessons
on-line – just google it! There are many options – you have to simply seek
out what works for you.
- Explore yoga and have fun! There are many forms of yoga out there.
Keep to the restorative forms, such as hatha, anusara, Yin, Iyengar (for
positional accuracy) and such. Go with your own body’s needs. No one knows
you like YOU!
Breathing techniques that helps in MS
a) Bhramari Pranayama - Humming Bee Breathing
The Bhramari
pranayama breathing technique derives
its name from the black Indian bee called Bhramari. Bhramari
pranayama is
effective in instantly calming down the mind. It is one of the best breathing
exercises to free the mind of agitation, frustration or anxiety and get rid of anger to a
great extent. A simple technique, it can be practiced anywhere - at work or
home and is an instant option to de-stress yourself.
The
exhalation in this pranayama resembles the typical humming sound of a bee,
which explains why it is named so.
The science
behind Bhramari pranayama
It works on calming the nerves
and soothes them especially around the brain and forehead. The humming sound
vibrations have a natural calming effect.
How to do
Bhramari pranayama (Bee Breath)
1.
Sit up straight in a quiet, well ventilated corner with your
eyes closed. Keep a gentle smile on your face
2.
Keep your eyes closed for some time. Observe the sensations in
the body and the quietness within
3.
Place your index fingers on your ears. There is a cartilage
between your cheek and ear. Place your index fingers on the cartilage
4.
Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out, gently press the
cartilage. You can keep the cartilage pressed or press it in and out with your
fingers, while making a loud humming sound like a bee
5.
You can also make a low-pitched sound but it is a good idea to
make a high-pitched one for better results
6.
Breathe in again and continue the same pattern 3-4 times.
Benefits of Bhramari pranayama (Bee Breath)
·
Gives instant relief from tension, anger and anxiety. It is a
very effective breathing technique for people suffering from hypertension as it
calms down the agitated mind
·
Gives relief if you're feeling hot or have a slight headache
·
Helps mitigate migraines
·
Improves concentration and memory
·
Builds confidence
·
Helps in reducing blood pressure
·
Helps calm the mind in preparation for meditation
Precautions for doing Bhramari pranayama
·
Ensure that you are not putting your finger inside the ear but
on the cartilage
·
Don’t press the cartilage too hard. Gently press and release
with the finger
·
While making the humming sound, keep your mouth closed
·
You can also do Bhramari pranayama with your fingers in the
Shanmukhi Mudra
·
Do not put pressure on your face
·
Do not exceed the recommended repetitions of 3-4 times
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b) Importance
of practising Kapalbati Pranayama
When
you do pranayama 80 percent of the toxins in our body are released through the
outgoing breath. Regular practice of Kapal Bhati
pranayama detoxifies all the systems in our body. And the obvious sign of a healthy body
is a shining forehead.” Kapal Bhati literally translates to ‘the
shining forehead’ and
this is exactly what happens with regular practice of this pranayama. A forehead that glows not just from outside but
also an intellect that becomes sharp and refined.
How To Do Kapal Bhati Pranayama or Skull
Shining Breathing Technique
·
Sit comfortably with your spine erect. Place your hands on the
knees, palms open to the sky.
·
Take a deep breath in.
·
As you exhale, pull your stomach. Pull your navel in back
towards the spine. Do as much as you comfortably can. You may keep your right
hand on the stomach to feel the abdominal muscles contract. Pull the navel in.
·
As you relax the navel and abdomen, the breath flows into your
lungs automatically.
·
Take 20 such breaths to
complete one round of Kapal Bhati pranayama.
·
After completing the round, relax with your eyes closed and
observe the sensations in your body.
·
Do two more rounds of Skull Shining breathing
technique (Kapal
Bhati pranayama).
4 Tips to be used while practicing/performing
Kapalbhati Pranayam (Skull Shining Breathing Technique)
·
The exhalation in Skull Shining Breathing
Technique (Kapal
Bhati Pranayama) is active and forceful. So just throw out your breath.
·
Don't worry about the inhalation. The moment you relax your
abdominal muscles, inhalation will happen naturally.
·
Just keep your awareness on breathing out.
·
Learn this technique from an Art of Living Yoga teacher and then you can practice it at home
on an empty stomach.
8 Benefits of Kapal Bhati
Pranayama (Skull Shining Breathing Technique)
1.
Effective in reducing weight by
increasing the metabolic rate
2.
Clears
the nadis (subtle
energy channels)
3.
Stimulates abdominal organs and thus is extremely useful to
those with diabetes
4.
Improves blood circulation and adds radiance to the face
5.
Improves digestive tract functioning, absorption and
assimilation of nutrients
6.
Results in a taut and trimmed down belly
7.
Energizes the nervous system and rejuvenates brain cells
8.
Calms and uplifts the mind
Who Should Avoid Doing Kapalbhati
Pranayama (Skull Shining Breathing Technique)?
·
Avoid practicing this breathing technique if you have an artificial pacemaker or
stents, backache due to slip disc, recently went through an abdominal surgery,
or are suffering with epilepsy or hernia.
·
Women should not practice Skull Shining breathing technique (Kapal Bhati pranayama)
during and shortly after pregnancy, as well as during menstruation as it
involves vigorous abdominal squeezes.
·
People with hypertension and heart problems should practice this breathing
technique under a
yoga expert's guidance.
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c) Nadi Shodhan pranayama - Alternate Nostril
Breathing Technique
What is Nadi
Shodhana?
Nadi =
subtle energy channel; Shodhan = cleaning,
purification; Pranayama =
breathing technique.
Nadis
are subtle energy channels in the human body that can get blocked
due to various reasons. The Nadi Shodhan pranayama is a
breathing technique that
helps clear these blocked energy channels, thus calming the mind. This
technique is also known as Anulom Vilom pranayama.
Cause of
Obstruction in the Nadis:
·
Nadis can get blocked on account of stress
·
Toxicity in the physical body also leads to blockage
of nadis
·
Nadis can get blocked due to physical
and mental trauma
·
Unhealthy lifestyle
What Happens
When these Nadis are Blocked?
Ida, Pingala and Sushumna are
three of the most important nadis in the human body.
When
the Ida nadi is not functioning smoothly or is
blocked, one experiences cold, depression, low mental energy and sluggish
digestion, blocked left nostril. Whereas when the Pingala nadi is
not smoothly functioning or is blocked, one will experience heat, quick temper
and irritation, itching body, dry skin and throat, excessive appetite,
excessive physical or sexual energy, and blocked right nostril.
3 Reason: Why You Should Practice Nadi Shodhan Pranayama
1.
Nadi Shodhan pranayama helps relax the mind and prepares it to enter a meditative
state.
2.
Practicing it for just a few minutes every day helps keep
the mind calm, happy and peaceful.
3.
It helps in releasing accumulated tension and fatigue.
How to Do
Nadi Shodhan pranayama? - Alternate Nostril Breathing Technique)
·
Sit comfortably with your spine erect and shoulders relaxed.
Keep a gentle smile on your face.
·
Place your left hand on the left knee, palms open to the sky or
in Chin Mudra (thumb and index finger gently touching at
the tips).
·
Place the tip of the index finger and middle finger of the right
hand in between the eyebrows, the ring finger and little finger on the left
nostril, and the thumb on the right nostril. We will use the ring finger and
little finger to open or close the left nostril and thumb for the right
nostril.
·
Press your thumb down on the right nostril and breathe out
gently through the left nostril.
·
Now breathe in from the left nostril and then press the left
nostril gently with the ring finger and little finger. Removing the right thumb
from the right nostril, breathe out from the right.
·
Breathe in from the right nostril and exhale from the left. You
have now completed one round of Nadi Shodhan pranayama.
Continue inhaling and exhaling from alternate nostrils.
·
Complete 9 such rounds by alternately breathing through both the
nostrils. After every exhalation, remember to breathe in from the same nostril
from which you exhaled. Keep your eyes closed throughout and continue taking
long, deep, smooth breaths without any force or effort.
Cautions to
be Taken While Practicing Nadi Shodhan Pranayama (Alternate Nostril Breathing
Technique)
·
Do not force the breathing, and keep the flow gentle and
natural. Do not breathe from the mouth or make any sound while breathing.
·
Do not use the Ujjayi breath.
·
Place the fingers very lightly on the forehead and nose. There
is no need to apply any pressure.
·
In case you feel dull and are yawning after practicing Nadi Shodhan pranayama, check the
time you take to inhale and exhale. Your exhalation should be longer than
inhalation.
Tips While
Doing Nadi Shodhan Pranayama
·
It is a good idea to do a short meditation after
doing Nadi Shodhan pranayama.
·
This breathing technique can also be practiced as part of the Padma Sadhana sequence.
7 Benefits of Nadi Shodhan Pranayama
(Alternate Nostril Breathing Technique)
1.
Excellent breathing technique to calm and center the mind.
2.
Our mind has a tendency to keep regretting or glorifying the
past and getting anxious about the future. Nadi Shodhan pranayama helps to bring the mind back to
the present moment.
3.
Works therapeutically for most circulatory and respiratory
problems.
4.
Releases accumulated stress in the mind and body effectively and
helps relax.
5.
Helps harmonize the left and right hemispheres of the brain,
which correlate to the logical and emotional sides of our personality.
6.
Helps purify and balance the nadis - the subtle
energy channels, thereby ensuring smooth flow of prana (life
force) through the body.
7.
Maintains body temperature.
Meditation
Meditation is stilling your mind and quieting your thoughts – taking notice of them without being distracted by them.
Many people incorporate meditation into their practice of yoga. The physical poses of yoga prepare your body to sit in stillness for meditation. Sitting isn’t necessary, though. You can also meditate lying down.
There is no single, correct way to meditate. You may already do it, but without calling it meditation. Walking can be a meditation practice. Knitting, gardening, observing the birds out your window or any other activity that causes you to narrow your focus can be meditative.
Guided meditations can help you to focus your concentration and relax your body. Repeating a phrase or sound, focusing your gaze on one object–like a candle–or breathing slowly and intentionally are all different ways to focus concentration during meditation.
The benefits of meditation address many of the issues faced by people diagnosed with MS. A research study published in 2011 that examined the effects of meditation on pain and quality of life in MS found that participants in the meditation group showed a significant improvement in pain scores and scores for overall physical health, mental health, vitality, and physical role.
“Meditation is a well-tolerated, low-cost therapy that may provide medical benefits without the use of medication. Limited studies indicate that meditation may be helpful for relieving stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia, pain and cognitive problems. It also may improve self-esteem and feelings of control. For general health, meditation may reduce blood pressure and improve blood glucose control.”

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