Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Support Community Group
This is a group based on supporting those who have been through the pain of Fibromyalgia &/or CFS & giving them the inspiration they need to keep going. It may be a hard road, but together we can do this!
Yoga as Part of a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Treatment Regimen Benefits, Special Considerations & How to Get Started
By Adrienne Dellwo, About.com
Updated: January 19, 2009
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board
Yoga can be a good, gentle way to stretch your body and loosen up tight muscles and joints. It also helps with balance and strength, and as you become more advanced, it can provide you with a cardiovascular workout as well.
Some people treat yoga just as exercise, but when done in the traditional way, which emphasizes controlled breathing and awareness, it also can help you relax, calm and focus your mind, and deal with emotional turmoil.
A few studies have shown that people with fibromyalgia (FMS) can benefit from yoga. While it hasn't been studied for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS), many experts on ME/CFS and the CDC recommend it as part of a treatment regimen. Some yoga experts claim yoga gives the body more energy than it takes and say this makes it ideal for fatigue-related conditions.
When starting yoga, as when starting any exercise routine, you should first check with your doctor and then proceed very slowly. Try one or two simple poses a day and pay close attention to how they make you feel. Once you're sure it's not exacerbating symptoms, you can start slowly adding more.
TIP: To counter post-exertional malaise, instead of adding more poses to a single session, add a second session to your day. By working in short burst with long periods of rest in between, you may find you're able to do more without triggering malaise.
Because you'll be starting so slowly, you'll probably want to either do it on your own or with a personal instructor. If you're doing a self-guided program, be sure you fully understand the poses before trying them, and be sure to start with simple ones that have you lying on the floor. A video or a book with good pictures can help.
As you add upright poses, keep in mind that many people with FMS and ME/CFS are prone to dizziness, especially upon standing. If you focus mainly on positions that are lying down, sitting, or standing in a very stable position, you should be able to keep this from being a problem.
To help get you started, here's information from Ann Pizer, About.com's Guide to Yoga:
**To click on these links you are going to have to click here below & go to the actual website & go from there or you may have to copy & paste this link I am giving you. Sorry:
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/exercisenutrition/a/yogaFMS_MECFS.htm
--What is Yoga?
--How to Start Doing Yoga
--Beginners' Yoga Poses
--Find a Yoga Class
**The above information thankfully comes from Adrienne Dellwo at www.about.com's Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome site.
**I would like to note that I am also in the process of beginning yoga & I will let you all know how it goes for me in case you want an opinion about it. Remember though, everyone's own experience is going to be different because our bodies will all act in their own specific way. Wish me luck!!
Your friend,
Diana (dfox111)
By Adrienne Dellwo, About.com
Updated: January 19, 2009
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board
Yoga can be a good, gentle way to stretch your body and loosen up tight muscles and joints. It also helps with balance and strength, and as you become more advanced, it can provide you with a cardiovascular workout as well.
Some people treat yoga just as exercise, but when done in the traditional way, which emphasizes controlled breathing and awareness, it also can help you relax, calm and focus your mind, and deal with emotional turmoil.
A few studies have shown that people with fibromyalgia (FMS) can benefit from yoga. While it hasn't been studied for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS), many experts on ME/CFS and the CDC recommend it as part of a treatment regimen. Some yoga experts claim yoga gives the body more energy than it takes and say this makes it ideal for fatigue-related conditions.
When starting yoga, as when starting any exercise routine, you should first check with your doctor and then proceed very slowly. Try one or two simple poses a day and pay close attention to how they make you feel. Once you're sure it's not exacerbating symptoms, you can start slowly adding more.
TIP: To counter post-exertional malaise, instead of adding more poses to a single session, add a second session to your day. By working in short burst with long periods of rest in between, you may find you're able to do more without triggering malaise.
Because you'll be starting so slowly, you'll probably want to either do it on your own or with a personal instructor. If you're doing a self-guided program, be sure you fully understand the poses before trying them, and be sure to start with simple ones that have you lying on the floor. A video or a book with good pictures can help.
As you add upright poses, keep in mind that many people with FMS and ME/CFS are prone to dizziness, especially upon standing. If you focus mainly on positions that are lying down, sitting, or standing in a very stable position, you should be able to keep this from being a problem.
To help get you started, here's information from Ann Pizer, About.com's Guide to Yoga:
**To click on these links you are going to have to click here below & go to the actual website & go from there or you may have to copy & paste this link I am giving you. Sorry:
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/exercisenutrition/a/yogaFMS_MECFS.htm
--What is Yoga?
--How to Start Doing Yoga
--Beginners' Yoga Poses
--Find a Yoga Class
**The above information thankfully comes from Adrienne Dellwo at www.about.com's Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome site.
**I would like to note that I am also in the process of beginning yoga & I will let you all know how it goes for me in case you want an opinion about it. Remember though, everyone's own experience is going to be different because our bodies will all act in their own specific way. Wish me luck!!
Your friend,
Diana (dfox111)
Join the Conversation