Yoga helped?

To those of you who got better from TMS: how much did yoga play a part or help you?

I know about the general benefits of yoga/breathing/meditation, but have never been able to make it a daily practice. Just curious about success stories of those of you who have been thru this and y0ga/breathing helped you.

thanks
James

 

I'm not a success story yet. But I'm getting better.

Yoga helps me a lot. Mostly mentally. It calms down my mind and I feel more relaxed physically also. I do a form of Pilates/Yoga daily in the morning and afternoon. 10-15 min earlier in the day and 25 min later.

Yoga as a form of meditation is crucial for me. I can get too mental some times and if I skip my meditation in the morning or an entire day ... it's not good for me. I just have to do it. I don't have many days now when I don't meditate at all. It is a necessity.

Breathing exercises I do use daily, before meditation or while walking in the forest or just 5 min every now and then when I remember to do it. They relax me, mentally. They also cut my hunger sometimes. I'm not sure if this is true or it's just in my mind but it doesn't matter. I'm in the process of losing weight so I'm happy to use all tools available to eat less.

All the best.

 

I credit my yoga practice for my physical and mental health. I used to view yoga as a physical exercise more than a mental one, until I learned how to meditate the hard way, after developing severe TMS symptoms. After 15 years of practicing yoga, I was finally able to merge yoga and meditation. For those who are beginners with yoga, I suggest to try Qi Gong. It is more meditative and less strenuous, so it is easier to get going.

This is absolutely true for me, too. Meditation, yoga and exercise reduce my food cravings, primarily because eating is my way of dealing with stress. The more I meditate and exercise, the less I eat mindlessly.

 

Hi, @TG957
I’m wondering what you recommend as a starting point for yoga and/or Qi Gong? Also, how did you mix meditation with yoga? Thank you!

 

Diana, considering that you are a beginner with yoga, I would suggest to start with yin yoga or restorative yoga. Ideally you should start with the studio to learn the technique with the instructor and once you are comfortable continue at home. Both styles usually are taught with props (pillows, bolsters, rolled blankets, blocks) to soften the strain on the body. Poses are held 3-5 minutes. Usually light discomfort disappears as you get into the pose. But any serious discomfort should not be tolerated, you can ease the stretch, modify the pose, and of course let the instructor know well upfront if you have any physical limitations (which I know you have!). They usually are good suggesting alternative poses to avoid injuries. Cramps mean that you are not ready for such pose on such level yet, but I think they also mean that your brain and your body are talking, which is a good sign. Once you are in the pose, it is your time to engage in meditation, usually by the end of the class your mind relaxes too. Some instructors love talking non-stop, I avoid those, they distract me, but enough of them understand the importance of silence. There are many online studios, too, but you should start with the instructor. Be very conservative in how you move with physical exertion. Being able to go slow is a virtue!

With Qi Gong I got very lucky to find a class that fit my needs, it was a slow movement, almost a dance. I was the youngest of the students, so the class was easy physically and very meditative by itself. I could not use arms and hands, but I could still use feet and legs so yoga was not an option then. My understanding is that it is not exactly your case. I am not as well versed in Qi Gong as I am in yoga, so I can't really give you as much direction in searching for Qi Gong classes.

 

Thanks! Big help!

 

Hi @Diana-M

I've recently gone back to doing non-linear movement every day (I don't know why I stopped... probably because my TMSing brain told me to because it didn't like me to losing my anxiety! ) and I'm finding it wonderful. You can do it in whatever position you feel is best for you... sitting, standing, on all fours, lying on your back or side... I do mine on my bed to make it comfortable for my knees and hands for when I am on all fours. Whilst you're moving you naturally 'meditate' on how your body wants to move and how your body is feeling while you are moving. I like it personally because it means that I can throw off the shackles of having to follow a particular sequence of movements and just go with the flow. (I'm not against yoga btw - I enjoyed it in my teens and wish I'd made it a life-long practice, but my attempts at it since TMS have failed due to painful and debilitating muscle spasming, which stopped me from doing anything else, so I looked for some other things I could do and gradually build on.)



I do also do some qigong - the 8 pieces of brocade - like in this video, as part of my standing movements that I do every evening. (I do the brocades in quiet first, and then I turn on the TV to do the rest of my standing exercises like walking on the spot, stepping forward and back, arm circling etc.) With qigong you can make it a meditation by paying attention to the movements you are making.

 

Thank you, @BloodMoon ! I have just started realizing that not only is my nervous system stressed out, but my body is offkilter. Something @TG957 said recently hit me: to heal the body you’re going to have to talk to the body (loosely paraphrased). It has me thinking I need to engage my body in this healing process. I need to go past just engaging my mind, like I have been doing. My body needs to be brought back online. I honestly feel like something happened to my fascia during the pandemic because I sat so much and while I was sitting, I was getting more and more anxiety, and I feel like my fascia locked up. I’m literally bound up in a knot. At any rate I am very open to meditation, and qigong. it definitely sounds worth a try! I have had a lot of success with meditation, and unfortunately, I stopped doing it or I probably would be in much better shape right now! so back I go to the healing process combined with everything else that I’ve been learning here on the forum! What a journey!

 

Those are great, Bloodmoon.

If I had better access to a pool I would go swimming, very gentle and no worries about injuring yourself or making anything worse.

 

Can I ask why you are drawn to yoga? Is it something that you have done before?

For most Indians ‘yoga’ is more than just mere exercise & breathing. I won’t go into details too much but yoga is a way of life & not just a form of exercise & breathing techniques. It’s about finding balance & ultimately one’s place in this world. There are 4 types of yoga which include meditation, devotion, action or Karma & knowledge. Life is about achieving balance in all 4 areas.

For the sake of discussion here I will refer to yoga as exercise & breathing.

I started yoga about 35 years ago. I’m 67 this year. I enjoy the focus on my breath & body that is required & being able to take my body through a whole range of movement. Yoga feels good & safe.

I do yoga at home everyday but once or twice a week I join a small group, mainly women. My yoga teacher who is French studied under the famous BKS Iyengar himself & takes everyone through practice at their own pace. I do head stands but only when she is there to supervise. We giggle & laugh a lot & encourage each other to do better.

After yoga we have coffee & talk about everything & anything. It feels good!

It’s our happy, safe place.

It does not matter what you do. Tai Chi, Yoga, Zumba, Pilates whatever. It should feel good, feel enjoyable, feel safe, keep you engaged & get you moving.

Mala

 

Wise advice as always from @TG957 imo.

A comprehensive approach is combining the 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches. 'Top-down' referring to changing thoughts and cognitive patterns, essentially working form the 'top' of the brain down to influence emotions and behaviours, while 'bottom-up' healing starts by addressing bodily sensations and physical responses to trauma, working from the 'bottom' of the brain up to influence thoughts and emotions; essentially, 'top-down' is more cognitive-focused, while 'bottom-up' is more somatic-focused.

Funny you should say this as I believe that the progress that I have seen in my ability to function better is to do with the daily movements that I do (which, as you know, I have very slowly but gradually built upon from only being able to do just a few minutes at a time)... And when I do the 'non-linear movement' (along the lines of in the video I posted above) I do it in the mornings on my bed before I get up for the day... By default I leave my earplugs in (I wear them for sleeping because my husband gets up earlier than me and when he moves around the house he is liable to wake me up) and as I do my non-linear movements (because I have my earplugs in which makes it that you can hear internal bodily noises clearly, to include my heart beat) the crunching, crackling noises my muscles make is incredible (but already lessening with my resuming daily practise). It's definitely not my bones cracking; I believe it's the fascia on my muscles responding to the movement. (With me the stiffness and pain in my muscles intensified after my long periods of being bed bound, bed bound due to severely painful debilitating muscle spasms.) "Motion" definitely has been and continues to be "lotion" for me and I don't see why it can't be "lotion" for you too.

 

These are exciting developments, @BloodMoon ! I agree with your top down bottom up approach. And I like the nonlinear movement video and qigong video you attached. I will try them!

Last night I signed up for a beginner course on qigong here. https://www.whitetigerqigong.com/ (White Tiger Qigong - Expert Qigong Courses and Teaching)

It looks exciting to me because evidently qigong is so gentle and it heals fascia and gives strength, balance and soothes your nervous system.

Your nonlinear video reminds me of a program by a psychologist who does workshops and even free online classes to heal trauma, and she does movement somewhat like that. I have followed her for quite a while, but I’ve never really done her work. Maybe I will start exploring that too.

I honestly have to say that more and more good things are coming into my life since I started writing, “ I love you and my name”— two pages worth every day. Wouldn’t that be amazing if that were a cure for people?!

Everything comes in it’s time. And the TMS journey is amazing that way.

 

I haven't yet watched the whole of the video that you posted, but imo I would say that the exercises she does would be for further down the line with regard to a 'baby steps' approach. (Leastways, it would have been far too much for me when I started doing daily movement practices as my muscles were so damn tight, but you may be able to do far more than I was able to do.) The White Tiger Qigong looks excellent and just the ticket!

I can sense the sea change! And it's wonderful! Onwards and upwards, my friend!

 

My 2 cents: whatever you choose, be very careful about going too fast. Choose whatever gives you pleasure. Keep only what works for you, don't be afraid to discard what does not work.

 

Great advice! I tried a qigong 10-min. beginner class today and I could only do half of it. At first, I wanted to get depressed about it and then I just decided this is a journey like any other, and I might have to make all sorts of changes along the way. And be patient, as I gain strength. (@BloodMoon I am completely locked up with practically no mobility, so yes, I have to go really slowly, just like you did!) i’ll also have to be really careful not to get too excited and try to go too fast. Slow and steady wins the race!

 

This is why a beginner yin yoga in a studio with the instructor may be a better start for you. I would have never gotten to even modest level of yoga I am at right now if I never had a good instructor in the studio.

 

I would love to do that when I get stronger!

 

I have found that Fiona Agombar, who is a yoga teacher and yoga therapist I believe, and specialized in CFS, Long Covid, burnout, etc, is a really fantastic resource. She has books and videos on YouTube. She does not recommend that people with these conditions just jump into regular yoga.
Her approach is based around the need to 'regulate the nervous system', return to normal breathing and the like,