Intro Yoga for MS

Last year, after I got diagnosed with MS, I worked with a physical therapist at our local hospital. With her guidance, I got stronger and improved my balance and gait. In addition, she encouraged yoga practice. This motivated me to join a yoga class which did indeed help my balance. Later I joined a pilot study “LoveYourBrain Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis”

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What is LoveYourBrain Yoga?

It all started in 2010, when snowboarder Kevin Pearce suffered a near fatal traumatic brain injury while training for the 2010 winter Olympics. Go watch the HBO documentary, The Crash Reel, which documents Kevin’s remarkable resilience and his journey back to health. Thanks to his experience, the LoveYourBrain yoga foundation was born.

They believe that yoga and meditation empower people to positively adapt to changes in their lives. By offering six free weeks of yoga and meditation, LoveYourBrain yoga foundation helps people with traumatic brain injuries and their caregivers. This program is research-backed and designed based on the science of resilience.

Based o the good results of the LoveYourBrain yoga program for TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), they wondered whether this program would also be useful for people living with MS. I am thrilled to be in the pilot study for this.

What is the Purpose of the Study?

The purpose of the study is to assess the feasibility of a 6-week yoga and meditation intervention for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The study will evaluate the impact of the program on fatigue, anxiety, depression, positive affect, and other measures. Sounded good to me, so I decided to sign up.

There are many anecdotal personal experiences about yoga and MS, showing improved quality of life. However, there still isn’t enough scientific evidence of such, so it is nice to be part of this study. Hopefully it will confirm the benefits of LoveYourBrain yoga for MS.

Personally, yoga had been really good for me and has helped me both physically and mentally. So when this study popped up with six FREE weeks of yoga, I jumped on it!

My Experience with LoveYourBrain Yoga for MS

When I got the invitation to participate in the “LoveYourBrain Yoga for MS” pilot, my reaction was a solid “Yes!” I loved the idea of being part of a study, meeting local MS-warriors and exploring yoga and meditation.

The subjects were divided in two groups, and I was part of the first group. This meant that we did six weeks of LoveYourBrain yoga first, then nothing for another six weeks. Group 2 did it the other way around, nothing first, yoga later. In addition we filled out questionnaires a few times.

Step 1: Questionnaires

At the onset of the study, every participant fills out a few questionnaires about their MS and their mental and physical health. At that time, we could get clarification about any questions we had. Since I was in the first group, then I started with the six weeks of yoga.

Step 2: LoveYourBrain Yoga and Meditation

Of course, this was the fun part of the study. Our group was pretty small, about nine people. When I hesitantly entered the yoga studio, I immediately felt the welcoming atmosphere. Soon, I realized that I wasn’t alone. I found my tribe, people like me. Local people, who were interested enough in yoga to join the study. Online I have lots of great support for my MS (shout-out to the MS Fitness Challenge Gym facebook group ) but I didn’t know any local people with MS.

After chatting a bit, it was time to go to work. The class was a mixture of yoga and guided meditation and our instructor was really good at adjusting the poses to our abilities. In addition to blocks to help us through the poses, we could use the wall for balance with our tree and warrior poses.

While the meditation was very relaxing, the yoga was sometimes hard. Of course, I found myself comparing myself with others, judging myself for being “bad at yoga” while everyone else was good at it. Clearly, I still have room for improvement, both in my yoga and in my “Be where you are!” skills. Unsurprisingly, my meditation was filled with many “Get back here!” shout-outs to my brain which was busy chasing shiny things.

At the end of the session, there was a 20 minutes group discussion about support, gratefulness and our personal MS journeys. It was amazing how many times we all found ourselves nodding in agreement when one of us was describing their feelings and experiences.

Step 3: The Same Questionnaires

After six weeks of weekly LoveYourBrain yoga sessions, it was time to get back to the researcher and repeat the questionnaires we had done before, to get a good comparison.

Step 4: No Yoga!!!

Now for the hard part. Six weeks of No Yoga! No yoga classes or practice, this was all about seeing how we would do after six weeks of no yoga and mediation. On the one hand this was hard, on the other hand, there are many distractions in life, for which I had more time without yoga classes. The no meditation part? A lot easier since I tend to procrastinate on that anyway.

Still, I was kind of jealous of the second group who got to have fun while I was moping around about not doing yoga.

Step 5: Questionnaires again

At the end of the study, these same questionnaires and then I could go back to my weekly yoga!

Conclusion LoveYourBrain Yoga for MS

I loved being part of this “LoveYourBrain yoga for MS” pilot! Looking forward to reading about the results. Amazing how a snowboarding accident can generate so much good for so many people!

Have you done yoga? If you have MS or have another chronic illness, how does it work for you? Do you feel it is helping you function better? Any favorite poses which you keep coming back to?

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Further Reading on Yoga for MS

• Official website for LYB yoga program: Improve the quality of life of people affected by traumatic brain injury through programs that build community and foster resilience.
• NIH Page for LoveYourBrain Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis. Description of this yoga for MS study in the National Institute of Health Clinical Trials data base.
• National MS Society on Yoga and MS. 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.