How to Start Yoga (for Anyone, even if Living With MS)

We all know that yoga is good for you for a multitude of reasons. Not only for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but also for everyone with or without chronic illness. Still, it took me an MS diagnosis before I finally started yoga, and unsurprisingly it has helped me a lot in getting stronger, fitter and have better balance. Since it took me a long time to get there, so I want to share my personal experience of how to start yoga for MS and stay committed. Don’t make my mistakes!

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How I Tried Over and Over to Start Yoga

A Book Did Not Work…

When I was a teenager in the Netherlands, I got a book about yoga and did a bunch of poses faithfully every day. Of course it made me feel better and I was benefitting from the practice. For a few months I kept it up, but then life happened, or at least shiny things. Whatever happened, clearly I didn’t stick with it. Many years later, I donated the book to our local thrift store, hoping to inspire somebody else. So at least I got some decluttering out of it.

Homeschool Yoga Did Not Work

After we moved to the United States and started homeschooling, once again I made an attempt. Because one of our home school friends is a yoga teacher, I joined in her practice during home school meetings together with our children. Yet again, I loved it, and yet again, I did not follow up on it by continuing yoga practice.

Pregnancy Yoga Did Not Work

While I was pregnant the last time I did a few more yoga classes, but the day-to-day demands of parenting seven children quickly put an end to that.

Gentle Yoga ALMOST Worked

A few years ago I felt I should pick it up again, the kids were getting older and didn’t need constant attention anymore. So I joined a ‘gentle yoga’ class at our local fitness center. It was great, I felt awesome, well, apart from the fact that everyone else was much better at it than I was. Since yoga is all about competition, right?

Not only were they better at it, most of them were at least ninety years old and could stand on one leg for a seemingly endless amount of time while I was more like ‘What balance?’ It half amused me, half annoyed me, while the third half of me recognized that I might be slightly exaggerating and that I was just fine, and it was ok if “everyone else” “beat” me at yoga.

From then on, I intended to go every week. To show my resolve, I put it in my electronic calendar so I would not forget. Turns out, I was right. Indeed, I didn’t forget. Instead, I made up convenient and creative excuses every single week why I couldn’t make it that week. Maybe the next week…

A few years later I guiltily deleted the calendar entries which reminded me every week what a failure I was :p That solved the problem, right? Tried it, didn’t succeed, now move on. But still…

Success! Finally Started Yoga for my MS

Fast forward to 2018. In 2017, I got my MS diagnosis and started working with a physical therapist. Strengthening my muscles and improving my balance were some of the goals. She strongly recommended me to attend a yoga class, the last push I needed to stop telling myself “I should start doing yoga again” and instead, as Nike says “Just do it!”.

So I finally went back to ‘gentle yoga’ after many years of absence. Carpe Diem! I did it! It helped that Tom joined me. In addition, just imagine my surprise when the yoga teacher immediately started speaking Dutch to me. It turns out that she had lived in the Netherlands, my birth country. This is an amazing universe! It got me to start yoga for my MS!

Am I Still Doing It?

For about two years, we went week after week. Somehow this time I stuck with it. Maybe not every week, but almost every week when we are not traveling. For a few months, I did take a break from regular yoga classes to participate in the LoveYourBrain Yoga for MS study. Six weeks of yoga and mediation to see how that effects our MS symptoms.

My yoga practice gave me more confidence to try surfing in Hawai’i and I even managed to do some yoga on a Stand Up Paddeboard.

Yes and No: Read On…

So yes, I did continue, even managed to spend more than a year following Yoga with Adriene, who supplies free yoga classes on youtube with her dog. But then the pandemic happened. And I got into hooping. In addition, we moved from a big house to a smaller house which was a lot of work and decluttering.

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So for a while I didn’t do yoga. And even now, I am not as consistent as I should be. But I am attending local yoga classes when I can and I do random yoga positions when I am traveling. Still, I should get back into more regular practice.

I fully intend to work on practicing more yoga and to improve. Some day, I will be one of these ninety years old women standing on one leg. Without falling over. Maybe 😀

How Can YOU Succeed in Starting Yoga?

Frankly, I would love to give you sage advice and magically make it happen, but I am not you. You know yourself best. So start where you are and figure out what works for YOU. Instead of giving just one suggestion, I am throwing a bunch of ideas and you can figure out which one fits you best.

• Join a local yoga group
• Find an exercise buddy and go to classes together
• Start where you are. It is ok to feel frustrated, but it is not ok not to try.
• Try some yoga DVDs
• Check out on line yoga classes
• Borrow a book about yoga from the library
• Do 20 minutes a day yoga at home
• Try something else, check out Getting Strong: Exercises for MS
• Just Do it!

Conclusion: Start Where You Are

What about you? Do you do yoga? What are the benefits you have noticed in yourself? Are you on a journey to finally start yoga for MS or other reasons? Or does yoga not work for you?

Pin Yoga for MS: Start Where You Are