Never done a downward dog? Now is your chance.
September is National Yoga Awareness Month, a grassroots campaign to inspire a healthy lifestyle. As part of this national observance, those who have never experienced yoga can try it for free for a week at more than 1,600+ participating studios. Also, beginners and veterans alike are invited to come together for “The Time for Yoga,” a worldwide yoga session held on the last day of the month – Friday, September 30th – at 7:00 p.m. local time.
Here at PatientsLikeMe, more than 530 patients report practicing yoga for reasons such as general health, spasticity/stiffness, fibromyalgia and improved flexibility. The most common “dosage” is 30 minutes daily.
What do these patients have to say about yoga? Here is a sampling of the reviews and tips found on the more than 120 treatment evaluations submitted about yoga.
- “Yoga is so good for so many reasons! It helps me stretch my stiff body, strengthen core muscles, and gives me calm and purpose for the day. I always tell myself I should do some yoga every day! Unfortunately, I find having a class and good teacher is really the motivation I need to stick with it.” – Patient with MS
- “Yoga comes with many other benefits, such as learning to get in touch with your body, listen to your body, and treat your body with the compassion that it deserves. In the process, you also learn to treat your whole self with compassion. Since being chronically ill involves a lot of surrender to discomforts that are way out of our control, it is good to have a way to remind yourself that you are sacred and that you are not your pain and fatigue, but something bigger.” – Patient with fibromyalgia
- “Give it a try for three months, most everyone I know comes and sticks with it. I was one of the only males in the class to begin with but now about eight guys rotate in and out. Love yoga. The teacher said the para sympathetic something is activated with yoga, and Tai Chi does it as well; other exercise does not. Give it a try, it helps me.” – Patient with Parkinson’s disease
- “It was a huge step for me to start taking yoga as I have found it increasingly difficult to be around people, but I went for myself and found that it really helped me to just delve into my own space. Hatha yoga is very pleasant because it is enough of an exercise that you notice the health benefits, but it is not so strenuous as to create long lasting physical discomfort. The unexpected benefit is the increase in self control that I am finding, and I haven’t had any lingering thoughts of suicide since starting it.” – Patient with major depressive disorder
If you’re considering yoga, learn more about what it entails – and what potential benefits it has – on Yoga Month’s “New to Yoga” page.
