How to Introduce Yoga to Your Life

Last week I posted about how the lack of exercise brought on by my condition has drastically affected my self-confidence (read the post here). Now I'm here to tell you that it's not all doom and gloom. This week I want to share with you the silver lining to have come out of this situation- my discovery of yoga.

   Yoga. You might have heard of it? Right now, it's kinda the fashionable cupcake of the exercise world. In church halls and sports centres across the globe, men, women and children have been rolling out their multi-coloured yoga mats and contorting their bodies into 'down-ward dogs' and 'cobras'; tanned and toned celebrities have been posting carefully angled photos of their recently perfected poses on Instagram; and even my seventy-eight year old grandmother's at it. Why? Because it's bloody brilliant. That's why. Hailed for is reviving qualities and numerous benefits, yoga has quite simply put my life back on track. Focussing on both the mind and body, it’s not simply the physical benefits of yoga, such as an increase in energy and a decrease in muscle tension that make yoga the perfect gentle exercise for an ME sufferer- yoga can increase concentration and memory as well as aiding sleep and decreasing depression too! What’s not to love?

I've being yoga-ing for about eight months now. It was a key part of 2014's News Years resolution to finally start making some progress on the recovery front. While I cannot tell you the difference between different types of yoga (there's many- look it up!), I can attest to its healing benefits. Over the years I’ve tried pacing, relaxing, various supplements and so forth, but I really I feel that it's yoga that has had the biggest impact on my ME riddled life.

   I know, I'm kinda going in for the hard sell. I'm like a sales-woman, stopping at your door to offer you the latest miracle cure for all chronic illness. If only right!? Unfortunately that's not the case. While it does have many benefits, yoga is certainly not the miracle cure. But for people like me, with mostly moderate M.E, it can be a god send for helping us get back on our feet.

Have I convinced you? Whether you suffer from chronic illness or not, yoga really could be just the thing your looking for; no matter what the problem may be. If health is on you side then get yourself out there! Find a local class, sign up and actually go (I know this is the part my mother struggles with). And if you're in the sick camp? Yoga needn't force it's way too aggressively into your paced out lifestyle- start out slow and steady, just like I did. 

Ready for my morning yoga

I don't attend any yoga classes- they'd be way too much for me too handle at the moment. So I do all my yoga in the the comfort of my own bedroom, on my specially purchased purple yoga mat, in my pajamas. Sound good? Follow my simple to steps to introducing yoga into your life and you could be happily downward dogging by tomorrow!

1. Poses before bed

If you're a complete yoga newbie and the thought of any exercise makes you nervous of a potential flare, then start off with the real basics. Gentle twists, forward bends, happy baby and reclined goddess can all be done without even having to leave your bed. Ideal right? They're all gentle stretching poses that require no real strength or exertion- perfect for us spoonies. It may feel like very little, but this way you can build yourself up at your own pace. When chronically ill, it's really better to be more of a turtle than a hare.

Where to look? I recommend a quick google search of some basic yoga poses than can be done from bed. Find the ones that suit you and go from there.

2. Relaxation Yoga

Once you've got that body used to moving a little, perhaps move on to some relaxation yoga sequences. Relaxation yoga does exactly what it says on the tin. The moves likely won't vary much from what you've been doing, but the sequences will likely have been formulated by professionals, resulting in optimum results. This is where you really wanna be getting up, out of bed and onto the floor. Don't have a yoga mat to hand? Just layer up a couple of towels and yoga away!

Where to look? I couldn't recommend the Yoga Studio app more. At £2.49 it really is worth every penny. This was the app that got me started on my yoga journey and their relaxation sequences are perfect for a bit of pre-bed yoga. 

Just some of the classes available on Yoga Studio

3. A bit of variety

Once you've got the hang of the gentle movement and you've (hopefully!) caught the yoga bug, then get yourself on Youtube. There are thousands of yoga videos out there, all aimed at different levels and all focussing on different areas of the body. That's part of the fun of at-home-yoga; you can learn a new lesson everyday, which a new instructor every time, if you so wish. There's so much to explore- so what are you waiting for!?

Where to look? As stated, there are so many videos and channels to chose from- but this can make choosing one a little confusing. Once your firmly on your yoga feet I recommend giving Erin Motz' 30 Day Yoga Challenge a go. She's definitely my favourite internet yogi as her classes are fun, relaxed and all reasonably short.  

So there you have it- my easy steps into yoga. While each of us cope and struggle with ME in different ways, you may just find that yoga works for you, just as it has for me. Even if it simply gets you stretching for five minutes a day, come on follow Spoonies- join me in a yoga revolution!

Alice

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