by
Christina Rowsell
The Brighter Side
My brother was a radical skier.
He
was wild and courageous to tackle what the mountains threw at him.
I was always in awe of his spirit for skiing
and the great outdoors.
When we were
younger I credit him for the enthusiasm I had for skiing.
Mind you, he would just leave me at the top
of the triple black diamond run and let me “fight” my way down.
I certainly learned how to ski in a
hurry!!
There was no other way down!
Today, my brother doesn’t go close to the ski hill.
I asked him if he wanted to try it
again.
He said no.
He was too afraid that he’d try to ski like
he used to.
He has MS.
It’s been very sad watching his life turn
around this way.
And at such a young
age.
Today he’s in his early forties.
But, where would he be today if he didn’t
have MS?
Who would his friends be?
I’ve seen him lose some friends who didn’t
really know how to cope with this disease.
Sad thing is, he’s still the same guy on the inside.
He still loves to cook.
He loves good tasting Organic foods.
But now life is different.
I was pleased to know that though the
MS Society they help cover the costs of his new found love of yoga.
If you need just one reason to participate in
the
Walk for MS in your community, it’s for someone like my brother to be able
to attend these yoga classes.
The
Walkfor MS connects people living with MS and those who care about them. When you
participate in this community event, the funds you raise give hope to the more
than 2.1 million people living with MS worldwide. Register now, connect with
others, and start fundraising today! Search for a Walk near you!
My brother lives in Castlegar, and if you
know anyone in the Trail/Nelson area who is looking to participate, know that
the money you raise will support programs for people like him. Visit
http://mswalks.ca/ to find a
Walk in your area.
The walk in Trail is April 28
th,
Nelson is May 26
th, and the one in Calgary is June 2
nd.
He’s still that same guy on in the inside and with your support you can help
him and others with MS live a better life on the outside.
FYI – Information on Yoga and MS
Researchers recruited 69 people with MS and randomly
assigned them to either: a weekly Iyengar yoga class (a form of Hatha yoga,
which is the most common type of yoga practiced in the US) with home practice,
a weekly exercise class using a stationary bike and home exercise or a group on
a waiting list for one of the two classes. These people were followed for 6
months and measures of disability, anxiety, fatigue and cognitive function were
taken at the beginning of the study and after 6 months in the study. The
researchers found that yoga did not influence cognitive function or mood, but it
did lessen fatigue and increase energy level. The study was not designed to
investigate whether yoga can help the course of MS.
This is an important finding because fatigue is one of the most difficult
and hidden symptoms of MS. Yoga can be done at home with minimal investment.
Personally, I recommend that beginners take a yoga classes for a month or two
to learn the proper technique, as it is initially hard to understand exactly
what the pose should be like. An instructor can help make small adjustments in
your poses or suggestions that can make a huge difference. After that, you can
continue with the class or begin a home practice using a video or audio
recording.
Interestingly, the yoga in this study was developed by Eric Small, who was
diagnosed with MS at age 22. Eric became a serious student of yoga after his
diagnosis and credits yoga with keeping him in good health despite having MS.
His website,
YogaMS contains
articles with details about the particulars of his approach to MS management
using yoga, as well as a video for home practice.
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