Year: 2016

Yoga and The Hypermobile Yogi

Yoga and The Hypermobile Yogi – Managing Chronic Pain and Stabilizing Joints with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS)   “Yoga is dangerous for EDS.” “I was told not to do yoga.” “Yoga will make you end up in a wheelchair.”  I’m sure that you’ve heard all these phrases before, and many people feel that that all three are absolute truths. While we all are entitled to our opinions, the fact is there is no black and white factual statement that has come out about doing yoga when you have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Usually, our ideas stem from personal beliefs, from what we have been told by someone we trust, or from our experiences with yoga. We are all different, and the truth is what works for someone else, does not work for you and vice versa. This applies to the practice of yoga. There are countless people with hypermobility/Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, who have been practicing yoga for years and have done well. There are also those who tried it and did not have the strength, nor were self-aware enough to know …

Mast Cell Madness and A Yoga Retreat (YTT 15hrs)

Mast Cell Madness and A Yoga Retreat In January, I received the results from an eight-year-old colonoscopy that was stained for mast cells – the same month I started yoga instructor training with The Mindfulness Center. Despite doing what I do and the fact that I was helping Dr. Afrin publish his book, the results were not easy to accept. I felt anger & resentment, not to mention emotional and very scared. For me, mast cell issues have been a part of my life since I was a kid – I just didn’t know what “it” was. And no matter what I was or what “it” is (the EDS/MCAD/Dysautonomia/chronic illness combo), the reality is that about a year and a half ago, things dramatically changed after I got the flu shot for work. When you work in hospitals, especially in the OR, you are required to get the influenza vaccine – something I’ve done a number of times with no issues, or so I think. Three hours after I got the shot, I doubled in …