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Keyword: Lupus cerebralis (January 2004)

ORIGINAL QUESTION:

from Mahiya (Elisa)

I have a private lesson next week with a women, 35 years old, with lupus cerebralis. Can someone can give me some sequences or book references, because it's the first private and lupus time.

thank you and joy to you


BACKGROUND:

I (Gyandev) could not find "lupus cerebralis" anywhere on the web. Here, however, is what the National Institutes of Health has to say about lupus in general. For more info, visit:

http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/lupus/tengo/english.htm#a

What Is Lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune disease. Your body’s immune system is like an army with hundreds of soldiers. The immune system’s job is to fight foreign substances in the body, like germs and viruses. But in autoimmune diseases, the immune system is out of control. It attacks healthy tissues, not germs.

You can’t catch lupus from another person. It isn’t cancer, and it isn’t related to AIDS.

Lupus is a disease that can affect many parts of the body. Everyone reacts differently. One person with lupus may have swollen knees and fever. Another person may be tired all the time or have kidney trouble. Someone else may have rashes. Lupus can involve the joints, the skin, the kidneys, the lungs, the heart and/or the brain. If you have lupus, it may affect two or three parts of your body. Usually, one person doesn’t have all the possible symptoms.

There are three main types of lupus:

* Systemic lupus erythematosus (eh-RITH-eh-muh-TOE-sus) is the most common form. It’s sometimes called SLE, or just lupus. The word “systemic” means that the disease can involve many parts of the body such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain. SLE symptoms can be mild or serious.

* Discoid lupus erythematosus mainly affects the skin. A red rash may appear, or the skin on the face, scalp, or elsewhere may change color.

* Drug-induced lupus is triggered by a few medicines. It’s like SLE, but symptoms are usually milder. Most of the time, the disease goes away when the medicine is stopped. More men develop drug-induced lupus because the drugs that cause it, hydralazine and procainamide, are used to treat heart conditions that are more common in men.


ANSWERS:

From Mary Vickars:

Hi Mahiya (Elisa)

Last summer I did a private session with a 40 year old lady friend who was recently diagnosed with a degenerative inflammatory disease that was attacking her joints resulting in pain and stiffness. She had NEVER done yoga before. I started with simplicity.

What worked for her was:

  • Full yogic breathing lying down (and then upright) - she found this very helpful in getting some relief from her pain. A very interesting book on using the breath as a healing tool is Breathe Well, Be Well by Robert Fried.
  • Lying in savasana and totally relaxing her bodyI do a gentle tension with the inhalation and a release with the exhalation from the toes and slowly moving up. I use lots of different words to encourage relaxation, overall state of deep stillness & calm and turning the awareness towards the breath.
  • Tree Pose because of the affirmation: she liked the gentle movement, some balance, arm work, minimum stress on her joints.

She continues to come to my yoga class and the other day she said she couldn’t do any of the sitting postures or savasana because her knees hurt when she bends them and once down wouldn’t be able to get up! I had prepared her to do those postures on a chair.

BUT she said after we did the energization exercises she found her mobility had improved considerably and was able to get on the floor AND stay for savasana!! There is something quite remarkable about those Energization Exercises!!

I also think that Ayurveda can play a healing role, perhaps not cause a miraculous healing, but a mechanism for understanding and alleviating symptoms of disease. (Did you know that The Expanding Light is putting on a program called Ananda Yoga & Ayurveda in March?) I personally had a healing experience following Ayurveda recommendations. The only books I have skim read were by Dr. Vasant Lad.

My understanding is that Lupus is an auto-immune type of disease . . . similar to MS? There was a VERY interesting & informative article in Yoga International, Nov 2003 on Yoga and MS. Perhaps this might give you some insight and suggestions.

Good Luck!

Cheeriest regards!

Mary Vickars

2003, Burnaby, BC Canada


Hello Mahiya,

My name is Sally Jo Beck and I teach yoga to a variety of people with disabilities, including spina bifida, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, etc. Although I do not have any book references for you, I have some advice to offer.

There is a way to treat your client like a normal person while being sensitive to her condition. Before you begin, ask her if there is anything she would like to share with you about her condition, like her physical balance, pain, emotional condition, etc. Tell her that you are there to support her in every way and to make the yoga practice a positive experience for her to take with her and to integrate into her own life. I would suggest utilizing blankets or bolsters nearby her so if she feels like she needs more support in an asana, she is empowered to grab a nearby prop without having to rely on you to help her. I would also suggest doing much seated work, at least for this first session. Talk to her about the importance of getting in touch with who she really is inside, have her close her eyes and ask her to honor her "true self" or however you may want to put that.

Do a lot of spine work explaining how one's spine is literally and metaphorically one's "backbone." Encourage her to create a relationship with her spine and imagine energy within it healing her and giving her hope and light.

Some exercises and/or asanas:

  • breath of joy
  • full yogic breath flow while seated in a comfortable dandasana
  • any and all twists
  • cat/cow with rocking back and forth into gentle bhujangasana and backward into balasana
  • sasamgasana
  • vajrasana (maybe ease toward supta vajrasana with emphasis on opening chest and heart)
  • seated chandrasana
  • janushirasana and parivritta janushirasana
  • salabhasana
  • roll over to do halasana and maybe supported gentle sarvangasana
  • a supine twist
  • guided savasana (taking her to a place of light and health and empowerment)

I hope this helps, blessings to you,

Sally Jo