Do you not have a “yoga body”? Are you overweight, struggling will illness or disease, or are you “past your prime”?
It has been completely astonishing to me that so many people find such a wide variety of excuses as to why the can’t “do yoga”. Since beginning my journey in instructor training, I’ve had friends, family and even strangers comment that there is no way their body could ever get into that position. These people must not understand much at all about yoga.
Do any of you know what Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) is? Not really? I can break it down for you in layman’s terms. M.S. is an auto-immune disease that affects the central nervous system. “Sclerosis” means scars, so essentially, people with M.S. have multiple scars on the tissue of their central nervous system. This includes all parts of the brain and spinal cord.
So what does this do? That’s a great question! Individuals living with Multiple Sclerosis suffer from a wide range of symptoms. Think for a moment on how much of your daily life relies on the proper functioning of your central nervous system. Your brain and spinal cord receive all of the information from your muscles, joints and skin, as well as your nose, mouth, ears and eyes. In turn, your brain and spinal cord process this information and send out signals to the rest of the body, controlling both voluntary and involuntary muscle function.
For those living with M.S., these signals are oftentimes interrupted or transmitted incorrectly due to the scarring and damage. Symptoms vary widely, but potentially include, muscle spasms, seizures, dizziness, lack of coordination, difficulty walking, abnormal sensations, cognitive difficulty or confusion, blurred or double vision (or loss thereof), muscle weakness or numbness, tremors, speech impediments and more. No two M.S. sufferers experience the same symptoms or progression, but one may experience all symptoms at various points in time.
Even in times of remission, over 90% of those living with M.S. suffer from chronic and extreme fatigue. As their brains have to work twice as hard to complete simple tasks, energy is used up quickly and inefficiently.
There is currently no cure for M.S., and it is a traditionally progressive disease.
I was first diagnosed with M.S. when I was 19 years old, just a month after my honeymoon. I am a certified Holy Yoga instructor, with 225 hours of training.
And I can do this.
What’s your excuse?
1 Chronicles 16:11 “Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!”
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