Teaching Yoga to People with MS
As described in the list of symptoms, many of the difficulties experienced by PwMS are
less than obvious. In order to successfully include PwMS in your class some issues need
to be addressed.
No two people will experience exactly the same symptoms and no two people will deal with
their condition in exactly the same way. Total denial and complete capitulation can
happen in the same person ? they might give up using a weak arm and hand
(when it could still be used) but totally refuse to admit that they would benefit from
using a mobility aid (walking stick, elbow crutches or even a wheelchair). I always stress
that we only move anything within its own range of comfort BUT the weaker side must not be
ignored as this would simply lead to the imbalance being increased and the stronger side
increasing in strength whilst the weaker side becomes increasingly useless with the result
of pain in the hips, shoulders, knees and back.
Most people with multiple sclerosis take fairly small steps due to balance problems and
spend a lot of time seated. They have little need to spread their arms out and are unlikely
to raise their arms above the head as this almost guarantees a loss of balance.
These two facts lead to a shortening of tendons and muscles in the legs and arms causing
distortions in the hips, back and shoulders. I find that the length can be slowly
increased by gentle stretching movements designed specifically for this purpose.
Due to bad posture even when seated most people develop limited (or non-existent)
diaphramic movement and this leads to impaired breathing, poor energy flow and increased
levels of fatigue.
Postures (asanas) such as the tree of life can really help and can successfully be
accomplished lying flat on the floor. Another useful asana is the triangle which I
also teach lying on the floor. My classes regularly take a whole hour gently stretching
out all the limbs, the back and the neck before finally finishing in the complete posture.
Most people can achieve the pose of the cat but may have poor strength in the wrists and
arms so I tend to have them resting on their elbows and only moving into the cat for short
periods. Those members with good wrist strength also enjoy the dog pose but care needs to
be taken to ensure that they know how to safely and quickly relax if fatigue or balance
suddenly becomes a problem.
Any asanas that require people to be seated I tend to do using two chairs as this gives
better support to the back and if they have poor balance I use 5 chairs!!! One either
side of the one they are sitting on and two for their legs. This ensures there are no
embarrassing falls. Using this chair method we manage half lotus, various twisting moves
and, over time, people manage to relax their hands down the legs until they can easily reach their feet and also sit cross legged.
Seated correctly with the base of their spines against the back of one chair and their
feet just touching the back of the other chair the back is totally supported and deeper
breathing can be achieved. I use the chairs to perform several breathing routines and
people's posture is visibly improved.
Spasms cause many PwMS a lot of discomfort and the medical profession has always responded
with drugs like baclofen (which relaxes everything ? sometimes too effectively).
Some doctors prescribe antidepressants to try to relax tension and spasm and it works for
some people and, latterly, cannabis is being officially tested with many of my members
taking part in the trials and this may prove to be effective for some people.
Deep relaxation techniques can help and, oddly, I have found that a series of routines
done lying on the floor with the legs up on a chair with the knees over the hips and as
much of the calves as possible supported by the seat of the chair also helps a lot of
people who also report fewer spasms especially if done at night just before going to bed.
People with multiple sclerosis can gain great benefits from yoga but it is important to
ensure that they are well supported at all times in order to ensure that they are not too
tense and worried about balance and so get the best possible results from a session and go
home relaxed and looking forward to the next time.
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