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Virtual Workshops with a Purpose

December 1, 2020

Gratitude arises when we are in sacred relationship with life-present, open and receptive ~Tara Brach

Tis the time for giving and receiving Virtual Workshops with a Purpose

Join YMMS for 10 special workshops designed for your exploration, restoration and self-care

All are welcome

Breathe. Feel. Receive. Give. Begin again…

Yoga Moves MS thrives on giving from the heart to individuals impacted by MS and neuromuscular conditions. During these challenging and isolating times, we knew that connection to our students and families was paramount. Live on site classes were swiftly transitioned to daily virtual classes and learning forums. Our treasured students and care partners are able to maintain a connection to each other, and they continue to experience daily adaptive yoga and mindfulness practices. Little did we realize that virtual classes would result in active participation from throughout the country and internationally. We recieve daily messages of gratitude from students and families. Our classes improve the quality of life for our mighty students, and are solely funded by donations.

Throughout “Giving December”, YMMS Instructors will be offering a special array of enriching and relaxing virtual workshops for your pleasure and self-care.They will share their unique talents during the scheduled days and times below. If you are unavailable to attend live sessions, the recordings will be sent to you upon request. In exchange, we ask that you consider a donation of $20 per class or $100 or more for all ten sessions. GIVE WHAT YOU CAN. Your support in exchange for receiving nurturing experiences throughout the year and during this holiday season is so very much appreciated.

Donate

Virtual Workshops with a purpose
Led by YMMS instructors

Knee and foot massage & guided loving kindness meditation with Mandy: Learn how to give yourself a knee and foot massage followed by a guided loving kindness meditation. Please come with hand lotion, and prepared to lie down or sit comfortably with a warm blanket, warm hands and feet while in guided meditation. (December 2nd, 11am to 12:00pm)

World of crystals with Barb: Are you curious about the wonderful world of crystals? Join Barb for this upbeat and informative! Topics covered include selecting crystals for healing, protection and many other positive intentions. Crystals can also enhance Feng Shui in your home and office. You will learn about clearing, charging and programming crystals as well. (December 3, 3pm to 4pm)

Restore, Slow Down, Stress Less, Feel More with Anita: Explore your range of motion with slow, small movements that are done while lying on your back. Simple sliding and gliding movements will help you to be aware of sensations, and periods of stillness will quiet “monkey mind”. Most movements will be done on the back. Some movements are also practiced laying on the stomach. Students can be on the floor with a blanket or beach towel over a yoga mat or on a bed. Props: Yoga mat, blanket or beach towel, yoga strap or belt/scarf.(December 4th, Noon to 1:30pm)

Breathing and Meditation with Deb: Prana is defined as life-force energy. What is our life-force energy but our breath? Pranayama is defined as regulated breathing technique. When we learn how to regulate our breath , we learn how to focus our minds, tune into our ability to relax, and even exercise our lungs to increase oxygen flow in the body. Learn ways to stretch and balance your breath, and tap into ways to increase awareness. Once our mind is focused and calm, we will explore simple mantras and ways to meditate to release negative energy that causes depression and anxiety.(Saturday, December 5, 2020 at 2:00pm to 3pm)

Virtual Relaxing concert with Zara: Relax, listen and bathe in the the tranquil sounds of the harmonium and singing bowls. Zara is a professional musician! (December 8, 10:30am)

Reiki for self-care with Julie: Reiki is the Japanese name for “Universal Life Force Energy,” which is the life-giving energy present in everyone. Reiki supports the body’s natural healing abilities. In this workshop, you will learn about the basic principles of Reiki and how to use reiki as a self-care practice for stress relief and pain management.(December 9th, 11am to Noon)

The art of storytelling with Marie: Bring your imagination, a snippet of an idea: a memory, picture, feather, jewelry or a vivid thought. During this hour, you will weave your thoughts into an elegant tapestry. Materials needed: a notebook and pencil or a laptop to write on.(December 10th, at 11:00-12)

Chakra healing with Dory: Learn information about what a chakra is, where the seven main chakras are located within your body, and what they represent. Dory will offer you guided chakra meditation and teach you simple ways to care for yourself through chakra healing.(December 17th, 11:30am to 12:30pm)

Restorative set-up and practice and Tong Len meditation with Jill: Restorative yoga is about being and letting go through the use of multiple blankets, pillows, blocks, soft lights, silence and rest. Poses will be done on the floor, (or bed), but adaptations will be provided for students who prefer not to be or cannot be on the floor. Each pose will be held for a minimum of 5-10 minutes. Explanation will be provided on how to use props and how to improvise props with items you have at home. Two poses will be offered, followed by a guided meditation taken from the traditional Tibetan Buddhist practice of Tong Len, (taking and giving), that focuses on generosity and loving kindness that will open your heart. (December 18, 2pm to 2:45pm)

Bathe yourself with the sounds of the gong with Mindy: Enjoy gentle movement, breathing practices, and hand mudras. Before sleepytime, this session concludes with a gong bath and sounds of the crystal singing bowl. (December 22, 7pm to 8:30pm)

(If you are unavailable for the scheduled live virtual sessions, recordings will be sent to you upon request.)

Donate

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Holistic Health and Wellness Forum for MS

February 17, 2020

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Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2019 – Adaptive Yoga Moves Any Body Teacher Training

November 17, 2019

Register Online

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Holistic Health and Wellness Forum for MS

February 17, 2019

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Party With A Purpose – November 10, 2018

October 14, 2018

Register Online for the Event

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Art Van Charity Challenge 2018

May 1, 2018

Yoga Moves MS has been chosen as one of the charities for Art Van Charity Challenge.

Join the Team

About the Challenge

We are participating in the Art Van Charity Challenge and have an opportunity  to win from $10,000 to $50,000.

We are asking our students and teachers to join the challenge by creating a team under yoga moves MS and than send this request to friends and family.  The more the merrier and hopefully we can take home the big prize.

Join the Team

All you have to do is go to https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/yoga-moves-ms-avcc2018/ and pick “Join the Team and Create Your Own Fundraiser”.  It’s easy and let’s make it fun for our students.   Just Make sure that the site has the Art Van Charity Challenge Logo and that you join the challenge from our page “Yoga Moves MS”  so we get the benefit of donations.

Join the Team

Thank you for all you do.

HELP YOGA MOVES MS!

Filed Under: News

How Yoga Can Help Those With Multiple Sclerosis – Physically and Emotionally

June 11, 2017

Adaptive yoga can reduce some symptoms of MS, as well as relieve the anxiety many people with MS feel.

At age 63, Charles Zuccarini had never set foot in a yoga studio. He had certainly never considered trying yoga to help with symptoms of primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), with which he was diagnosed in 2002. However, about four years ago, he found himself at a yoga class.

“A friend who was big into yoga convinced me to try it. I was skeptical because I didn’t see how yoga could help my MS,” Zuccarini says. “But I went in a skeptic and left a believer.”

Zuccarini attended a class at Yoga Moves MS, a Michigan nonprofit organization founded by the yoga instructor Mindy Eisenberg. The adaptive yoga classes Eisenberg teaches are focused on helping those with MS and other neurological diseases.

Eisenberg says yoga has the potential to lessen several physical symptoms of MS and may contribute to improved strength, flexibility, posture, balance, focus, circulation, digestion, elimination, and pelvic floor health and to decreased tension, fatigue, and spasticity.

Zuccarini can attest to this. He experiences numbness, tingling, and swelling on the entire right side of his body and walks with a limp. “After I go to class, I feel better. I can walk better, am more flexible, and it helps me with my balance,” he says.

Read full article

Filed Under: News

Caught by Mindfulness

April 16, 2017

In 2012, eagerness to help my yoga students with chronic pain led me down the mindfulness path. Little did I know then that it would become a vital part of my being. As I delved into the literature on coping with pain, mindfulness studies kept cropping up and caught my attention. Jon Kabat-Zinn had obviously done his homework when he developed a stress reduction program over 30 years ago at the University of Massachusetts. My intrigue grew as I read how mindfulness and meditation have the potential to rewire, reshape and mold the brain to improve our physical and emotional health.

It took 2 ½ years of being on the wait list to finally attend an MBSR Professional Education and Training with the two pioneers, Jon Kabat –Zinn and Saki Santorelli. The training was filled with 160 professionals from around the world, including physicians, therapists, military officials and governmental staff, patients with bone marrow cancer, VA staff, educators and principals of schools, corporate administrators and leaders, and yoga instructors and therapists. [Read more…] about Caught by Mindfulness

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CMSC Consortium 2016

April 14, 2017

Yoga Moves MS at MS Consortium 2016

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How Yoga for MS Can Help (And It’s Not Just About The Poses)

April 14, 2017

The scientific community is becoming more—well, flexible—when it comes to attitudes about yoga and its role in alleviating symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Until recently, the effects of the practice on MS had never been subjected to rigorous scientific inquiry, and therefore it couldn’t be recommended. But a recent pilot study conducted at Rutgers University is changing that with promising preliminary outcomes. And the study’s participants seem to be at least as excited about the results as the researchers, if not more so.

“After nine years, I was finally able to feel the sand underneath my feet at the beach near our house on the Jersey shore,” reported one participant in a follow-up survey. Another said she was able to get up from her seat unassisted for the first time in 11 years.

Such comments echo a large volume of anecdotal evidence that’s accumulated over the years that supports yoga as a powerful tool for helping people with MS live safer, healthier and happier lives. “And the scientific research is beginning to catch up,” says Dr. Allen C. Bowling, a neurologist and author of Optimal Health with Multiple Sclerosis: A Guide to Integrating Lifestyle, Alternative, and Conventional Medicine (Demos Health, 2014).

Not just a bunch of posers

Susan Gould Fogerite, PhD, director of research for the Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the School of Health Related Professions at Rutgers, gathered 26 experts, including neurologists, psychologists, physical therapists and yoga instructors, as well as people with MS who practice yoga. Together, they created a progressive series of 90-minute, twice-weekly gentle yoga classes. Fourteen women who had either relapsing-remitting or progressive MS, ages 34–64, completed eight weeks of the classes.

The researchers took baseline and post-study measures of mobility, coordination, fatigue, and mental and emotional status. They found that after the program, the women were better able to walk for short distances and for longer periods of time, had better balance and fine-motor coordination, and were better able to move from sitting to standing. The women also reported that their quality of life improved in key areas, including perceived mental health, concentration, bladder control, walking and vision, with a decrease in pain and fatigue. All of these improvements rose to the level of “statistical significance,” an important benchmark of scientific credibility.

Previously, a 2004 Oregon Health Sciences University study found that six months of yoga significantly helped relieve fatigue, and improved strength and flexibility and other quality of life measurements among 69 people with MS. Other smaller studies in the past 10 years have found improvements in anxiety, depression, bladder function, pain, spasticity, weakness and walking among people with MS who practice yoga.

Dr. Fogerite attributes the benefits seen in research, in part, to the mind-body-spirit aspect of yoga. Yoga’s calming, focused method of breathing and mindfulness, along with its acceptance of the body’s limitations, works in tandem with the strength, balance and flexibility training that come with the actual poses, she says.

Drs. Fogerite and Bowling both say more research is needed to discover the mechanics of how yoga works for people with MS, but Dr. Fogerite suspects that the slow, mindful repetitions of the movements in yoga may help “recruit” brain cells next to the cells damaged by the disease—in essence rerouting the network needed to connect for a particular function.

Yoga for every body

For people with MS who practice yoga, the research validates what they already suspected. Eric Small, a Los Angeles–based senior certified Iyengar yoga instructor, says his practice completely transformed his life.

“Had I gone along with my diagnosis and the recommendation to go home, do nothing and stay out of the sun, I would have been long gone,” says Small, who was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 1953 when he was 20 years old and there were no available medical treatments for the disease. “But here I am at 81, stronger and more able than I was before my diagnosis.”

Small, who is co-author with Dr. Loren Fishman of Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis: A Journey to Health and Healing (Demos Medical Publishing, 2007), notes that people don’t have to be especially flexible or strong to do yoga. “Even for a student in a wheelchair, there is a way to do Iyengar yoga,” he says. Adapted yoga poses can also be performed while lying down in bed. “For people to understand that there is something they can do to improve their state, that’s really the most important part. People gain a sense of freedom, independence and confidence knowing that they have tools that can help manage symptoms.”

Mary Ann Braubach, 56, diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 2003, began adaptive Iyengar yoga after a particularly bad relapse, working from her wheelchair with Small. “It’s extraordinary how much yoga has helped me. It’s really strengthened my body,” says Braubach, a resident of Brentwood, California. She adds that her practice also has improved her balance and spasticity, ultimately enabling her to forgo her wheelchair and use a cane for mobility. Yoga has also helped her manage stress, she says. “They call some of the poses ‘restorative,’ and they really do restore your body,” she says.

Going with the flow

As you begin practicing, pay attention to your body, and be very careful as to how much you push yourself, warns Dr. Bowling. “For people with muscle stiffness and spasticity, it’s important to be very cautious about how much to stretch their muscles,” he says. “Err on the side of underperforming, just until you see how your body handles it.” As with all physical practices, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider first.

How long and how often you need to practice yoga before you begin to feel benefits depends on you, says Small, who underscores that yoga is not a “quick fix,” and consistency is key.

You can take elements—like a few minutes of yoga-style breathing—and do them throughout the day as needed: at home, in your office or even barefoot on the beach.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of Momentum, the magazine of the National MS Society.

Filed Under: News

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