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Exercise can help with FibromyalgiaDon't make the mistake many people make when they start to experience pain, particularly in their joints. Don't avoid movement, particularly exercise. The stronger the muscles around the joint are, the more support they provide, reducing pain. In addition, strong muscles keep joints properly aligned, helping to minimize further cartilage wear and tear. Stretch your body to maintain flexibilty. Be sensitive to what you can and can't do but do something. Exercise is essential for your body. The body is designed and is meant to move. Moving your body helps move your whole immune system. It makes the cardio-vascular system active which helps oxygenate the body, kicks in the endorphins and makes for an uplifting feeling and a better attitude. Any exercise designed for your specific needs can and needs to be done on a regular basis. Exercise may not be easy for you but you are just plain lazy and resistant to feeling better if you let that stop you exercising at all. Break the resistance barrier within your own body. You’ll thank yourself a thousand times over. Take charge of your life here. Set a specific time each day to exercise. It is important to be consistent. If you have access to a physical therapist, take advantage of them. Have them work with you to develop an exercise plan designed to meet your specific needs, taking into account your particular condition. Many cities and suburbs have city aquatic programs specifically geared for people with arthritis. These would be good for Fibromyalgia also. Just make sure that the water is warm and that you come out of the pool into a warm environment. It will do you no good to get cold. Wait until the weather warms up if you have to. If there is no town pool facility, see whether you can use a friend’s or a neighborhood installation (such as a resort or health club). Your body is more buoyant in water and therefore stress is taken off your joints. Just walking against the gentle water resistance is a good place to begin exercising. Be easy with yourself. Do not have images about the kind of exercise you 'should' be doing. If you have an autoimmune disease, you need to take it easy. Heavy or prolonged exercise can be harmful and discouraging. Be gentle with yourself. Play. Have fun. Swirl around. Be child-like. This will not only benefit you physically, it will lift your spirits. This will make you feel good. Remember, depression is on the march in autoimmune diseases. And this playfulness can help turn around depression. Also, try and stretch all your joints while you're in the water playing. Focus on a greater range of motion happening. Focus on the pain leaving your body. I have also put together a selection of effective exercises you can do right now, even if you are wheelchair bound. There are many cases of people leaving their wheelchairs behind based on proper and consistent exercises, coupled with a good frame of mind. No matter what your condition, don't think you can't exercise. Don't think that a few exercises will not be dramatic enough, or are too simple or non-effective to be worth taking the time to try or to do on a consistent basis. So often less is more, and simple is better. These exercises have proved highly effective and can be a vital step on the road to health. Don’t miss the opportunity. A Fibromyalgia Exercise ProgramThese exercises have been designed after years of research, experiencing a multitude of exercise regimes myself, and extrapolating the best from many good sources. Of course, if you are under the care of a health professional, check with them before you embark on any exercise program. A very important benefit of these exercises is that they all directly impact the lymphatic system which needs movement in order to function. This system is so vital to the body, helping clear out toxins and supporting necessary cellular activities. Most of these exercises can be easily adapted by wheelchair users, so don't use being in a wheelchair as a reason to not exercise. If you are just starting out, I recommend a 30 minute workout using all the exercises three times a week. Increase this to 30 minutes, five times a week, and finally one hour, five times a week. It is not unheard of for some people, for no apparent reason, to break out crying - not because of physical pain but rather because of some buried emotion from the past that broke loose while exercising. There can be many energy blocks in the body and exercising is one way to release them. Stay with the program. Be consistent. Find support - someone who won’t let you talk yourself out of a workout. If you feel pain from using parts of you that have been neglected, be glad for this kind of pain. It’s the healthy kind. Don’t let the pain stop you. Set aside time each day for you. Incorporate it into your daily living. Congratulate yourself after you first session How do the different parts of your body feel? Always stay focused and in touch with yourself. After all, you are your body. You will have accomplished something wonderful for yourself and the great thing is that this can be fed and nourished with a consistency of exercise. Good luck. And here's to your body changing in ways that will make you so proud. Exercises: Upper Body | Middle Body | Lower Body | Brain-Body Bikram YogaI have selected this particular form of Yoga from other yoga disciplines because of what the Founder, Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury, personally experienced and overcame for himself, how accessible he makes himself for questions regarding yoga and personal medical conditions, and the success of his curative methods of Yoga therapy around the world. Another plus is that there are many Bikram Yoga centers all over the United States, one of which is in my own neighborhood of Scottsdale, AZ. This gave me the opportunity to check out the facility and to talk to their manager there. I like their philosophy, and I liked the quality of their staff and their facilities. If their many other sites achieve the same standard, which I was told they do, then I feel no-one can go wrong by trying this solution for walking free of pain and disease. To quote the manager I spoke to: "Nothing about Bikram’s Beginning Yoga is haphazard". The series of twenty six positions are designed to scientifically warm and stretch muscles, ligaments and tendons in a sequence which prepares the body to flow into a particular pose. Fresh oxygenated blood is moved through your body to revitalize each organ. Body systems are restored to healthy working order and a sense of wellbeing is experienced. Progress is not measured by how perfect each pose is achieved, but rather by how well you understand what you are accomplishing with each pose and how in touch you are or become with the inner workings of your body. There is no fixed standard of progress, so there is no pressure to perform at a particular level or at a particular speed. If it takes me one and one half hours to do a simple sequence which is usually done in 30 minutes, so be it. I can go at my own pace. According to this thousands-of-years-old practice, when we have the positive experience of being able to do more than we ever thought or anticipated, our confidence and self-esteem get a huge boost. This kindles a more positive mindset. As we practice yoga, we include more positive thoughts and less negative ones, strengthening our mind with a new neurological pathway of thinking. Bikram Yoga focuses on five aspects of mind: Faith, Self-control, Determination, Concentration, and Patience. For in depth explanations of each of these five aspects, go to the Bikram Yoga web site. The site includes information about the Founder and more details about benefits. There are also a number of testimonials from people who have found relief from various conditions - respiratory, cardiovascular, skeletal, nervous, endocrine, immune defense, reproductive - through the practise of Bikram Yoga. There is also a listing of centers so you can find the nearest one. Bikram Yoga is yet another way to move your body. Even if, at first, it might appear to be an impossibly slow and torturous way to move, all it takes is that first step and a professional to support your every need. Soon you will be heading in the direction of health and a whole new possibility of yourself.
BreathingBreathing is so simple and so automatic that we take it for granted. "Real" breathing has become a lost art. Most of us are oxygen deprived because we’ve lost track of how best to get oxygen from the air we breathe. When you don't fully exhale but retain used air in your body with shallow breathing, you poison yourself with carbon dioxide. This raises your blood presssure and pumps stress chemicals into your blood stream. The following is one way to relieve stress, boost your concentration, and become more aware of how you are breathing - all in less then one minute. 1 Sit in a chair with both feet on the floor. Breath shallowly through your nose. 2 Relax your stomach and inhale deeply taking air down into the lowest part of your lungs. Hold for 5 seconds. 3 Exhale fully, pushing your buttocks into the seat of your chair, your feet into the ground. Repeat twice more. MassageMassage encourages healing on all levels. Emotional Level: Satisfying the need for caring. Enhanced well being and self image. Mental Level: Relaxed state of alertness. Reduced mental stress, a calmer mind. Increased capacity for clearing thinking Physical Level: Deep relaxation and stress reduction. Relief of muscle tension and stiffness. Better circulation and improved posture Massage: Opens blood vessels improving the circulation and relieving congestion. Increases the number of red blood cells, especially useful in cases of anemia. Acts as a mechanical cleanser speeding up the elimination of wastes and toxic debris. Improves muscle tone. Stretches connective tissue and improves its circulation, breaking down or preventing the formation of adhesions and reduces the danger of fibrosis. Massage information provided by Johanna R. Tormala N.T.S. Massage Therapist, Chandler, AZ Mineral BathsPeople with fibromyalgia respond well to mineral baths. They help leach out toxins and reduce the pain. Try a few mineral baths weekly. Try Epsom Salts which you can purchase at your local drug store. AcupunctureA study demonstrated that acupuncture noticeably reduces the number of fibromyalgia tender spots. Acupuncture helps increase energy flow by releasing energy locked in your muscles or key pressure points. This often brings immediate relief.
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