Yoga - Why You Should Try it Today

Having fun on Cowles Mountain, IC and all.

Oh man. Yoga.  In the past few months, we've been having a serious love affair. If yoga were another man, I'd leave my boyfriend for him (just kidding!!). But seriously, yoga has honestly turned my life around since I developed IC.  Why? Let me list just a few of the many reasons:

• Provides amazing stress relief
• Releases endorphins (those happy little natural pain relievers) and helps to calm inflamed nerves
• Increases flexibility and agility and overall well being
• Low impact work-out ( very important: most IC patients have serious issues with high impact exercises! Look for something more mellow. Low impact does NOT mean less of a workout. Most days I leave yoga a sweaty mess, and I love it!)
• Improves mindset. We IC patients do a lot of damage worrying about our illness.
• Allows us to connect physically and emotionally with our bodies. We need to develop peaceful, kind relationships with our bodies, not angry combative ones.
• Serves as a great pain distraction. I never think about IC during yoga class, ever. It's funny how it seems to just go away while I'm focusing my energy on something else.

I hope this has inspired you to roll out your mat today! And don't worry, you can start out slow.  Most yoga instructors will be happy to discuss your concerns regarding IC.  Yes, not ever pose is great for our condition (particularly those that focus on core work), but modification is welcome in every class.  The best part of yoga is that you can truly make it your own practice.

Namaste and happy healing :)