...Yoga is known to improve health overall, with every aspect of it enhancing something, mind, body, or spirit. But, overall health aside, yoga is becoming known to be particularly helpful for relief from specific diseases. One of these diseases, Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is a bit of a medical enigma, with no concrete causes and no concrete cure.

The course of MS is unpredictable. The four categories used to classify the clinical course in a person with MS are: Relapsing - remitting, Primary-progressive, Secondary-progressive, and Progressive-relapsing. In the absence of a resolution, several treatment options must step in to relieve the burden MS places on so many lives. Physical activity is extremely important for individuals with MS, and yoga is now recognized as an excellent means of MS management.

What is MS?

MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body's defensive immune system attacks and destroys the fatty tissue, the myelin surrounding nerves in the brain and spinal cord. These myelin sheaths perform the same function as insulation around an electrical wire. Without the myelin insulation, nerve impulses from brain to body can short out and become confused, misdirected, or be completely blocked. Symptoms can include numbness and/or tingling in the extremities, weakness, lack of coordination and/or balance, gait difficulties, slurring of speech, blurred or double vision, bowel and bladder dysfunction, vertigo, and heat intolerance.

While no one knows for certain why some people get MS, there is some speculation to its cause. Because those who have family members with MS are at a slightly increased risk, there is speculation that it may be somewhat genetic. There also seems to be a link between where a person lived as a child and getting the disease as an adult. Those who grew up in colder climates, farther from the equator than other geographical locations are more l...more

Three Reasons You Should Not Do Headstand

...re at the top of the head increases from 100/60 mm Hg in a standing position to 150/110 mm Hg in the Headstand The blood pressure of the feet in a standing position will be about 210/170 mm Hg; and it will drop to 40/0 mm Hg in the Headstand. The blood pressure will remain the same at 120/80 mm Hg at heart level.

Three Important Reasons you should not do headstand:

(1)However, one of the most important reasons for not coming to the Headstand is when you have High Blood Pressure. Check with ...more

prenatal Yoga is More than Classes for Pregnant Yoga Students

...d have their doctors permission to be in the class. Why should Yoga teachers be so cautious? As a Yoga instructor, your number one priority is student safety and you could set yourself up for a negligence lawsuit, if you do not have prenatal Yoga teacher training.

Last year, we had a potential Yoga student, who had two previous miscarriages and wanted to practice Yoga. She had become pregnant again and decided to try Vinyasa Yoga during her first trimester. Upon asking her a few questions, it was discovered that both of her two previous miscarriages occurred during the first trimester.

Do you see any red flags with this situation? I hope so. Firstly, she should not think about...more

Yoga And The Good Samaritan

...understandable, but some of the top qualifications a Yoga teacher should have are tolerance, integrity, and compassion. These are not physical qualities, but would you choose to spend your time learning Yoga from someone who is an unethical brute?

Many of us have heard, or read, the Parable of the Good Samaritan. If you are unfamiliar with it, you can refer to Luke 10:25-37 from the New Te...more

Yoga Pilates Floor Mats