Back in 2008 I was diagnosed with Lupus, (Lupus is a long-term autoimmune disease. In autoimmune diseases, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. This leads to long-term chronic inflammation).
At the time it didn’t effect me as I was younger and & quite fit, I worked full time, I would run very regularly & would walk my dogs every day I even squeezed in the gym a couple of days a week. By late 2012 I noticed my knee’s started getting sore while I was running & found myself having to cut down, later that year I had to stop running altogether that was one of the many obstacles to follow.
By may 2014 I was referred to a specialist, at this stage walking was difficult, I got infection after infection, tiredness to the point I didn’t want to get up, my illness had elevated to full blown status, I was put on massive doses of very hard drugs & I had to come out of work on sick leave, anxiety, depression & lots of pain. I wasn’t in a good place.
May of that year my friend told me she had gone to a yoga class & read that it benefited people with arthritis, so maybe it could help me with my flexibility, it sounded to good to be true, I’m not able i told myself, there is no way I can do yoga I have an illness, at the end of my rope I decided to give it a try & it was there i met the lovely Kate & Rosie & Dia, for the first time. I explained my illness & they went through the class with me, they explained how hot the room will get as class went on, they encouraged me to stay in the room, focus on the breath & pace myself, they told me not to try & compare myself with the rest of the room, everybody here are like me, they are here to better their health, so leave your ego at the door. I did my first class, there was so much to take in, breathe, focus, listen, I cant imagine what I looked like but what I did know was that I felt comfortable & was eager to come back, in the shower room after class I talked to the women who practice regularly, they were very friendly & said it takes a while to get into it but once you do you will love it I was excited, 12 months later I’m still practicing.
The difference in me mentally, emotionally & physically is just amazing, in class you learn how to breathe I know that sounds funny as breathing is something we do naturally, I wasn’t really breathing at all, you learn from the dialogue to focus, be present, how to meditate, the postures stretch every muscle from bones to skin, the change in my body, the strength flexibility & muscle tone is incredible, I had a follow up appointment at the specialist & she was very impressed with my progress & thinks I will be able to return to work soon. I’m at a much better place now that I have been for as long as I can remember I feel calmer I feel stronger and much more able to cope with challenges that come my way, I carry the words from class all through the day with me, breathe, relax the shoulders, be present and be okay with it, I still face challenges but I am able to deal with them as they come, so for anyone out there that cant do exercise due to illness I would encourage you look into Bikram yoga Cork, no class is easy & Bikram yoga is challenging it takes commitment but you get back what you give as with all forms of exercise, I have been lucky I found a class that I love and I have benefited more that I can tell you , I’m almost back to myself back to running, walking,& enjoying peace of mind. There are no words to describe what that means to me and how much thing’s have changed for me over the last few months, ye do a great job.
Kindest regards, Noreen
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