Fibromyalgia is characterized by debilitating pain and fatigue. While its cause largely remains a mystery, sufferers can reap some important benefits from yoga exercises. Yoga's stretching and meditation routines can help reduce patients' pain and lower stress. While it's not a cure, fibromyalgia patients may gain a new level of comfort from consistent yoga practice.
Standing Exercises
Standing yoga exercises enable the fibromyalgia patient to avoid the more painful aspects of floor routines. These exercises are best accomplished with bare feet on a thin carpet or hard floor, and should be preceded by a couple of minutes of warm-up. Rather than stretching, a yoga warm-up should include a slow-motion routine that helps improve circulation, such as pitching a baseball.
The mountain pose is the starting pose for yoga standing exercises and is accomplished by standing with heels and toes together with arms at your sides. Chest is lifted and shoulders are dropped, as if a string is lifting the back of your head. A reach for the stars pose requires heels together with toes pointed outward in a V-shape and arms at your sides. Simultaneously inhaling and lifting yourself onto your toes, lift your arms from your sides up over your head. Slowly returning to the starting position, this exercise can be repeated at least twice for an effective upper-body stretch and tension release.
The forward bend promotes spine flexibility. The routine starts by inhaling and bending at the hips while exhaling, keeping knees unlocked and spine straight. Repeat the routine with the goal of first getting your stomach to your thighs, then your head to your knees with minimal pain. Also beneficial to spine flexibility is the standing twist. With feet about a foot apart, stand with arms stretched out to each side and palms facing out. The upper body is twisted as far as possible to one side while keeping feet firmly planted, then the other side.
Standing exercises should conclude with a relaxation pose, consisting of standing with feet at shoulder length and visualizing water cascading over you for a few seconds.
Seated/Kneeling Exercises
Seated and kneeling yoga routines can also help as long as resulting pain is minimal. The child's pose is accomplished by kneeling with big toes together and sitting on your heels with knees at hip width. The routine proceeds by exhaling and stretching your torso between your thighs while placing your arms on the floor to each side with palms facing up. Shoulders should be released so that the shoulder blades are pulled wide across the back. This resting pose can last from 30 seconds to several minutes.
The legs-up-on-the-wall pose can relieve tension in the legs, feet and back. It is accomplished with a thick blanket or bolster that is placed close to a wall: the distance from the wall to the support should be lengthened if pain is more prevalent during the routine. Sitting on one side of the support with the side of your body facing the wall, swing your legs up onto the wall and your head and back down to the ground, with your buttocks suspended between the support and wall. The front of your torso should gently arch from the pubis to the shoulders while your belly weight falls into your torso. The pose can be maintained for five to 15 minutes.
Considerations
Concentrating on a few key aspects during standing and seated yoga exercises can enhance the experience for a fibromyalgia patient. Breathing should be done through the nose while eyes remain focused on one spot. Remain aware of the body's alignment and whether one side is higher or lower than the other.
