How I Learned to Exercise with MS

Lately, I began to think about how foolishly I treated my body in the past. Years of fast food, eating too many sweets, not drinking enough water and lack of exercise took their toll; I became overweight and my body suffered from the onslaught of chronic illness. It seemed I had suffered a “dis-ease” of my physique, and for a while, I was a bit in denial about how it happened.

I have to admit that I did actually exercise when I was younger – I had a stationary cycle, and I used to take frequent walks. I have practiced Tai Chi, as well as Qi Gong, and also went for daily runs. However, I thought that gave me the license to eat whatever I liked. I never really noticed the weight creeping on; sooner or later, though, no matter how much exercise I did, it never seemed to be enough. Finally, because of the duties of motherhood and working full time, I stopped exercising as intensely. After several years of more weight gain, I went back to running. I found myself unable to walk one afternoon while at work, and my running career came to a screeching halt. And so, as I chowed down another brownie, I began to think that my life had taken a turn for the worst.

Enter yoga and pool jogging, and my outlook went from bleak to peak, in a matter of a few weeks. Because those with MS cannot exercise to the point of overheating, I didn’t have many options available in the beginning, especially in the way of cardio training. I did some mild cycling, but had to be sure that, even in the winter months, the air conditioner or fan was blasting on me, or else I might suffer from a flare of my symptoms. I tried running on a treadmill, but that only seemed to aggravate my health, and so I stopped running, for what I thought was for good.

I actually stumbled upon pool jogging by accident. It actually started out as walking laps around our small 12 foot round backyard pool. I would walk in the water for about fifteen minutes a day; at first, my legs complained a bit, but as time went on, I increased the time that I walked, until I was up to about an hour. Water provides excellent resistance training, and keeps you cool at the same time. I wondered whether or not I could handle jogging in water, and decided to give it a try. Beginning with ten minutes, I worked my way up to thirty minutes of jogging. Did I get dizzy? Sure. Did my legs feel great? Yes! And the other perk was that I was slowly but surely losing some of the extra weight. I begged my husband to keep the pool open until October, and I went in religiously. A short wet suit was purchased for the days when the temperatures got a bit chilly. I was in Heaven – I could run again!

Wintertime meant that the pool was off limits. I did not belong to a gym at the time, and had no access to a pool. My husband purchased a recumbent cycle for me, so that my back wouldn’t spasm as I rode. I still walked in the neighborhood for short distances, but I still wanted something that challenged me even more.

That’s when I found yoga. I began slowly, with a few poses a day. Slowly, I began to iintroduce more poses and found that I was not only feeling steadier on my feet, but my balance had greatly improved. After some time, I regained some of my strength. I made sure that I always exercised with the fan or the air conditioner on, so that I would not overheat. Balance moves became a bit easier, and I could see some sculpting and definition taking place in my calves. I began to actually feel a bit better – my symptoms could be managed a bit better whenever I practiced. I found a DVD by Baron Baptiste, who had filmed an MS yoga video with actual patients. I tried it a few times, and I was hooked. I also realized that it was okay to have limitations in my body, and that I might not be able to do all of the poses, or even hold them for short periods of time, on all days, and that was okay.

Studies have proven the benefit of exercising with MS. Exercise helps to reduce spasms, maintain flexibility, increase overall strength and wellbeing, and improves mood. It also helps a person to keep moving, for MS is a disease that stops people from moving. Exercise helps to improve overall outlook on life as well; if you are exercising, you are engaged in doing something productive. And that’s a great boost for those who feel limited by their disease.

My daughter recently made me aware of a great dieting tool called “My Fitness Pal”. It helps you to log in every single thing that you eat, including condiments. While I have to say that it becomes a bit of a burden sometimes, it certainly keeps me honest. And it’s helped me to lose six pounds, which is a nice little bonus!

I have to admit that I’ve fallen by the wayside when it comes to sweets; I still allow myself a gluten free goodie, every now and then. I’ve found some soy and rice ice cream and yogurt that tastes just as good as the regular stuff. And Kinnikinnik makes a gluten free “Oreo” that has fooled some of the biggest skeptics. Treating oneself is important, for dieting experts maintain that it’s a whole lot worse to completely deny yourself sweet treats, for you might end up binging next time.  The way I see it, I’m only going around this merry-go-round called Life just the once – I’m going to enjoy the ride. With yoga, water jogging and my recumbent as my companions, that ride is even sweeter.