Hi everyone.
Today, I attended my 1st private Yoga lesson. Before I was Dx I had tried a few classes that had several other students. The last one was at my gym. I remember feeling worse after attending the class then when I first went in. I wasn't able to do most of the movements, which made me feel worthless.
Today was a totally different experience. I found a Yoga instructor that specializes in instructing Yoga to people with auto-immune diseases. She told me that her son has an auto-immune disease (she didn't say which one, and I didn't ask), which is the reason why she got involved in Yoga. Before I attended the lesson, she sent me a questionnaire to fill out. There were about 5 or 6 questions about my medical and mental condition. It also asked what I hope to get out of Yoga.
Today's class was mostly information gathering and evaluation. She had me go into several different positions, taught me new breathing techniques, relaxation and discussed with my condition with me. (I have PsA of type Spondylitis). Last week when I called her, she told me that she had not heard of Spondylitis. So I e-mailed her a few links about it. It was evident that she not only gobbled up the information I sent her, but she had found more information. She researched what parts of Yoga would be good and bad for patients with AS. She was patient and gentle with me during the whole session. I felt like this is something that I can do and that she really wants to help me.
She has a sliding scale to pay for her instruction, which is a life savor for me. I work at Home Depot, which doesn't pay the greatest. What I feel bad about, is the amount of money that I am able to pay her. She deserves much more then what I am able to pay. People like her remind me that there is a lot of great people out there.
I decided that I had to try and fight back this disease. As my Rheumy told me that my AS is very aggressive and currently, she has me on a short leash. She wants to see me every two weeks. Last year at this time, I had no idea what was wrong with me. If I had not stepped up to the plate to Dx myself, then I would not have gotten an official Dx from a Rheumy. I would probably still be wondering what is wrong with me while my spine continues to fuse. I now know what is wrong with me and can now takes steps to try to stop the AS. I also have a Rheumy, a Yoga instructor and all of you that can help me with this battle. It really is a battle. But at least I'm not fighting it alone.
