Gentle Somatic Yoga® can help autoimmune diseases: this is why and how!
Welcome to 2021 and the start of a brand new year. This week’s Somatic Movement Flow® called Around the Clock; a short 6 minute video which focuses on relieving chronic back pain and freeing up the pelvis. As you practice Gentle Somatic Yoga®, know that all Somatic Movement Flows® support fortifying your immune system and supporting those with autoimmune disease. In our new virtual event called Somatic Sanctuary, I teach 5-7 Somatic Movements each month for you to add to your self-care toolkit.
For more self-care videos like this please visit Somatic Wellness TV gentlesomaticyoga.com/somatic-wellness-tv/
During our very first Somatic Sanctuary workshop in December, we held an optional Q&A after the hour-long virtual class. A participant asked an excellent question and I felt inspired to share the answer with all of you! She asked, “Can Gentle Somatic Yoga (GSY) help with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?” The quick answer is Yes, to this and other autoimmune diseases.
To fully understand its positive impact on MS, let’s review.
How it works for autoimmune diseases…
What is an Autoimmune Disease?
Simply put, an autoimmune disease is a malfunction of the immune system in which the body mistakenly attacks its own tissues.
Autoimmune diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia, to name a few, can cause the body to recoil, out of fear, as a way to try to protect the body from experiencing more pain. This subconscious reflex takes a tremendous amount of the body’s resources (energy) to keep the muscles in a contracted state.
It’s a vicious pain cycle, causing a “log jam” of energy.
Energy inside the body cannot move freely where there is pain and inflammation. Instead, it becomes congested. And when the body is in pain, we tend to stay in a sympathetic nervous system response such as fight, flight, or flee. In other words, when we don’t feel safe there is a natural instinct to protect ourselves. We wrote more about this in a previous blog here. When experiencing ongoing chronic pain, this can also cause more symptoms of imbalance and undesirable conditions within the Soma.
In Gentle Somatic Yoga® (GSY) we turn these conditions around by unwinding from muscular tension and pain. And when exploring the Somatic Movement Flows, muscles can return to their optimal length in a resting position, therefore “log jams” of energy from contracted muscles are released. When the log jam is released, the body’s energy is freed and redirected to boost the immune system.
In GSY, the “energy” we are referring to is also called Prana. Prana enters our Soma at the moment of conception. It is literally life force energy that supports us to grow and keep us vital and healthy. It is a mysterious force that is always functioning without us thinking about it.
When the body doesn’t feel threatened by pain, the body’s energy is freed up so that Prana can do what it is designed to do, which is to heal the body’s imbalances and to keep it strong.
Another great benefit from this turnaround is when we come out of the vicious cycle of pain, we start to feel more open and safe. From this undefended state, we return to our natural state of peace and well-being. This invites optimism and joyful experiences to return.
Want to learn how to do this?
Join us once a month for our Somatic Sanctuary workshop. Based on a sliding payment scale of $5, $10, $15 or $20 per class, we make it affordable for every BODY to learn Somatic Movement Flows®.
If you have any additional questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Click HERE.