MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND STAYING HEALTHY
Exercising and multiple sclerosis have been thought to be uncompatible for a long time. But recent experiences of people living with the condition proved that moderate exercise can in fact improve your general wellbeing and make you stronger in the long run, helping you fight the illness on much higher grounds, so to speak.
It is known that many MSers have trouble with pseudoexacerbations (acute sensations without any relapse danger) of their symptoms when they get to hot. That’s why it’s advisable to start slow, do minimum impact exercises untill your body gets stronger. Push through that eggshell we all have and do your best regularly. By keeping at it, in the long run I promise you that you will see good results.
Multiple Sclerosis wants to keep you down and not being able to move. Beat it through movement and healthy eating. Along with exercising, what you put in your body also counts. A fast-food, processed aliments and smoking way of life never helped anyone, especially a person with multiple sclerosis.
These unnatural things are more than harmful to your body, as they change the inner chemistry that keeps you as healthy as possible. Ingredients that you are hardly able to pronounce and 98% that comes out of a bag or box becomes dangerous, as your immune system can get irritated and confused by them and start an immune attack that will create havoc in your body. With an already weakened or missfiring immunity, you surely wouldn’t want to inflame it even more than it already is.
HOW YOGA AND NO MORE PROCESSED FOODS HELPED ME GET STRONGER
Long story short: I was a couch potato, eating mostly junk and loving Coke and coffee. Untill multiple sclerosis decided to pay me a visit and make me transform my lifestyle around. Because, although MS is a serious, posibly debilitating condition, it helped me see the bigger picture. It forced me to analyze and review my entire life, beginning from the food I ate and up to the hours of sleep per night.
It was a brutal self-assesment, as I found many (MANY!!) mistakes that did my body harm on a daily basis. I was eating for pleasure, not for nourishing, and so I was starving from the inside out. It was time to make a change.
My eating habbits, went through a lot of changes. I noticed that gluten bloated and made me feel sluggish after eating it. So I cut it of for a month, to see how I felt. Never better! I did a test meal afterwards, and it was proof that gluten was no good for me. One down! No more gluten for me!
The second category of food I experimented with was dairy. Oh, those greek yoghurts, those lovely cheeses! But, oh! Those lovely cramps, that bloating! Did the same test and after one month, dairy became my enemy. I had to let it go! (Irony and drama intended!). No more dairy for me! I do make exceptions, but everytime I do them, I feel bad, so I decided that is not worth it. Do whatever makes you feel better.
Sugar was a completely different story. As you, I am addicted to the sweet taste and chocolate is the best thing ever. But is it healthy? No. Especially when the ingredients on it are 10 letters long (or more). So… what to do, what to do? Let go sugar? Ahmm, no way! I know! I’ll find replacements! And I did! Honey, stevia, and the king of all kings: coconut oil chocolate. It satisfies the sugary tooth everytime I have cravings. Being only human, I do have guilty pleasures such as my boyfriend’s chocolate muffins, or a few squares of dark chocolate. But that’s it! And I don’t do it everyday.
I tend to stay away from the foods that make me feel bad and that accentuate my symptoms. I mostly eat clean foods, as close to their natural state as possible. I make home-cooked dishes that are full of spices and taste. Chicken, turkey and fish are definetly my best friends and I eat seasonal veggies. Fruits are eaten in moderation, as they do contain a lot of sugar.
As I said, I was a proud couch potato, and although I wasn’t overweight, my body was out of shape. And I know that not only for my panting as I walked up a longer set of stairs or something like that, but by comparing it to my current fitness level. It.was.a.disaster! Stiffness, pains and mostly discomfort.
My MS didn’t gave me any problems in the mobility area, but it began to make me afraid of moving to much, of getting out of the house to often. I know! Fraidy cat! But that’s a good thing after all. I had the time to browse the Internet and try some yoga for the first time in my life. I wanted to get in better shape and be stronger, and yoga was offering the right kind of non-exhaustive workout that I was so curious about.
Little did I know that as time went by, I would become addicted to stretching my muscles and growing my body-mind-breath connection. One evening I had a rough time with some upper back pain. Once again I turned to Google for some advice and at the top of my search results was a video with exactly what I was looking for: yoga for upper-back pain.
This girl, Adriene, had a YouTube Channel and a very lively and friendly personality. Up untill then, I was only playing aroud with moves, sequences and went on and off with my yoga practice. I played the video, followed the easy instructions and I could see that my body responded. After the routine was over, my upper-back pain was gone. Litrerally! It felt like there never even was a pain in that area. And I was fascinated! It did work. It did help! What more can I try? I’m curious what other benefits there might be.
I browsed her channel, found the 30 Days of Yoga Challenge and from that month on, I was hooked! From that month on I never missed a day. I practiced every single day of the week. In time, I got from sweating my shorts off to being able to relax, focus and calm the mind while stretching the body in more and more complicated asanas (positions).
Of course I had days when I found it hard to practice. My body would not respond well and I got tired. But I pushed through it, went out of my comfort zone. Little by little, I began to sweat a little less as the days went by, I searched and tried more difficult routines and pushed through them. Repeating some of them made me see that I got stronger and stronger and that I didn’t pant my lungs out when I climbed stairs or my arms didn’t fall off after lifting a 2 year old baby and carrying him to his mum.
Last week I had two big rewards. The first one was that after months and months of struggle, one day, after my core yoga workout, I tried doing side plank just for fun, to see how fast I’ll fall tumbling down to the mat. And surprise, surprise! I didn’t!
I could balance my body on a side, without my hand trembling, without feeling that my shoulder would come out of its socket. And I did it on both sides too (Yes, I’m smug about it! My work is rewarded. All the time I was exercising it had payed of. Thank you, Adriene Mishler!)
The second one happened this Thursday morning. I went through my first 45 minutes of power yoga (yoga asanas at a faster rate, getting your heart pumping and body into shape). I was sweating again, but I was happy that I got out of my comfort zone and challenged myself. It payed off, as now I am stronger and have more faith in my capabilities.
Challenges always do that!
INSTEAD OF A CONCLUSION
And that’s what I mostly do, guys! Not so fancy, not so unusual, just healthy eating and moving my body. These are all my personal choices. I do not recommend them literally to anybody, because, as with everything in life, it’s all about tastes, opinions and choices.
I just hope that this article has inspired you to begin living healthier and to do the best your body needs. Keep a balanced lifestyle and diet and you’ll be fine! MS or no MS!
This was all for this week’s #HealthyThursday! Thank you for reading and if you would like to receive my next articles right into your mail, subscribe to SMart Choice and join my SMart Warriors list!
P.S. Adriene’s YouTube Channel is right here! Click on the video and make sure to subscribe to her channel. You'll thank me for that! ;)
Have a wonderful day!
Yours truly,
Alexandra