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MS Patients Seek Healing, Camaraderie
Judith Doner Berne
Special to the Jewish News
M
indy Eisenberg asks the
seven women seated in
chairs against a wall at
Karma Yoga in Bloomfield Township
to close their eyes, breathe deeply
and "think of something that has
beauty for you."
"Select a part of your body that
needs healing and imagine some
way to heal this area," suggests the
Franklin Village wife and mother of
two.
As you may have guessed, this
is no ordinary yoga class. Five
students are in various stages of
multiple sclerosis, the chronic neu-
rological disease that affects the
central nervous system. One has
fibromyalgia and asthma; another
suffers from chronic pain.
The class progresses to a series
of sitting yoga postures, then oth-
ers on the floor and against the
wall.
"The best pose is legs up the
wall," Eisenberg says.
"MS is so fatiguing. We use the
poses in different ways, depending
on where the discomfort or pain is,"
she says. "We work for the release."
This is one of three yoga therapy
classes she leads each week, one
of which meets at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek B`nai Israel Center
in West Bloomfield.
Each focuses on a yogic concept
or coping technique for different
symptoms and daily demands of
MS, Eisenberg says. "Therapeutic
yoga complements medical care
and does not replace it or 'fix' MS.
Yoga helps individuals live with MS.
"One size does not fit all," she
cautions. "Each individual and
class is different and unpredict-
able. A yoga therapy practice must
be designed based on specific
student's symptoms, abilities and
needs. We are celebrating the indi-
vidual as well as the community
support in the class."
Eisenberg, who calls her enter-
prise Yoga Spirit & Wellness, was
driven to specialize because of the
1998 death of her mother, Linda
Weingarten, after "a long, downhill
battle with primary progressive MS.
"Ironically, my students are a
gift," she says. "It's so gratifying
to hear them at the end of class
say that they feel good or better,
that they are able to apply yogic
concepts at home and that these
classes supply a network and sup-
port system."
"Aside from the camaraderie,
they get these 'ah-ha' moments,"
says Marla Horwitz, a Birmingham
resident who assists Eisenberg.
"They don't want to be a burden
to anyone and MS is a burdensome
disease. So this class also is time
they can devote to themselves."
"From a psychological perspec-
tive, they need to feel they're doing
something for themselves," says Dr.
William Leutcher, M.D., a Southfield
neurologist who wrote out the first
yoga therapy prescription that
Eisenberg has ever received from a
physician.
"It's reasonably often that I will
offer some sort of muscle therapy
for MS patients," says Leutcher, a
West Bloomfield resident who is a
WSU associate professor of neurol-
ogy.
"It helps them to adjust to the
disability and can help with depres-
sion and anxiety," he says.
"It's great fun and does a lot of
things," says participant Barbara
Fink, who taught hundreds of Metro
Detroit students to dance over her
55-year career, primarily at Miss
Barbara's Dance Centre, which she
has now sold.
For her, Eisenberg's class "makes
you slow down and the stretching
is just wonderful because I feel like
the Tin Man now."
"Every 'body' can generally ben-
efit from a yoga pose or technique
with modifications," says Eisenberg.
"We are looking for students to
feel that just coming to class is a
sanctuary, to feel the beauty within
and to know that yoga is more than
a pose and they can embody it
physically and energetically," she
says.
"No matter how you feel when
you come in, you always are bet-
ter when you leave," says Margo
Rubens from West Bloomfield. "I
don't miss this class — ever." I
Scholarships are available to
take therapeutic yoga, supported
through the Multiple Sclerosis
Foundation. A wine tasting, includ-
ing a silent auction and live
entertainment, is scheduled for
7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at the
Birmingham Athletic Club. Attire is
"jeans and jewels." RSVP by Nov. 10
to diane@ringresults.com or (248)
553-5732.
Leigh Ann Solomon, M.D.
Robert Morris, M.D.
Gynecologic Oncology
Gynecologic Oncology
The physicians and staff at the Michigan Center for Gynecologic Cancer are
devoted to providing comprehensive treatment of gynecological cancers and
ongoing post-cancer care. For an appointment, call 866-501-DOCS.
Michigan Center for Gynecologic Cancer
St. John Medical Center — Macomb Township
17700 23 Mile Rd., Suite 303
Macomb Twp., MI 48044
www.micenterforgyncancer.com
si- j (?INJ VAN ELSLANDER CANCER CENTER
A PASSION for HEALING
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