health & wellness
Yoga Moves MS
Stellar nurses, adaptive yoga are the
focus of fundraiser.
Lynne Meredith Golodner
Special to the Jewish News
M
indy Eisenberg has spent
her life helping people live
with multiple sclerosis —
first her mother, and now Michigan
residents living with the chronic dis-
ease. Eisenberg's expertise is yoga that
helps keep people with MS nimble,
flexible and without the muscle tight-
ness so common with the disease.
Eisenberg is hosting a Nov. 10 fun-
draiser, "Yoga Moves MS: Party with
a Purpose to highlight the extraor-
dinary efforts of four area nurses.
The fundraiser raises money for the
Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (MSF),
which funds Eisenberg's adaptive yoga
classes.
West Bloomfield resident Leah
Klein has had MS for nearly 30 years.
Attending Eisenberg's adaptive yoga
classes has helped her strengthen and
maintain flexibility, and "the attention
to breathing helps me relax and stop
focusing on my problems," she says.
"Mindy stresses the importance of
loving your body. Yoga has shown me
where my strengths are and helped me
figure out ways to work around mobil-
ity problems:"
The event honors four special
nurses who are experts in treating
MS: Mickey Cochran, RN, MSCN, of
Detroit Medical Center; Suzanne Croll,
RN, MSCN, of Henry Ford Hospital;
Kathy Bennett, RN, MSCN, at
University of Michigan Health System;
and Margie Leonard, RN, MSCN, at
Michigan Institute for Neurological
Disorders (MIND) Center.
"Sometimes your path is set for you:'
says Eisenberg, who started working
with individuals with MS eight years
ago. "When I was a child and teenager,
I didn't know how to help my mother.
I'm so thrilled to be able to help MS
patients now in a very meaningful
way."
Eisenberg teaches four weekly thera-
peutic yoga classes for MS patients,
reaching an average of 100 students
every year. Eisenberg's students arrive
with a range of symptoms, from a
movement disorder to full-fledged
Multiple Sclerosis. The poses and les-
sons of yoga help keep her students
nimble and stave off muscle tightness.
Southfield resident Deborah
Silverstein sees a difference in her
back pain. "I owe the reduction in
pain, the increase in mobility and the
West Bloomfield
6623 Orchard Lake Rd.
248.626.5451
Be a source of hope.
Help find a cure for bipolar disorder.
The liehrt Cfftceter
Sheller fi,eseerch• Fund.
atthe
litaiverh) hItchhjen.
Depression. Center
Support the
Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Fund
at the University of Michigan Depression Center.
Get involved:
PrechterFund.org/hope
1-877-UM-GENES
"We envision a future when everyone with a mental illness will recover."
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
1756510
68
October 25 • 2012
Leah Klein and Peggy Johnson
stretch their hamstrings and calves.
decrease in visits to my chiropractor
all to my practice of yoga with Mindy,"
Silverstein says.
Eisenberg creates a sense of com-
munity in her therapeutic yoga classes.
Students claim the discussions and
class themes, such as diet and life-
style practices, yogic philosophy and
self-empowerment and relaxation
techniques, are as important as the
stretching and physical movement, as
they can share their symptoms and
struggles in a supportive and under-
standing setting.
A recent study showed that just six
months of continuous yoga signifi-
cantly reduces fatigue in people with
MS. Fatigue has been known to be dis-
abling for 80 percent of MS patients, if
not kept in check.
Another big benefit of yoga for those
with MS is the breathing and medita-
tion/relaxation exercises that help
reduce stress and pain. Also, MS can
create financial pressures on individ-
uals as well as their families. Many
cannot afford medications, let alone
the cost of a yoga class, so this fund-
raiser will gather donations to pay for
the class for many patients.
Unlike regular yoga classes,
Eisenberg's specialty classes include
co-teachers, so every student gets extra
attention and spotting so they feel safe
in various poses, including standing,
in a chair and on the ground. E
For a list of adaptive yoga classes for MS
patients, email yogaspiritwellness@gmail.
corn. "Party with a Purpose" is at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 10, at Somerset Inn, 2601
Big Beaver Road, Troy. Register online
at http://www.msfocus.org/view-page.
aspx?id=860. Lynne Meredith Golodner
is a publicist and writer who owns Your
People LLC in Southfield.