16 | NOVEMBER 7 • 2024 J
N
A
fter 20 years of making yoga
accessible for people with
multiple sclerosis, Yoga
Moves MS founder Mindy Eisenberg is
gearing up to expand services to even
more people in need.
Now, the free accessible yoga pro-
gram is in the midst of developing pro-
gramming for people with Parkinson’s
disease, strokes and other conditions
that affect the nervous system.
Through evidence-based yoga
programming, Eisenberg created the
practice in 2004 to help students alle-
viate symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a
disease of the nervous system.
After serving thousands of students,
Yoga Moves MS — which specializes
in adaptive yoga, or a style of yoga
tailored to all bodies and abilities —
has recently received a $15,000 grant
from the Kirk Gibson Foundation, an
organization for people diagnosed with
Parkinson’s disease.
The grant will provide critical
funding for the new Yoga Moves for
Parkinson’s program, as well as an
on-demand library. Yoga Moves MS
offers both in-person and virtual classes.
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
Eisenberg, 60, of Franklin, didn’t have
the traditional path toward yoga teach-
er training.
In fact, she received her yoga teacher
training certification at age 40.
Her mother, who had primary-
progressive MS, inspired Eisenberg to
use yoga as a means of helping others
going through similar life experiences
and challenges. Eisenberg also worked
as a former health administrator at the
University of Michigan Medical Center.
Through her practice and her career
in health, Eisenberg saw firsthand
how adaptive yoga helped people cope
with symptoms of MS, which include
muscle weakness, difficulty walking,
dizziness and mood changes. It can
also be hard to cope with mentally and
emotionally.
It was one of the key reasons why
Eisenberg knew the programming
must be free. On top of other medical
expenses people with MS face, the last
thing she wanted was for people to pay
even more money for adaptive yoga
classes, which generally aren’t covered
by insurance.
However, Eisenberg, an Adat Shalom
member, never anticipated that the
nonprofit Yoga Moves MS would grow
to its current scale today 20 years after
first starting the organization.
Even now, Yoga Moves MS has no
official brick-and-mortar location.
Instead, it relies on the generosity
of local churches, synagogues, yoga
studios and schools that offer their
locations for small-group adaptive yoga
therapy classes.
In total, more than 70 students from
the ages of 18 to those in their 70s par-
ticipate each week.
It’s a trajectory for Yoga Moves MS
Eisenberg calls “fate.
”
“I didn’t have this grandiose plan,
but I think someone above did,
” she
says. “I’m proud of it and I’
d like to see
Yoga Moves MS expand.
”
Still, Eisenberg wasn’t alone in her
thinking. She’s received countless mes-
sages requesting adaptive yoga classes
for people with other neuromuscular
conditions, like muscular dystrophy.
Yet while programming wasn’t cre-
ated specifically for other conditions,
Yoga Moves MS has always been open
to those in need. Students have includ-
ed people with spinal injuries, arthritis,
and knee and hip replacements. Now,
however, the inclusivity for all condi-
tions is more intentional.
SUPPORTING ADAPTIVE YOGA
As Yoga Moves MS looks to the future,
the organization is celebrating its two
decades of growth at Yoga Moves MS’s
official Gratitude Gala on Nov. 16 at
The MINT in Lathrup Village.
Tickets start at $150 and help sup-
port the organization and its adaptive
yoga programming.
The Gratitude Gala is the 13th annu-
al leadership recognition dinner hosted
by Yoga Moves MS.
The 2024 honorees include Dr.
Anthony Emmer of Neurology
Consultants, Dr. Robert Pace, director
of neuroimmunology at Memorial
Healthcare Institute for Neuroscience
in Owosso, and Yoga Moves MS com-
munity leader Lindsay Dembs, who
lives with MS.
WDIV meteorologist Ron Hillard,
whose family has been impacted by
MS, will be honored at the event as its
special guest.
The Gratitude Gala will include a
tin can auction, wine pull and treasure
box.
Yoga Moves MS has helped thousands of people impacted by multiple sclerosis.
20 Years of Adaptive Yoga
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Mindy teaching adaptive yoga at a recent class.
Gratitude Gala
Saturday, Nov. 16
Main event starts at 6:30 p.m.,
pre-glow party begins at 6 p.m.
The MINT
27000 Evergreen Road,
Lathrup Village
For more information on the
Gratitude Gala or to purchase
tickets, visit https://cbo.io/tickets/
ymms24/tix24.
Mindy Eisenberg of Franklin teaching yoga to a Yoga Moves Parkinson’s student.
OUR COMMUNITY