December 9 and 30, 2007
Section: CFP; COMMUNITY FREE PRESS
Edition:METRO FINAL
Page: 1CM
USING YOGA AS WAY TO EASE MS
INSTRUCTOR FROM FRANKLIN
BRINGS WORKSHOP TO ATHLETIC CLUB
MELANIE D. SCOTT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
When Pat Krentzin heard about a woman teaching yoga classes for patients with multiple sclerosis, she doubted that the exercise would help her condition. "I am not an exercise person,"said Krentzin, who is in her 50s. "I went one week and then I didn't go the next week. I went again and missed the next few weeks,but now I would not miss a class." Krentzin credits the yoga class with improving her balance and reducing her fatigue and pain. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic neurological disease that affects the central nervous system.
"So many people think they can't do this, but they can," Krentzin said. "For me to be able to do this is a big thing."
Krentzin was also one of more than 50 people to attend an Adaptive Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis workshop on Dec. 2 at the Franklin Athletic Club in Southfield. The free event was organized and sponsored by yoga therapist Mindy Eisenberg of Franklin, who teaches at Karma Yoga in Bloomfield Township, as well as at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield and in clients' homes through her business, Yoga Spirit and Wellness. "Connecting people with multiple sclerosis with instructors in their area is one of the reasons I wanted to do this," said Eisenberg. Eisenberg invited national yoga expert Karen O'Donnell Clarke, who has practiced yoga since she was 13 in the early 1970s, to train other instructors Dec. 1-2 in ways to work with those who cannot attend a traditional yoga class. On Dec. 2, Clarke also worked with people with MS and other conditions that impair movement and balance.
Four years ago, after practicing yoga for 12 years, Eisenberg decided to teach yoga in metro Detroit. She has two yoga classes devoted to those with multiple sclerosis.
"I get a lot of calls from people who want to take my class, so I wanted to make sure other yoga teachers were trained as well,"Eisenberg said. "I think a lot of people with multiple sclerosis tend to be active,and yoga gives them time to mellow out and relax."
In a lot of cases, Eisenberg said, the students form a bond, and they push one another to attend classes, and they check on one another if someone has missed a week of yoga. That camaraderie is one of the things that drives Krentzin, of Farmington Hills, to attend her yoga class each week. "When I leave class, I feel so much better. I want to go out. I notice after class that I'm pain-free and I move better," Krentzin said. "After a yoga class, I have the best sleep."
During the Dec. 2 workshop, Clarke taught ways to adapt yoga to people with multiple sclerosis and to others who suffer from conditions that impair their movement and balance. For example, she demonstrated moves that could be done in a chair instead of on the floor.
After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997, Clarke made a commitment to make yoga accessible to those who needed an adaptive or therapeutic approach. "Yoga therapy is important for everyone," said Clarke, who lives in Ledyard, Conn.
Since organizing yoga classes for those with multiple sclerosis, Eisenberg said, she has noticed that many of her students are more in touch with their bodies and engage in more activity. "In yoga, the approach is to not push yourself, and work for a while, then rest," Eisenberg said. "Those who looked weak when they started the class, over time become stronger."
ILLUSTRATION: Photo
CAPTION: At a free clinic at the Franklin Athletic Club yoga was taught to people with MS, and yoga instructors were trained to work with those who have MS.
Above: On Dec. 2, instructor Kathy Forgrave talks to (clockwise from bottom right) Bonnie Seligson of West Bloomfield, Chrisy Millat of Farmington Hills, and Katie Szikszay and her mother, Jeanne Valente, both of West Bloomfield. During cooldown at the end of a yoga session, instructor Lynn Medow of Bloomfield Hills massages Pat Krentzin of Farmington Hills.
CAPTIONWRITER: MARY SCHROEDER / Detroit Free Press
MEMO: BIRMINGHAM BLOOMFIELD
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