| Regular exercise can ease the symptoms of | | | | fibromyalgia, including irritable bowel syndrome, |
| fibromyalgia dramatically, reducing muscle pain and | | | | headaches, mitral valve prolapse, and a great deal |
| the number of tender points, knocking out | | | | more. |
| depression and insomnia, even cutting through | | | | Yoga can clearly help with the symptoms, and |
| so-called "fibrofog" for increased mental clarity. | | | | may someday prove to address the underlying |
| Yoga is a particularly effective form of exercise | | | | causes of fibromyalgia as well. |
| for those with fibromyalgia, for it provides | | | | To date, there is no published study on yoga's |
| stretches for stiffness, strength building, aerobic | | | | ability to regulate serotonin levels. However, |
| exercise, and tools for relaxation. In fact, the | | | | western medicine in recent years is proving over |
| Mayo Clinic includes yoga as one of the best | | | | and again what the yogis have claimed all along - |
| things people with fibromyalgia can do for | | | | that yoga is a prescription for total health, not |
| themselves. | | | | just in body, but also in mind and spirit. |
| For a long time, fibromyalgia, like bipolar disorder, | | | | Scientific studies in the last few years have |
| was considered a "garbage diagnosis," and many | | | | shown yoga effective in regulating levels of |
| doctors treated their patients almost as if they | | | | GABA and melotonin, two other |
| were making up their symptoms because the | | | | neurotransmitters linked to mood. In the endocrine |
| doctors could not find an objective cause for the | | | | system, a regular yoga practice is proven to help |
| discomfort. | | | | regulate insulin levels. |
| It is now clear that many fibromyalgia symptoms | | | | In particular interest to those with fibromyalgia, |
| stem from a very real and measurable cause: low | | | | practicing yoga has also shown to regulate the |
| levels of serotonin, one of several | | | | production of cortisol, the stress hormone. Those |
| neurotransmitters responsible for mood and | | | | with fibromyalgia often have high cortisol levels in |
| adaptation to stress. | | | | the evening, when cortisol levels should be at their |
| Muscle soreness results directly from an imbalance | | | | lowest. |
| in neurological and endocrine functions. | | | | Fibromyalgia sufferers are often told to avoid |
| Though muscle soreness is the main symptom of | | | | causes of stress, and all too often this leads to |
| the syndrome, it is certainly not the only one. | | | | shrinking away from life and avoiding the very |
| Other symptoms include disturbed sleep patterns, | | | | activities that used to bring joy. A gentle evening |
| fatigue, anxiety, depression, and feelings of | | | | yoga practice may be just the antidote, helping |
| numbness in the extremities. | | | | lower cortisol levels and increase |
| A number of conditions tend to co-occur with | | | | neurotransmitters like GABA which can lift mood. |