Today's discovery - yoga is an M trigger....!

I got a DVD for back pain sufferers, and tried to use it, but some of the poses made my head really fire up...! Who knew that yoga could be a trigger...?
I think it was causing tension in my neck, maybe. Anyway, I need to be really careful if I use the DVD.
Holly

I've had trouble when I was doing anything with inversion. The instructor I was going to at the time told me to let her know if I was heading into an episode, and she'd modify any of my poses requiring my head to go below my belly button

I've knew for a awhile not all of the yoga positions is for M sufferers,
as I heard that mentioned quite often on various yoga TV shows.

But on the whole it can be beneficial as it can be relaxing. I think the trick to yoga for M is to know what positions are to be avoided.

Sorry it caused you undesirable s/e :[

Risa

Holly I tried Yoga classes for 2 years determined to keep at it. I never could figure out which poses caused my head to hurt. I think it had to do with twisting the neck, but not really sure. I really like Yoga other than that, I did get in better shape. So frustrating....
Hugs,
Cindy

Luckily/unluckily I have head pain all the time so I can tell right away if something is aggravating it. Any type of movement that gets my blood pumping is bad, so yoga is something I can usually tolerate pretty ok. I try to do light exercise including stuff like walking and yoga, but I have zero motivation. Every once in awhile I make it to a yoga class, and do know what I need to avoid: inversions, anything that rests weight on my neck (like the stuff where you lie on your back and put your feet over your head), etc. I however am ok with neck stretches--my neck just makes horrible popping noises whenever I rotate it! I searched high and low for a gentle yoga class near me....one where they don't do the challenging stuff like inversions, and where they are used to people having physical limitations. If I had the motivation for a dvd I imagine that would be even better.

When doing exercise like yoga, you need to be very careful of postural stuff with the neck as it can easily trigger head pain. For me at least, when in pain, I'll overcompensate with my neck and make the head even worse. I went to physical therapy for awhile and that helped teach me what I was doing wrong (posture and ergonomic type stuff...the actual exercises didn't help). Massage is also wonderful (pt type massage by a whiplash specialist paid by for by insurance...typical deep tissue is really bad for me!). My massage place is now out of network so I'm upset I have to try to find a new one. Best wishes.

Yoga did not work for me, specially anything that brought a surge of blood to my head.
There was one excercise, where we were sticking the tongue out - horrible, it made me almost physicaly sick, and my head protested almost straight away.
Standing upside down was another bad idea. No, no yoga, although some elements are great, like mantaining a good posture, and balance, which I still practice.

However, many of us find that any exercise can be a trigger, so I think we need to be especially careful when trying anything new, by starting very, very gently, observing out bodies, not forcing anything.
At the first sign of discomfort we need to stop, before trying it again, in case the same thing happens.

WE know our bodies - we need to listen to them.

Cindy's right... it IS frustrating..
With my heart problems, cholesterol and high bp, I am told to EXERCISE. But my bad back limits what I can do. And now my head is limiting me also. How the heck am I supposed to do exercise that will actually help? (There's no pool near me, or I would try swimming, but I do know chlorine is a trigger, so....)
Makes me want to crawl into bed and stay there... :-/

We've been in the pool playing water polo,underwater rugby and underwater hockey in my team sports class this week and I also discovered that anytime I was upside down in the water my head immediately wanted to explode from pain. Especially concerning for me, considering I don't usually get actual headaches with my migraines. (it was the aura that got me diagnosed after the epilepsy meds were making me worse) it really made it hard to participate in the rugby and hockey. Polo, being on the surface was alright. I generally find having the physical activity to be good for me, particularly during a bad week. I haven't done any yoga, I'm only 17 I typically go for the faster stuff, but I'm definitely going to keep in mind that going upside down and what not is a quick path to head pain.

Holly, have you tried clinical pilates? I don't know the extent of you back problems so forgive me if this is unsuitable but I have found it quite helpful. Its very different from the traditional floor based pilates classes. Its usually run by a physiotherapist or specifically trained instructer. The classes use clinical reformer beds and a trapeze table, thus very supportive for people with back problems. The physio will design a program specifically for you, taking into account any issues and here in Australia its partially covered through our private health insurance program. I certainly find it helps stretch out my neck. Sometimes its hard to get there with the pain, but I always feel a little better after - even if its just a short reprieve.

best of luck,
Lissy

Sadly, in Arkansas, Medicaid doesn't pay for any therapy, or anything really, except medical treatment, and they don't always pay for that...!

The bills are starting to come from the heart angina thing I had and I have to figure out how to pay $800. Very stressful!

Holly