Dear Dr Bhole

I am using your "breath" work with more and more students.  They are so surprised to find that simple movements free tensions and allow breathing movement.

The lady with MS (multiple sclerosis) who I have been working with for just over a year has made considerable progress.  Her questions and comments indicate a big change from the initial "like/dislike", "painful" vocabulary which she used initially.  Her muscles are becoming stronger and she is delighted to be able to do more everyday actions for herself, such as getting dressed.  Her aim is to walk again, which may not be possible, but she now understands that her whole body is involved in whatever movements and intentions she has and is prepared to put in the practice.  Being able to access the areas of the trunk with the breathing movements and the sensation of filling and emptying has given her many "bliss" moments (she calls them "cosy") and this has provided her with the rest and recuperation that her body needs.

A new lady who I worked with this past week has given me a lesson too - a reminder that people should be warned to work a little less enthusiastically at first!  She said she was sore in her back for several days because during the breathing practices she had been so tight and was trying rather too hard to expand.  Her shoulders were rising and falling about 2 inches initially as she breathed - she also wore very tight clothing, having recently lost several stones in weight.  However, she more or less understood the process and wishes to continue.

I find the therapeutic aspect of your methods so interesting, informative and rewarding.  It encourages me to study more and more about the body and the bigger picture of how we fit in the universe. 

Dear Dr Bhole

I saw the person wit multiple sclerosis  again today.  It really is both surprising and rewarding to view her progress.  I make sure she takes lots of mini rest periods throughout the practice as MS is a very debilitating condition, particularly after 47 years.  I say "rest and refuel" so she uses the concept of filling and emptying to ensure she has enough "fuel" to enable her to get going again.  Today she used a very interesting word to describe how she felt - "complete". 

As she has told me, for many many years she has been losing her independence and confidence, getting to the point that she has to be lifted in and out of chairs/bed/toilet, be dressed/undressed, etc, etc.  Although she is not ready to self-mobilise to stand/walk, she now can mostly dress/undress unaided. Her voice was so weak she could hardly be heard, especially over the telephone.  Now it sounds stronger and each session she tells me of something else new. Between Monday and today, she had noticed how different her legs look as well as feel - there is more muscle tone and definition and the swelling that tends to accompany immobility has almost disappeared.  I love the fact that she is noticing all these things.

Interestingly too, her husband, who initially looked really worn out and depressed, now is also showing the benefits and has even started going to the gym to build up his own strength because he found he was getting muscular problems from the constant lifting.  He doesn't like gym work but at least he goes.  The changes to both of them are really quite remarkable.

             (Letters to dr Bhole from a UK yoga teacher
            following experiential yoga approach)