May 25 2008
BOOK REVIEW: Cystitis, A Time To Heal with Yoga and Acupressure
Cystitis: A Time to Heal With Yoga and Acupressure By Dawn R Mahowald and Dr. Emmey A Ripoll
AuthorHouse, Inc ©1999,2002 ISBN 1-4033-8870-9
This book explains the different types of cystitis and the difference between yoga, acupressure, and acupuncture. Written in everyday speech, it is simple enough for the layperson yet thorough enough for practitioners. It gives eight weeks of exercises and poses, with tips for those with IC. Also listed are certain poses to avoid, “Yoga for a bad day”, and tips on the IC diet and ideas to keep patient’s flares to a minimum.
I tried some of these poses and felt more relaxed and calm throughout the day. There are simple illustrations to show you how to do the poses and where to press for the acupressure. At 165 pages it gives you plenty of options and tons of guides to help you on what path you should take to decrease your chronic pain. The author reports that 90% of their students have a decrease in their symptoms following the program. That is fabulous for us IC patients!
There is the tip to do the lessons right before bed as the yoga tends to decrease your night urinary frequency. What great news that is for us as well!. You don’t need alot of space, a maximum of 3 feet by 6 feet is recommended.
There is also no equipment to buy.
I’d love to give yoga a try for many reasons - not least of which is relieving stress, but the possibility of finding time and space to do it is what puts me off. One of these days!
What does IC stand for? I have a feeling I should know, but I’m having a brain fart at the moment.