By William Moncrieff, Communications Officer
Yoga has many benefits for participants. From positively impacting their mental wellbeing and fitness, to providing a social environment, participants can gain a lot. These are some of the many reasons why the Orkney Multiple Sclerosis Society (MS Society) has been delivering sessions to individuals diagnosed with MS.
These yoga sessions have been delivered for a little over two years now and one participant who has been attending for the duration, is 35-year-old Graeme Mainland.
“It’s been really good. It’s made a big difference, especially the social side of it which is definitely the biggest benefit,” Graeme said.
He went on to explain: “After we have done the yoga, which should be the most important bit, we have a cup of tea together and an informal chat, and we all have a laugh, and we all have a good moan.”
Jane Rawle, a Yoga Instructor on the island, who has been enthusiastically delivering these sessions from the beginning, has also seen how the group has provided a social hub for participants.
“They have completely created their own community. They come and do their yoga and then afterwards, most importantly, they get their time together over a cuppa and they get to share a lot. Everyone is very trusting, the space is a safe space where they feel like they can openly share with each other and this has been created from day one,” Jane said.
These yoga sessions have been designed for those recently diagnosed with MS, to have an opportunity to come together as a community.
“It was for people that had perhaps been diagnosed within the last five/ten years, and were younger and had young families, who were still remaining in work full time or part time,” Jane explained.
This is certainly an aspect of the class that Graeme found to be particularly impactful. He commented: “I was quite recently diagnosed when I started the class, so the class was really good at helping me meet other people with MS.”
Along with many of the social benefits, Graeme found the class to be helping him physically. This was something that he was searching for, after being impacted physiologically by MS. He said: “It’s definitely impacted my mobility and walking. The job I did before, I was a refuse collector, which involved quite a lot of walking and my MS was impacting my walking, so I had to stop in that line of work and go into a more office-based job.”
Throughout her yoga sessions, Jane aims to provide a range of exercises, delivered with a person-centered approach to ensure that it is meaningful for all.
Jane explained: “The class gives them ways that they can work out, for their own bodies. So, they feel stretched but not absolutely fatigued at the end.”
This approach has helped Graeme with his day-to-day life. “It’s been good to get different stretches that you can do. This has eased the discomfort, as my muscles can get quite tight and it helps with that,” he said.
The yoga sessions are delivered weekly on a Saturday and are held at the The Pickaquoy Centre, in Kirkwall, with between 4-12 participants. This group is always something that Jane looks forward to.
“It’s my highlight of the week and I keep saying it to them, they are such a fabulous group to work with,” said Jane.
Although they may have been unsure to start, this sense of enjoyment is definitely shared amongst the participants.
“With the yoga class we (the participants) have all spoken about it, before any of us attended the yoga class. None of us were sure about trying it, ‘I don’t know if it is for me’, type thing. But once you start going, once you get your feet over the door, the group we have got, it’s such a welcoming group and we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” said Graeme.
The group have been looking to try and find new and creative ways to be physically active and gain all of the benefits. With Jane being a qualified swimming coach, the group were able to hire a mobile sauna and had a sauna and swimming session.
This was something that Graeme enjoyed and found to be rewarding, an activity he has continued to do. He said, “It’s certainly really good going in the sea, and I have been doing a bit of sea swimming since then.”
Alongside the yoga class, the Orkney MS Society organise a range of events and activities, including their online art class. If you would be interested in finding out more about the yoga group, or other activities being delivered by the Orkney MS Society, contact georgecath@aol.com, or call 01856 872479.
To find out what sporting opportunities are available near to you, contact your Scottish Disability Sport Regional Development Manager, who can inform you about current clubs, classes and events throughout Scotland.
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