Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Ohhhh, confession to make

I just about never do yoga tapes. Partly, this is because the configuration of my living room makes it very difficult to see the tv from an angle where I have space to actually move around on my mat. But mostly, I just don't like watching the tapes, and I'd rather go through a routine on my own. I do really like the Swenson tape I have in terms of the poses and flow, and he is just amazing to watch (I love the beginning where he whips through his own little routine and it's like watching a perfomer from Cirque du Soleil). But there's something about watching tv while doing yoga that kind of turns me off. I'd rather have silence or music, and I'd rather not have to look at a screen but just focus on a point or keep my eyes closed.

I don't know why yoga seems to just magically make you feel better - but it does that for me too. And I also have never had another form of exercise do that. In fact, if I was ever feeling shaky, from IBS or menstrual cramps, a hard workout with weights or running would just make me much worse, usually to the point that I'd have to give up and go home. Yoga is the exact opposite - it makes me rock steady, any health problems just disappear with the class, and I always feel better after class than I did before. I've wondered about why this is - it's definitely not that yoga is a less intense workout, because like you I can have sweat literally dripping off my nose onto the floor, and I know I'm getting every type of workout at once (aerobic, flexibility, strength, balance, coordination). But somehow the experience and end result is just very different than any other form of exercise, and I notice it most in the immediate and also the lasting health benefits.

It's a mystery...but a happy one!

- H

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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!

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