Part 2 of 2
Arthritis -- stealing my Mother from me???
Posted by Cindy on May 14, 2001
Click here to read Part 1 of 2

Hello!
I am asking for help on the following for my Mother after I have received very helpful and insightful information, on my own condition.

My Mother 48 has had arthritis in her right hand since she was 15, and her one finger is starting to cripple. ( My Grandmother has it also and on both hands her 4 fingers are fussed together). She is currently on Enthrophen 650mg x 3 daily, prenatal vitamins, calcium supplements and Vitamin D.

Lately she tires easily and her joints and knuckles become very swollen. Her Doctor put on VIDX x 12,mg, but she stopped taking this after the first day because she has lost feeling in her hand from it ( or it went numb) and had shooting pains from her tips of her fingers to her wrists.

She went back to her Enthrophen, but the swollen and pains has remained.
She can not close her hand into a fist, and you can see that it is very painful when she tries its.

Can anybody help us??? If you need more information I would be glad to get it for you

Thank you
Cindy

Hello Blessed Self, How are you?
There are quite a few simple things your mother can do to alleviate her condition, from what you have written, and I hope you haven't left out any significant details. First, she needs to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. - Not including tea or any other kind of liquids, but water.

Pawanmuktasana, first series of asanas will also be helpful, plus a few pranayama techniques. If the above paragraph sounds
greek to you, I can break this down. These have helped with chronic athritis and people have also got rid of it completely, along with the right diet, and keeping up with pawanmuktasana and diet. The movements are very, very simple. However, judging from what you have written, may still be painful and seem impossible to do. Not a problem. These simple movementscan be done to the best of her ability without straining and without grimacing - either straight faced or with a smile. The same with the breathing techniques.
Pawanmuktasana
1. Sitting position, arms stretched out in front, if possible, at shoulder level, if not, then the arms and hands can rest on the lap. Separate the fingers wide and then clench into a fist - thumb in first and then fingers on top of the thumb - (to the best of her ability without straining or grimacing). Breathing in when fingers are wide, breathing out when forming a fist. This will get easier with time.
2. Rest, breathing normally. Then raising the arms a little if possible, hands pointing up, push as though against an imaginary wall, then move hands down towards the floor, without moving the arms, hands only.Breathing in when hands are up and breathing out when hands are down.
3. Rest.Then with the arms up again, hands in a loose fist (thumb in first and then fingers closed over the thumbs), rotate the hands, hands only, in a clockwise direction first and then counter- clockwise, both hands moving in the same direction. Breathing in when hands are up and breathing out when hands are down.

She should do all the above 5 times each or 2 to 3 times each to start with twice a day. Increasing very gradually to 10 times twice a day. Try to synchronize the movement with the breath with total awareness on the movements without straining. Even if only one of each can be done to start with.

As for the pranayama techniques - one simple yet very effective breathing technique is ujjayi. This is done by breathing in through the throat - as though the nostrils have shifted to the throat. To enhance this, the tongue can be flipped back towards the back of the throat without straining, and without gagging or hindrance to the breathing process.
- Breathe in ujjayi for 3 rounds (in and out being one round) 7 rounds, or 9 rounds, building up to 21 rounds.

These are very effective against athritis, though they may seem very simple.If the explanation above is still not clear, these techniques and more breathing techniques are demonstrated and explained in a cd-rom called 'Keep Fit With Yoga' by Satyam Software available at
www.keepfitwithyoga.com
or at
www.amazon.com/zshops/keepfitwithyoga
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As far as diet, your mother may already be eating right and drinking right, - Ayurveda books by Dr. Vasant Lad are excellent for guidance with regards to the right foods and drinks for arthritis (and other ailments).

Good luck and hope your mother gets to feeling better.

Of course, all the above pawanmuktasana and ujjayi techniques are based on your email below. I do not know your mother personally and any suggestions i have made should not be held against me nor should i be liable for. If your mother does or does not do the above mentioned techniques, it is entirely up to her and she does so on her own free will.

Hari Aum, Ayesha
Keep Fit With Yoga