I think without yoga i would not have gotten out of that pain. Im loaded with arthritis i think if i wasnt doing yoga i would probably not be getting around like i do. Ive had a really happy life and busy life. Im in such good shape. And i all give it to yoga. No aches and pains. I wake up in the morning, do my exercises in bed, then i get up and start my day and feel good. And not many people my age always do that. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in adults. Movement is one of the best remedies for bringing about greater ease and relief from suffering. One of the things thats remarkable is the yoga poses help bring increased circulation to the joints. And thats very important. Its kind of like the motor oil for the body. When i started having some issues with my knee, i had to give up things like pickup games of basketball, tennis, things like that. But now ive been able to still consider. Pursue golf, hiking, walking, things of that nature. So through yoga, its helped restore some of my lifes activities that i used to enjoy before. I think yoga has kept me more limber. It helps me with balance, which is an issue for me. Ive got some knees that wish i hadnt tried running for a couple of years, jogging. I have a slight neck problem from a car accident. I have a lower back problem. You collect these things over time. But i think yoga makes it much easier to live with. People find that they have in a very short time more ease in themselves. They feel more comfortable in this body that we dwell in. Dont wait. Do it now. Youre never too old. Yoga is a series of practices, but its also a philosophy that originated in india thousands of years ago. In fact, yoga encompasses all of ones being, all the dimensions physical, mental, and emotional, as well as spiritual. Yoga, through stretches in the poses, helps not only stretch out tight places in the body tight muscles, but also strengthens weak muscles. And thats particularly important for people with arthritis, people that have become stiff with inactivity or through age as the body has stiffened and theres less flexibility. Ive designed easy yoga for arthritis not only to address arthritis issues, but all joints which have stiffened with age or become less mobile from injury or inactivity. Yoga can make a huge difference in the condition of your body and the quality of your life. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in adults. One in three people are going to feel the affects of arthritis. Movement is one of the best remedies for bringing about greater ease and relief from suffering. It used to be that arthritis sufferers were told to rest, but now we know that exercise is the most important thing that an arthritis sufferer can do. And it must be an exercise that is gentle and kind to the joint. And thats why yoga is so very valuable. I found yoga through peggy cappy. I had been dealing with a painful illness that was affecting my hands and my feet and i became. Over a length of four years i became quite immobile, and could not hold utensils. And it was painful. Paula is a yoga student of mine, and now a yoga teacher herself. She came to class only three years ago, but when she arrived, she was at the end of her rope both physically and mentally. She had a lot of suffering, and she didnt know what to do. I had a great deal of pain that would radiate from. Just from inside the bones, it felt like, from the fingertips all the way up to the shoulders, and from the feet, sometimes up to the knees, and occasionally up to the hips. After four years of this, i really had gone deep within myself to kind of cushion myself from the pain. I think thats how i dealt with it. Barbara has been one of my most loyal and regular students. And you know why . Barbara has had arthritis in just about every joint of her body. And she knows that if she stops moving, shes just going to really feel the effects of that arthritis. But by coming to class week after week, month after month, year after year, she maintains an ease in motion, she maintains a vitality with her life. Im loaded with arthritis and if you dont keep your joints and your muscles moving youre going to get stiffer and stiffer. With the knee, the first knee and then the second knee a year later, i knew it was time, because i could barely walk down one step before the pain was so excruciating from bone rubbing against bone. Many problems that are attributed to arthritis are the result of inactivity, of not moving. Because what happens is when you hurt, you move less. But as you move less, the joint stiffens, and so that causes you to move even less. And so theres a whole cycle buildup, of inactivity. I think if i wasnt doing yoga, i would probably not be getting around like i do. Its made me more flexible, more able to do everything i want to do. I know that immobility in a joint is a very bad thing. If you stop moving the joint completely, the joint actually degenerates. And i know this all too well in my own family. My father suffered an accident during surgery that left him in a coma for months following the surgery. Because he wasnt expected to live, he just lay there. But he came back from that surgery, he gained full consciousness, full mental faculties. But then he was left with a body that could not move. He literally could not move his body. The joints froze. So i know all too well the quality of his life was significantly affected simply by letting his joints lie there and not move. Bob is a remarkable athlete. In his younger days he played football, he played basketball he was very, very active. But as a result of an injury that he suffered in football, he began to have a lot of problems with his knee. They did surgery, removed all the cartilage from his knee. But what happened is that he began to really suffer the problems of arthritis as a result of the trauma that his joints experienced. When i was a sophomore in high school, i was playing football, and i hurt my knee pretty severely. He was the quarterback, and a game, he was tackled. And his cleat caught in one direction, he was pulled in the other, and his knee was blown out. About 12 or 15 years later i started experiencing some pretty good pain in my left knee. At that point i went to an orthopedic surgeon, he took some xrays, he said, yes, you have osteoarthritis, and that, really i cant do anything with you at this point. Maybe if you can wait another 15, 20 years, we can look at doing something. Well, in a 16yearold with no cartilage, bad things are going to happen, and that came to pass. Begin to stretch through your limbs. And when youre ready you can draw your knees into the chest. When bob was about 40, he was suddenly, fairly suddenly, incapacitated, and could no longer walk. He also drives in the car a lot, and his back was also out at that same time. Bob was in great pain. His knee was hot to the touch. It was red, and he was. He almost had to crawl sometimes to get to bed. Working was almost impossible, because he drives in a car. And hed reached a point of just desperate. I dont want to say desperation, but he was in great physical and emotional pain. Bob feels that yoga not only has benefited his joints, but also in the joint that he severely injured, he had muscle atrophy. And whats remarkable is hes been able to develop his muscles, increase not only the strength but the mass of his muscles, as well as take care of the joint. He feels that yoga has been truly a lifesaver for him. I began to urge him to consider yoga. Well, he had misconceptions, or preconceptions, about it. And he balked. He balked for quite a long time. And finally, i said, look, what do you have to lose, your misery . Yoga was a mystery to me. I really didnt know anything about it. And it was such a Foreign Language to me. And go ahead and lift your arms above your head. It was just something i was never exposed to in the past. I think in general, too, men dont know a lot about it, or maybe theyre sort of put off and are skeptical of what the benefits of yoga could be. The physical aspect is most known because of the benefits that the postures in yoga provide. Yoga is an internal cleanser for the body. Think about that. The body moves internally, of course, as well as externally. And so while we think of the muscles being worked, being strengthened, and being stretched, also all of the organs are more or less massaged by the movements that we make. And see if you can make your circle get larger and larger. Chris kelly, theres a woman that has aged gracefully. Shes done yoga most of her adult life, and she claims that, and rightfully so, that yoga has prevented her from having stiffness in her body anywhere. Chris knows that yoga has been a big benefit to her life. She is one of the most vital older people that i know. I am 86 years old. I just think that yoga has kept me in the best of health. And i am so thankful for that. I would say ive been going to yoga classes for 40 years. I have benefited so much by it. I have always been strong. No aches and pains. I wake up in the morning, do my exercises in bed, then i get up and start my day, and feel good. And not many people my age always do that. Now youll need to come up with your own breathing pattern. The physical benefits are pretty remarkable. Often people think, oh, well, its just about stretching and flexibility. Ive had people say, oh, i cant do yoga yet, im not flexible enough yet. And in fact you do yoga to increase flexibility. Im so passionate about yoga because i feel that once someone does yoga, there is an energy thats released to them that begins to work on every aspect of their being. If you look at simply the physical benefits, its amazing. I think if we were born in india we would know how to do this. Its an honor to have Mary Catherine in the class. Shes an author, and well known for her writing. But what impressed me is im an anthropologist by training, and her mother was Margaret Mead and her father gregory bateson. Catherine has found that yoga has been a great benefit to her life as a speaker, and someone who travels a lot, and as an author. I think that at the point where i started doing yoga, i had already had Chronic Fatigue syndrome, and was recovering from it, and wanted a form of exercise that would not make me collapse. I was around 50. I think yoga has kept me more limber. It helps me with balance, which is an issue for me. If i were not doing yoga for an extended period of time, i would have much more sense of deterioration in my body. And if i dont do yoga, i begin to feel the difference. Keeping both legs straight, reach towards the center. I think the deep stretching really does have an effect that goes for several days. People dont even think of me as the same person, because when i first went to yoga, my eyes were always down. I was very inside of myself, because i was fearful of the pain. So were lifting the shoulders and rolling them forward, or lifting the shoulders and pulling them back. And then as i was able to start doing some of the exercises, particularly with the hands and feet, i started to find that, a, there was less pain, and i was beginning to have. My hands were more facile, and i could pick up utensils again. Toes to the right. Heels to the left. In the warmups in class, we do a lot for the fingers, hands, and wrists. And thats to increase the circulation in the joints. And people with osteoarthritis in the hands or Rheumatoid Arthritis in the hands need Gentle Movement to work those joints and to create more ease in the joints. After those first three months i just quietly to myself thought, maybe this is really it. Maybe i really am Getting Better. And within six months i was absolutely positive, because i was now not having days where i couldnt walk. I could walk. And i do remember. You know, one of the things that was so hard for me before was i have a wonderful companion dog, and i couldnt walk him. I both couldnt walk, and i couldnt hold the leash. I couldnt clench my hands. And i remember when i first started being able to take him for just extraordinarily short walks up the driveway and down. And it just was. Its a Chain Reaction of good things. And i also think that yoga is of a whole. Its in the body, but it releases things from the body and the mind, and it can only. It can only benefit you. The benefits of yoga for arthritis are many. Many, many. One of the things thats remarkable is the yoga poses help bring increased circulation to the joints. And thats very important, not only to bring in nutrients, but also to take away waste products and toxins that accumulate in the body. Also the movement of yoga in the joints help stimulate and circulate synovial fluid, which causes the joint to be lubricated. Its kind of like the motor oil for the body. Yoga also is very important by increasing muscle strength because we need strong muscles to protect the joints. Move the hands into an infinity symbol. Ive got much more flexibility, and much, much less pain. And my hands are loaded with arthritis, but they dont hurt. And then just let your hands rest. And now feel that sensation of the movement in the spine. My hands just look a lot worse than they are. I think i just continue to use them and do the exercises that peggy has had us do in class and i have no problem. A few years ago for our 50th anniversary, our whole family came with us to tuscany. And one of my Favorite Places to go to is san gimignano. And theres a tower there. And i was able to climb to the top of that tower. It was between eight and 12 flights of stairs. Not everybody did, but i did. I think if i wasnt doing yoga i would probably not be getting around like i do. I wont say id be in a wheelchair, but its made me more flexible, more able to do everything i want to do. See if you can pull up from the wrists, and then release those wrists down. When people start yoga, often they feel the benefits right away. Maybe as soon as the first class. Ive had people tell me in one class it made such a difference to their well being, they decided to continue. During the day at home, whenever i have the opportunity, i will do some stretches. Every morning i do a couple stretches in the shower, and then when i get out of the shower. And if im lying down watching the tv, i do a lot of the twisting to benefit my back and sciatica problem. And you just incorporate it into your life during the day whenever you think about it. People find that they have, in a very short time, more ease in themselves. They feel more comfortable in this body that we dwell in. And whats wonderful is that its never too late to start. The changes that you see may evolve more slowly, but they are profound. In fact, someone that has started yoga late in life sometimes can see the benefits even faster than a young person who already has a lot of resilience in the body as well as the mind. If you are one of the many that suffers from arthritis, stay right here. Theres so much more to learn. Maybe you have a loved one who suffers from arthritis and would benefit from learning more about yoga for arthritis. People of all ages learn things when they watch programs on pbs. Pbs offers opportunities for people everywhere to keep growing throughout their lives to make their lives richer. We need your support to continue the quality programs youve come to trust. And when you contribute 60, well send along the yoga for arthritis dvd with our thanks, including more than 95 minutes of workout routines that you can do in the comfort of your own home. Heres Laurie Donnelly with other ways that we can thank you for your support. Give us a call or contribute on our secure web site. Laurie . Thank you so much, anne. Now, listen lets talk about it. We know that all of us are stressed, and stress makes everything worse, including arthritis. But peggy cappy has something that will come to your rescue. For your 50 membership pledge right now, we would love to send you the stress relief peggy cappy deep relaxation are you listening to this . For the rest of your life cd. You will love this. This is something easy to incorporate into your everyday life. It comes in several different sections. Theres a 15minute deep relaxation that shell take you through with that beautiful, soothing voice of hers, then you can repeat it, and youll do it all over again. And trust me, itll put you right to sleep. So while youre going to the phone, making that membership pledge, were going back over to anne. Pbs brings the sheer joy of exploration to everyone. We provide americans with hours of enjoyment, opening us up to new and exciting ideas and worlds, like learning about the benefits of yoga for arthritis sufferers. And well be going back to the program in just a few minutes. But now were asking that you take a couple of minutes to give us a call or contribute online. Pitch in and do your share. More than ever, our selfhelp and lifestyle programs are helping members of all ages to live a better, more fulfilling life. Give us a call or contribute on our secure web site. Heres more about the yoga for arthritis dvd thats yours when you contribute 60. And dont forget, that includes all the benefits of membership too. With one out of every three adults suffering from the pain of arthritis, it may be time for you to join the thousands who have made yoga a way of life. When you contribute 60 to your Public Television station, well send you the easy yoga for arthritis dvd with our thanks. Its made me more flexible, more able to do everything i want to do. The dvd includes the 40minute program youve been enjoying, and more than 95 minutes of home workout programs. Learn safe and effective ways to reduce pain and increase your mobility. Its the perfect introduction to yoga for those challenged by arthritis or the stiffness that comes with age or injury. Ive been able to still consider. Pursue hiking, walking, golf, things of that nature. So yoga has helped restore some of my lifes activities that i used to enjoy before. You too can change your life. And for your 100 donation well send you the easy yoga for arthritis dvd and peggy cappys deep relaxation for stress cd. Give us a call now, or contribute on our secure web site. The yoga poses help bring increased circulation to the joints, and thats very important. Its kind of like the motor oil for the body. So exciting to have you here in the studio with us, peggy cappy. I cant believe this is your fifth pbs special. And they just keep Getting Better and better. I think so, too. And i want to take a moment to thank the people who have watched previous shows on yoga and have decided to take the plunge, do yoga for the rest of us because it really, really matters. Yes. Now, this one is specifically for arthritis sufferers. How is it different from your other yoga specials . Well, i have noticed that as we get older, we stiffen. And many people have come to think that thats just part of aging. They tell us that. But its not. And so what ive done is created a program that can be done at home in several stages that works to really loosen up the joints as well as make the muscles strong that support the joints. So what can people expect