Yoga for HIV/AIDS pain relief.

[Guest guest]

Urgently seeking relief: At this yoga class, the practitioners are

men stricken with HIV. By Gedan, Globe Correspondent,

8/25/2002

Unlike at most yoga classes sprouting across America, the

practitioners drawn to Kim Amlong's free Somerville seminars are in

search of more than muscle tone or an escape from an over-programmed

daily schedule. Stricken with HIV, the men whose bodies weekly mirror

Amlong's contorting torso say they've turned to yoga for lifesaving

improvements to both body and mind.

Saying they're dissatisfied with their medicinal regimen, the men are

lured by promises that Amlong's classes could bring physical relief

from painful side effects of AIDs medications and teach poses that

will strengthen their struggling immune systems. ''You're trying to

do something proactive instead of just sitting at a bar and comparing

T-cells,'' said Farina, 41, who has lived with HIV for 17

years.

Yoga's health benefits for AIDS patients remain unproven, and

organizers say this summer's classes are an experiment - a trial

period during which Amlong and two assistants hope to identify yoga

positions and stretching techniques that will bolster a participant's

immune system.

Forward bends and various twists could help heal a damaged liver,

Amlong insists, while headstands are believed to aid the body's

lymphatic system. Backbends, she said, could stimulate the thymus

gland, as well as the heart and lungs.

There is little definitive research about the techniques, and area

hospitals have no doctors currently studying the claims. In America's

AIDS community, however, Amlong's students say rising frustration

with conventional treatments has left patients searching for

alternative solutions.

McCall, a 46-year-old doctor who volunteers at the yoga

sessions, said anecdotal evidence abounds attesting to the

physiological benefits of yoga.

''We know that this is a holistic process,'' said McCall,

acknowledging the scientific uncertainty surrounding the

therapy. ''We also know that the whole thing works.''

Swasnand Balram, a Boston pharmacist who specializes in AIDS

patients, said the advantages of yoga might prove wholly

psychological. But a positive attitude, he said, can be a powerful

palliative.

So it seems for the men who weekly convene in Amlong's air-

conditioned, Square studio, where they say the comfort of

camaraderie and perceived health benefits are more persuasive than

scientific proof.

The patients, middle-aged men in varying degrees of health, include

yoga enthusiasts and novices alike. Some, such as 29-year-old Gerardo

Escalante, have tried power yoga and acupuncture in the past but say

they were attracted to a workshop dedicated to HIV-positive patients,

a place where their specific ailments could be addressed.

Others, including , 48, who asked that only his first name be

used, have in the past relied upon medication alone, and now say yoga

has given them energy, focus, and a sense of empowerment that myriad

pills could not.

At a recent class, the men folded their bodies into Y-shapes,

strapped with belts atop colorful mats, and listened to Amlong's

soothing, professorial voice as he read from a book of Lebanese

poetry and preached the merits of yoga. There was little talk of AIDS

or HIV, as Amlong passed on the breathing techniques of Sri B.K.S.

Iyengar, the Indian yoga master whose teachings inspired the

workshop.

At 36, Amlong is thin and muscular, showing no indication of the AIDS

virus that has ravaged her immune system since 1998, 10 years after

she was diagnosed with HIV. The former physical therapist maintained

her professional and athletic lifestyle - including a workout regimen

of weight lifting and 30 miles of running a week - until a severe

bout of pneumonia left her hospitalized four years ago. Without yoga,

Amlong said, her progressing illness would have left her isolated and

immobile.

'' [The pneumonia] really debilitated me,'' said Amlong, who

volunteers her time at the workshop. ''I was quite healthy until

then. Now, I don't have enough energy to work, but if I do specific

poses, they really rejuvenate me. If I didn't do yoga, I'd probably

be bed-ridden.''

Ultimately, Amlong's students will decide whether the techniques that

buoy their spirits truly improve their physical conditions. And

though Amlong acknowledges that yoga therapy cannot perform miracles,

she ends each class with a prayer, asking softly, ''May we be

healed.''

____________________________

This story ran on page 11 of the Boston Globe's City Weekly section

on 8/25/2002. © Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/237/city/Urgently_seeking_relief+.sh

tml

_______________

[Guest guest]

Dear interested, re: Yoga for HIV/AIDS pain relief.

In this connection, I would suggest you get in touch with Rev Fr J H

Pereira, Managing Trustee of the Kripa Foundation, India. He is a well

acclaimed Yoga teacher ( B K S Iyengar School), and has substantial

experience in helping people with problems of immunocompromise and

addictions. ou can contact him on e-mail at kripal@... .

He regularly conducts classes and sessions at home (Bombay) and abroad

(Europe, USA, Canada and the UK).He has also released audio and video

cassettes on the same.

Sincerely,

Dr M S Menon.

Director-Medicine & Research

Kripa foundation.

e-MAIL:<msmenon@...>

__________________