Ankylosing spondylitis & sacro-iliitis

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Dear Mukunda - I’d like to ask your advice for a friend of mine.

He is a 42 year old male, diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis & sacro-iliitis, having suffered bouts of iriditis for decades. He can only sleep past 5am with the use of slow-release painkillers. He has suffered from gastro-intestinal problems in the past, and has used elimination diets to try to identify foods which are ?difficult? for him. I think these inflammatory conditions are known to be inter-related. Would a pitta-reducing diet be of benefit to him? Also, in terms of physical therapy, he is reasonably fit & slim, attending the gym regularly & having no alcohol or caffeine, but does not have a yoga practice. He has a marked internal hip rotation beyond normal ROM (can sit comfortably in Virasana, but with the feet rotated out with the inner edge of the foot on the floor at 90 degrees to the shin), but such restricted external rotation that he cannot cross his legs. I think the joint freeing series would definitely be of benefit, but I wasn?t sure about the SI release when there is such a degree of inflammation. Would it be safe? Is there anything else that you could recommend for him to try (hard I know without a proper exam).

Many thanks

Liz L

#2

Both symptoms are due to increased pitta. So for any inflammatory conditions such as this an anti pitta diet is warranted; see any Ayurveda book for details.
Since he is not doing a yoga practice that is the first place to begin to get him into a regular practice which should focus on stress relieving (vata balancing). This should be my joint freeing series (JFS) , plus series to tone the weakened muscles and thos related to diminished range of motion (ROM). To increase ROM tone the muscles doing the motion such as external hip rotation (#5 in my JFS). The SI release exercise needs to be done on yourself consistenly for 30 days and you must know how to modify it. Once you meet that requirement i will email you a copy to share with others. I assume you learned it directly from me or one of my students but that requirement must be meant or it is not effective. namaste mukunda