One of my students, in fact, one who came for the first time to your workshop and has continued with classes (Marie - overweight lady with short blonde hair - very nice), has just recently come off a year’s treatment with prednisone for polymyalgia. She has really suffered the moon face and weight gain that comes with cortisone treatment and the pain of polymyalgia is returning. I have been encouraging work with pranayama - nadi shodhana, the wave breath and intercostal breathing and encouraging her to develop a meditation practice. I have not worked with her one on one but have given suggestions after class. She can do most of the asanas and JFS and I’ve encouraged her to keep her own pace and honor her own body’s messages regarding pain and the need for modifications. What do you recommend? From Gen R.
One natural substitute for steroids like prednisone is asparagus. According to Loretta Levitz, Ayurvedic practitioner taking a lot of that even daily can lessen need for medication. Main suggestion is follow your intuition with her. For balancing kapha be gentle, loving, nurturing, act like her mother and from there intuition will come strongly. You are on right track.