What would be the best suggestions for yoga therapy for my student’s mother? I have a sense that what we need to encourage is more of the yoga nidra work that is already happening, but perhaps some more specific meditative forms and pranayayma? I have been revising the Dean Ornish programme, and see that in lots of ways she is already doing most of what he recommends. So I have copied below the last mail I received from her, and promised I would ask for a ?second opinion?. If you have a moment, I would very much appreciate any suggestions as to how yoga therapy might help :
?The situation with my mum is this: an angiogram last week confirmed that she has ?severe? coronary disease, to the extent that two out of three of her coronary arteries are nearly closed, and the third is compromised. Her heart is therefore receiving substantially less oxygen than normal. She had a heart attack a few years ago, which has left a small part of the heart tissue dead.
She suffers from chest pain when she?s under emotional stress, and with some physical exertion, particularly when she?s out in cold weather. But often the worst episodes of chest pain are at night after a busy day. It was a particularly bad episode a few weeks ago that sent us back to the doctors.
She also has rheumatoid arthritis, which she has controlled with homeopathy for around fifteen years, so it is quite manageable, only really affecting her wrist joints now.
She suffers from a number of allergies, to various chemicals and some foods. Her diet is very good, as she is trained as a dietary therapist and a homeopath, and has a great deal of ayurvedic knowledge from her own mother. It seems that the arterial disease is likely to be a genetic thing rather than a lifestyle thing.
As I mentioned, my mum is familiar with yoga and other spiritual practices, and prays/meditates every day. I have been doing yoga nidra with her every other day for the past few weeks, and it seems to have a powerful healing/calming effect. I read the Bihar school book on yoga and cardiovascular problems which was why I started doing yoga nidra.
We have been advised that she needs urgent intervention ? either angioplasty, although in her case this would not apparently be a simple procedure because of her ?thin? blood vessels and because the coronary disease is ?diffuse?; alternatively, she may need a bypass. We are currently seeking further cardiologist advice on which way to go.
I imagine that powerful as we know yoga to be, there is little chance of reversing the arterial disease through yoga, at least not quickly? So, if not, I would deeply appreciate your advice on what we can do to alleviate the pressure on the heart while we decide what to do with conventional medical routes.?