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Less stressed through yoga
Tuesday, December 19, 2000 By Pohla Smith, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Despite two surgeries and physical therapy, Joel Persky's back hurt so bad he couldn't get down on the floor or get up.
Dana Craig had a rotator cuff injury that was leading to frozen shoulder and ruining his golf game.
Wanda Goodman was dyslexic but didn't know it; she had wondered her whole life why she did so many things backward.
They are among dozens of Pittsburghers who have found relief from a variety of physical problems in the same way: studying the Iyengar style of hatha yoga.
Iyengar, along with ashthanga, are the two most popular methods of yoga in the country. In Pittsburgh, however, electicism seems to rule because so many of the teachers have studied multiple disciplines and incorporated them into their teaching regimens.
Shadyside Yoga, the first studio in the city of Pittsburgh dedicated strictly to yoga, is among local places teaching Iyengar style, a precise and disciplined method that provides more therapeutic benefits for physical problems and sports injuries than other methods may offer.
The studio is directed by Sara Azarius, who specializes in post-injury rehabilitation and postural re-education along with the usual relaxation and stress relief.
President of the Yoga Training Association of Pittsburgh, Azarius has been teaching yoga for five years in the region, including the past four at the Rivers Club, Downtown.
Although yoga has long been seen as an activity more attractive to women, Azarius says men tend to dominate her classes.
"Everyone has therapeutic issues," Azarius said. "I haven't found anyone yet [who doesn't]. A lot of people will come in and say, 'Oh, I don't have anything specifically that bothers me,' but in three classes they'll say, 'Now that you mentioned it, this spot always bothered me.' They're so used to feeling things, they feel it's normal to have aches and pains.
The Iyengar method, developed by B.K.S. Iyengar in India, emphasizes finding balance in the body while moving into various poses. The pose-holding portion of the exercise builds strength in muscles you may never have used before and takes stress off the ones you overload.
Like all styles of yoga, Iyengar also works on concentration and relaxation.
"Most illness is somehow stress-related," Azarius said.
"Healing only happens when you're in a receptive, relaxed state. If you're stressed because you're late for a meeting, your body doesn't discern the cause. Your body doesn't know that your life's not in danger. You're telling your body something's wrong and it's having the fight-or-flight response."
The key is learning to use the response for your benefit rather than tearing yourself down.
Some physical therapists suggest yoga as an additional aid to their patients.
Joel Persky, 50, of Squirrel Hill, has had back problems since his youth. He had surgery at 18 and again at 38. Then, about 21/2 years ago, he irritated something in the scar tissue. The pain was intense and constant.
"It was not operable," Persky said. "My orthopedic surgeon referred me to a pain clinic, and I got epidural steroid injections. Then I went to a physical therapist who basically said, 'You'll live with pain the rest of your life. You'll never jog or golf again.'"
Dana Craig, 46, of Collier and a friend of Persky, suggested yoga after trying it for his own rotator cuff injury. Yoga had increased his range of motion so much that he had reduced his golf score by four or five strokes. The discipline was having positive effects on his body and mental state.
"I realized it was something to do for life and I've never quit," Craig said. "I'm in investment. It's a job with a lot of high stress. I think yoga helps me get through the day."
Persky's problem was much more severe. The day Azarius went to his house for his first session, she asked him to lie flat on his back on the floor. He couldn't. "I couldn't lie down; I couldn't stand. I couldn't do anything," he said.
Gradually, his condition improved. "It's really just learning to isolate a muscle," Persky said. "Usually it's one you don't know you have, and you stretch it until it has healthy effects."
Now Persky jogs and plays golf again.
Liz Lincoln, a psychologist from Aspinwall, began taking yoga at the Rivers Club to maintain strength and flexibility. An additional benefit has been more energy.
"I use the machines to work out," she said, "but this is really more helpful for me."
Lincoln's husband, Paul Beisler, who is in investment and insurance, started yoga about three months ago because of a problem in his left shoulder. A tendon kept popping out of its groove.
Doctors prescribed shoulder exercises and anti-inflammatory medicine. "I don't think the training helped," he said. "The shot did, and the yoga allowed the shoulder to stay good."
At one of Wanda Goodman's first classes, Azarius asked if she were dyslexic because she noticed Goodman was always on the wrong foot or wrong side. "It was like a revelation," said Goodman, 59, who lives in Wexford. "I always wondered what was wrong with me. Knowing, I gave myself permission not to try so hard."
Most important, Goodman feels she has found an exercise regimen she will follow the rest of her life.
"It's probably the most wonderful thing I've ever done for myself," she said. "I feel in tune physically, mentally and ... spiritually."
Shadyside Yoga at 5830 Ellsworth Ave. is open seven days a week and will hold a grand opening Jan. 7. Call 412-441-2222.
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