Medical yoga for multiple sclerosis
Movement as an anchor - stability, feeling and self-efficacy in MS
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system - unpredictable, multifaceted and life-changing. For many sufferers, MS means a life with fluctuations: sometimes strength, sometimes exhaustion. Sometimes mobility, sometimes uncertainty.
In this dynamic field of tension, medical yoga offers a stabilizing, nervous system-friendly and adaptable practice that is not aimed at performance, but at connection - with the body, the breath and trust in oneself.
What is multiple sclerosis?
MS is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the myelin sheaths of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The result: impaired transmission of stimuli, which can manifest itself in a wide variety of symptoms, e.g:
Muscle weakness or spasticity
Balance disorders, coordination problems
Fatigue (chronic exhaustion)
Sensory disorders, tingling, numbness
Pain, bladder/intestinal disorders
cognitive or emotional symptoms
MS progresses in relapses or chronically progressive - often with phases of stability in between. This is precisely where medical yoga can provide support.
What is medical yoga?
Medical yoga combines classic yoga elements with evidence-based movement therapy, neurophysiological principles and mindfulness-based bodywork. It is not based on form or fitness, but on function, safety and presence.
For people with MS, this means
Movement in its individual potential
Conscious feeling and centering
Vegetative regulation for inner restlessness
Promotion of neuroplastic processes
Strengthening self-efficacy despite uncertainties
How does medical yoga help with MS?
1. breathing work for vegetative stabilization
MS is often associated with vegetative dysregulation, inner restlessness or fatigue. The breath becomes a tool for inner balance:
Gentle breathing waves while lying or sitting
Prolonged exhalation for vagus stimulation
Humming, throat breathing or guided breathing spaces
Breathing pauses to improve stimulus processing
2. movement with perception - not against the body
Instead of strenuous stretching or strength exercises, the focus is on: How can I move safely today? Medical Yoga uses:
Mindful, joint-friendly mobilizations
Holding exercises for deep stabilization (e.g. quadruped, chair exercises)
Exercise series for balance, coordination and core
Sequences with aids (e.g. wall, belt, blocks, chair)
3. strengthening proprioception and sensorimotor integration
Many people with MS lose their ability to feel the position of their joints. Medical yoga trains this perception through:
Movement flows with eyes closed
consciously shifting your weight (e.g. when sitting or standing)
Arm and leg coordination exercises
Integration of hand-foot coordination in the breathing rhythm
4. fatigue-friendly exercise
Fatigue is more than tiredness - it is exhaustion at cellular level. Medical Yoga offers:
Short, effective exercise sequences (10-15 minutes)
Restorative postures with breath focus
Feel the energy instead of "training against the body"
Awareness of breaks and boundaries
Who is Medical Yoga for MS suitable for?
People with relapsing or chronic progressive MS
People with coordination, spasticity or sensitivity problems
People with fatigue or vegetative overload
As a supplement to physiotherapy/occupational therapy or medical care
for therapists who would like to integrate body-centered work into MS care
Conclusion: Staying connected - despite uncertainty
Medical yoga for MS means not working against the body, but with it.
It is a quiet, self-effective way of feeling yourself anew every day - in flexibility or limitation, in strength or calmness. And therein lies a great power: the ability to stay connected despite MS - with yourself, with life, with your breath.
Would you like to learn how medical yoga can be used specifically for neurological conditions such as MS?
Then discover our certified training courses and webinars for therapists and yoga teachers.
👉 More information at www.hockenholz.com