Yoga/pilates and fibromyalgia

[daisychicken]

My GP and Physiotherapist have suggested I try Pilates or yoga to help strengthen my muscles. Is there a DVD of exercises that would be suitable for someone with fibromyalgia - so gentle exercises and short sessions ie around 5 minutes that you could recommend?

I did attend a yoga group locally for "gentle yoga suitable for people with back pain and similar conditions" but the 1hr session was too long (she didn't like you to drop out earlier) and despite saying she understood my limitations, it was obvious that she didn't and didn't like it if I said I couldn't do something (ie I can't lie on the floor as you painful and I struggle to get up again) hence why I am looking for a DVD that I could follow at home.

www.doyouyoga.com/8-yoga-poses-for-fibromyalgia/

Sorry I don't know any more about it but this at least gives some pointers.

I have fibromyalgia, eds and ME. I am not in the UK but go to a medical yoga class run by a physio. I cannot lie on the floor but lie on a raised platform however I found I got terrible neck and back pain so I take a thin memory foam mattress to work on

There are several dvds available from amazon for "chair yoga" with exercises that can be done seated in a chair

I'd suggest finding somewhere to do private classes for 6-8 weeks. To understand your strengths and weaknesses and for the instructor to understand you. £££ though but very worth it. If you can find a Pilates reformer studio then they are more likely to be experienced and certainly I've seen students do the very lightest end of the spectrum when I am st the other end (I am pretty experienced st Pilates but taking my time moving up a level as if rather getnproperly good than rush) and had others pause and stretch out for significant periods of time if needed.

I got back into Pilates after my 3rd child in 2.5 years with 2 years of BFing so my body was totally strung out. I looked st it as a form of physio and it has properly transformed my body. I don't loop different but feel like my ligaments and muscles are now joined together again

Thank you for your replies

@Lund - I tried a specialist yoga class for chronic back pain/over 60s/gentle yoga.. i spoke with the tutor and she assured me that she understood & would accept my limitations. Unfortunately it was obvious she didn't - classes had to be an hour long, she didn't like it if i said i needed to sit or couldn't do an exercise ie lie on the floor (i can get down but i cannot get back up!) & so on. I always felt she thought i was making it all up. But my GP asked me to try and I wanted to show I was trying.. big mistake! I'm still in pain from an issue those classes caused a year on. My Physio is helping me get going with a gentle routine but doesn't do any classes that I can progress to hence looking for a dvd. Thank you for the suggestion of chair yoga, I will investigate.

@FreeButtonBee - I cannot unfortunately afford private sessions, when looking for the above class I did investigate the options and costs. The other issue was everyone only ran 1 hour sessions. My 15 minute request wasn't feasible apparently.

I do yoga (and Pilates) through my local hospital (I have several chronic conditions which mean getting on the floor and back up can be very difficult) but I also do "chair yoga" via YouTube videos at home. It's worth typing "chair yoga" into YouTube and having a look through as there are a variety of poses which feel really nice in those videos.

Have a look on YouTube for gentle hatha yoga tutorials also yin yoga. I have fibro and me/cfs and found yoga 'easier' than pilates in terms of pay back.
It has to be v gentle.
I'll have a look and find some links to ones I've used in the past.

Lots of the tutorials are only 10/15/20 mins long to easy to pick and mix.

Would an app work? Yoga studio has different sessions tailored to different needs and lengths, and you can build your own and set the length etc. The app cleverly links poses between your choices.