077: Interstitial Cystitis (Painful Bladder Syndrome) with Helena Spears
Shannon met Helena Spears through a discussion in The Connected Yoga Teacher Facebook group about interstitial cystitis.
Upon graduating from her 200-hour yoga teacher training, Helena turned her focus towards teaching chronic pain informed yoga as well as yoga for pelvic health. Shannon asked Helena on as a guest to share her first-hand experience with interstitial cystitis and persistent pain and the many benefits of practicing yoga in regard to pain management.
As a teen, Helena was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis (IC) and in her 20s, through a cliff jumping incident, she developed chronic back pain. The back pain evolved into Fibromyalgia and Ankylosing Spondylitis (inflammatory arthritis that attacks the spine).
Helena describes how she turned to yoga for chronic pain management but soon found the benefits were limited within the confines of a traditional yoga practice. She shares this experience and her perseverance in pursuing her own yoga path on her website:
āIt was in my early 30s that I discovered how powerful yoga can be in managing pain; the emotional, spiritual and physical. I decided to pursue my yoga teacher training out of frustration and curiosity. I was frustrated that āregularā yoga practice seemed to flare my Fibromyalgia, yet I knew that yoga could be the key to helping heal my overactive nervous system and dialing down my pain. Since completing my yoga teacher training, my practice has deepened in a way I never thought possible. The emotional healing and guidance I have received from studying sutras and yogic philosophy inform my life and practice every day. Through meditation, I have learned to tap into the calm part of my soul, pranayama allows me to quickly tap into that inner calmā
Helena candidly shares her experience with Interstitial Cystitis, the anger she encountered while coping with her persistent pain, the importance she places on the mind/body connection, and the sutras that are guiding her along her journey.
[7:30] Helenaās yoga journey
[10:40] Helena describes her chronic pain
[12:30] The definition of Interstitial Cystitis (from the IC Network website)
[13:25] 5 different types of IC (listed in The Connected Yoga Teacher Interstitial Cystitis (Painful Bladder Syndrome) PDF)
[16:35] No one-size-fits-all treatment for IC
[17:30] Helenaās take on the term āPainful Bladder Syndromeā as an alternative to Interstitial Cystitis
[18:55] Helenaās IC symptoms
[19:45] Helenaās experience with the mind/body connection in relation to persistent pain
[21:35] The benefit of yoga in nurturing Helenaās mind/body relationship and the activities Helena has given up due to pain and stress
[25:35] Helenaās yoga practice
[27:05] The benefits Helena has found using Muse headbands
[32:50] Helenaās interest in pursuing Yoga for Pelvic Health and taking Pain Care Yoga- Teacher Training and Learning with Tianne
[34:40] How Helena wants to empower her yoga students and how sheās always learning as a teacher
[36:30] How Helena feels the spiritual aspect of yoga, such as the Yoga Sutra has helped her cope with chronic pain- Ahimsa (compassion for self) and Aparigraha (non-attachment) and Brahmacharya (dedication to practice) are guiding principles in her life
[39:55] Anger and chronic pain- how Helena identified and worked on her anger and the importance of acceptance
[42:25] What Helena would say to someone suffering from persistent pain
[45:30] Helenaās concern for men who feel like they canāt convey their pain which is toxic for pain management
[46:00] The emotional component of persistent pain and the importance of treating the mind, body and soul
[48:35]Ā How best to reach Helena
Links
To enter to win a Muse Headband leave a comment below these show notes
Helenaās Website: Helena Spears Yoga
PDF: Interstitial Cystitis (Painful Bladder Syndrome)
Website: The IC Network
Definition of Interstitial Cystitis on The IC Network website:
āAn unpleasant sensation (pain, pressure, discomfort) perceived to be related to the urinary bladder, associated with lower urinary tract symptoms of more than six weeks duration, in the absence of infection or other identifiable causes.ā
Shelly Proskoās Website: Physio Yoga
Pain Care Yoga- Teacher Training and Learning with Tianne
The 10 Step Approach to Living with Pain Webinar (scroll down the page a bit to see video and links to handouts)
Book: When The Body Says No by Gabor MatƩ (chapter 1 available for no charge)
The Connected Teacher Facebook Group
Follow The Connected Teacher on Youtube
Book a Consultation Call with Shannon
Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity
This was an amazing podcast! Thanks for all your wisdom & insight Helena!
Thank You!
Thanks for this. Highly recommend both Neil Pearson and Shelly Prosko’s work for anyone suffering with chronic and persistent pain as Helena stated. Really appreciate all of what Helena had to offer, particularly about the psycho-social side of looking at pain. In fact, I would go so far to say the social aspects are sometimes more prevalent that the psycho. Often, looking at the social (culture, environment) that you live your life in, can make a big difference. Mostly, as Helena mentions we need to listen to our body/pain, which is difficult to do but necessary.
The art of paying attention to the pain enough so that it doesn’t get out of control, yet balanced with paying attention to everything else in your life is a skill that takes years to master.
Dear Helena and Shannon, thank you both for this inspiring talk. While listening I had to keep pausing to send my boyfriend messages out of excitement for all my new insights. Helena, it is amazing and very encouraging to hear how incredibly well you are dealing with the pain that is part of your life.
I don’t have IC myself, but I do have a condition that comes with chronic pain in the connective tissues. I’m 27 and have lived with this for about 16 years now. A few years ago I discovered restorative yoga and it was the first thing I found that worked to soothe my pain. Because I wanted to know more about how that worked, I went on to do restorative yoga teacher training, and later a 200h teacher training.
Doing yoga my own way, at my own pace has helped me feel much better than I did before. Yet it has also been hard to relate to my peers in the teacher trainings who could physically do so much more than I could. I can’t take a ‘regular’ yoga class without flaring up (unless I adapt it completely to what I can do – hello child’s pose!) and it has been very frustrating to say the least.
It is so comforting to hear that someone is walking this path before me and that it is ok. I am inspired by the quality of acceptance that you bring to your life. That is an area where I feel there is still a lot to be gained for me.
About a year ago I came across the work of Lorimer Mosely and David Butler, which has been a big game changer for me. I think Shelly Prosko and Neil Pearson have each been inspired by their work as well. I notice that my own yoga practice is becoming more and more about the effect it has on my nervous system than anything else. Soothing, bringing back safety, and expanding from there. I loved what you said about yoga being a way to build a mind to body connection that is healthy for you. Liberating!
Thank you Helena for shining a light on the way that is before me. And Shannon, please keep doing what you do, having these wonderful conversations and sharing them with the world.
Big hugs, Margot
PS: It’s not the reason that I’m writing, but while I’m at it I would love to join into the draw for the Muse headband. I am very interested to see if it could give me more insight into the state of my mind when my body is in pain, and a way to work with that. And if nothing else, help me tame that inner monkey š
I am so thrilled that you have been able to find a way to be in your body. I would love to connect with you about poses and moves you are doing that feel good. I also know of Lorimer Mosely and David Butler, they are doing such amazing work. I dream of the day when a patient walks into a doctors office and their education begins about our complex and amazing pain system.
Another amazing podcast! Thank you for your insight and the work you put into connecting with some of the top experts in each of their fields… to be able to take in little bits of information weekly and the resources provided makes The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast an amazing learning and resource tool! Thank you!!
I am also so grateful to Shannon. She has empowered me to find my voice in a way I never thought possible. She truly is a gift to the yoga community!
Hi Helena, thank you so much for sharing all your experience and without judgement of others who are suffering IC and other chronic illnesses. And the links are a great resource to all of us. Lots of strength and love xxx
Thank you for this podcast. I really resonate with Helena’s story. I do not have IC, but I have a chronic genetic condition with nerve pain and joint pain. Yoga as a lifestyle is a continuous lesson for me about how to listen to my body, do what my body needs, accept what is there, and to take charge of my health, despite a chronic illness. Helena, thank you for all that you shared here.
Thank you for sharing your story. My sister has been suffering for years. She continues to explore many avenues to easy her pain. She too started her teacher training but felt unsupported and left her program. I shall share this podcast with her as your reference may offer her some insight. Thank you
Ellen, I sympathize with your sister. It can be hard to walk this path. I would love to connect with your sister to see how I can support her in finding her way through this meadering, up and down path.
Ladies – Thanks so much for covering this poorly understood topic. I live with lupus and RA and have just started dealing with IC so this is super timely for me right now. I’ve never tried the Muse headband and would love a chance to work with one. Thanks for setting up this opportunity!
I LOVE your Podcast! I feel so blessed I found it. I am a 2017 graduate yoga teacher 200 hr. I was wanting mentorship and a group feel and that is exactly what you have given me. I love all the pelvic girdle, pelvic floor and cystitis information. Also the information / 5 part video on social media / blogging is great! So beneficial to myself and my students. THANKS AGAIN!
Thank you Helena & Shannon for this podcast. I really appreciated Helena’s candid discussion about her pain conditions & help the listener understand the impact of IC on one’s life. A real-life example of how to apply the limbs of yoga to personal circumstances. So interesting to hear about the new Muse technology & how it’s helped! I can see the benefit of using this device to help students in their meditation practice. Thank you for helping me grow my knowledge and practice through this podcast & community š
Excellent podcast, thank you so much Shannon & Helena. I too was drawn to yoga as a way to manage chronic illness & pain, and can relate to much of the content here and took away a lot of good info and ideas as well. Would love to enter the contest for the Muse! Thank you so much for sharing all of this!
Thanks Shannon and Helena for a great podcast! So much good info, I love the philosophical dialog at the end about being more accepting and grateful for what is good and letting go of expectations for different outcomes. Something I talk about often in my classes.
I love this podcast Shannon! Keep it up.
Thank you all for the kind remarks. I am so thrilled to see that my journey also connects with others.It can be isolating, so I started a FB group for those with IC and those interested for learning more. It is called Yoga for people with Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome. Or maybe if we get lucky this link will work. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1080201445481280/
This was exactly what I needed to hear. I struggle with coming to terms with my relatively new limitations and accepting them as well as accepting that this is where I am at. It was an honour to hear Helena speak so vulnerably about her situation. Thank you!
It is a struggle to come to acceptance, but it is so powerful in my life! When I am struggling I always try to treat myself with love and compassion (ahimsa).
Finally someone that talks about IC. Iām 62 and suffered all my life. I also suffer from FM, AS, and IBS. My story of coming to yoga teacher training is similar. Stress caused major problems in all my koshas sheaths and this has taken me on a healing journey through my yoga practice. That led me to teaching a Yoga for Grief after losing my only child and surviving. I have training in Pain Care Yoga from Lisa and Neil Pearson. I follow IC Network. So our paths are similar. Makes me feel not so alone hearing your story. Thank you. Namaste.
Wow Nancy, Our paths are very similar! I would love to connect more with you. Please join the group I created and maybe we can collaborate. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1080201445481280/?ref=bookmarks
Helena
Helena and Shannon, thank you very much for this podcast.
I really felt same when Helena spoke about pain in our body – and it is so pitty that I did not have those words when I got my trauma.
One of the topics which was also related to my thoughts – it is man’s ‘top’ problems, and I can see it with my own husband and also with my students – how much they keep inside them and it is really hard to show out this pain inside, and yoga really helps.
Will be following your sources, Helena, and good luck with all your dreams and work!
I suffer from “Hereditary Angeo edema”. As well as l have fibromalgia. My L4& L5 discs are blown! I was an athlete; and a bodybuilder for 40 years. I have been inactive for 20 years due to my life; as l knew it; changed overnight due to having a hysterectomy . I am so angry; frustrated;.sad; and feel Hopeless; and helpless. I have not seen your podcast yet; but have just found this site. Reading your testimonials; as well as the feedback from the podcast. Not sure where to even begin!! Yoga a year ago but due to financial issues; and extreme sickness .I quit!I do know that the yoga I was taking was helping me Mind Body heart; Soul& painwise.Not sure how this works please get back to me ASAP; as to the cost of this course; and the information about it thank you. I feel somewhat hopeful.
Shannon, Thank you for bringing the listeners of your podcast such diverse topics. I learn something from every episode. It reminds us that yoga and related fields help the body in ways that we are just starting to understand.
Helena, I find it amazing that you can be at peace when you need to change your plans because your body just “says no” on some days.
This is something I struggle with at times. I do strength-conditioning training and some days my shoulder or knee says “No, I don’t feel like this today,” and I’m also getting to the point where I listen to my body, always. You are so right that ignoring the body’s signals and fighting the body, is not using your energy wisely. Better to align yourself with your own, true nature.
Also, I really want to win and try this Muse Band š
Namaste,
Nathan
Nathan thanks for the kind comments. I am happy to hear you are listening to your body!
Thank you for your honest sharing of your journey. I also have IC since 2012. I am just starting to teach Stott Pilates again which am glad am teaching again despite my condition. I am reading āself-compassionā by Kristen Neff. Itās helping. Itās hard for me to not focus on finding a cure or having a miracle healing. I would like to put my attention on daily me time in the morning. I am finding that other things get in the way and not to beat myself up if I didnāt do it. Thanks for your courage to learn and share. I appreciate it.
Thank you for sharing your story!
Wow. Thank you for this!
Thank you for your amazing podcasts! I always learn so much to share with my students!
Wow! This podcast never ceases to amaze me at the array of topics covered. Wonderful episode!
I was so inspired by this podcast that I have contacted Helena, Shelly Prosko, Neil Pearson, Tianne, and Muse! As a newly certified Yoga Therapist, just starting to develop my niche, chronic pain is a huge place of interest. And, as yoga works… that means to me pain in the physical, but also the energy, emotional, mind, spiritual layers of our being. Thank you SO much Shannon, I am incredibly inspired today. xo