What now?

If I were in a controlled study for the improvement of arthritic joints I would be doing just one thing differently from before. But I am impatient and am doing two. I suspect most of us jump in with both feet when we get obsessed with making a real change, and I am no different.

So in addition to the yoga routines, I have changed my diet somewhat. I have been vegan for about two years, vegetarian for about 26. Vegan diets, like any other diets, can be healthy or not. I could try to live on french fries, for example. Vegan, but not healthy. Over the past several years I have slid into the use of more oil and more bread. Neither of these is necessarily unhealthy. Too much of either, though, can have a bit of an impact. So while I eat a lot of good, fresh foods - fruits and vegetables and grains - I have been shoveling in calories that aren't doing so much for me, and because my body is what it is, those calories have turned into extra pounds.

I do not apologize for my weight or feel guilty about it. I do not believe that I am "bad" or lacking in "will". I'll put my will against a host of thinner folks and likely come out ahead. But my body easily puts on pounds. This isn't the place to get into why my body more than that of somebody who has never been fat, so I'll leave it at that. The issue is simply that the extra weight puts more strain on my joints and causes increased pain and difficulty in moving and I'm sick of it.

So I have also moved to more of a McDougall-style diet. When I say "diet" I don't mean calorie-controlled, portion-controlled, any of that. I mean a way of eating. This way of eating means cutting out the oils that don't come naturally in the food. It means eliminating the white breads. Otherwise, it's a vegan diet based on the use of whole plant foods. I eat as much as I want.

I therefore expect that when I see improvements (note that I say "when", not "if"), they will come from both ends: from the yoga-style exercises and the change in diet.

The Arthritis Rx DVD

After I read the Arthritis Rx book, which is the main focus of this blog, I hunted for an accompanying DVD. I did not find one. Until a few weeks ago. I decided to make another hunt on Amazon and one came up!

But there was only one available, from one of Amazon's affiliates, practice yoga in New York City, for $29.99. I ordered it. Today I tried it out.

The DVD has two of the three sets of exercises described in the book: A and B. Most people, according to the book, simply stick with the first set and never move on to B. The C set is for serious athletes. The exercises themselves are a little different from the ones in the book. Some are left out, others added. Most are the same, however. The DVD runs continuously, without a formal menu, and the A set moves right into the B. The two sets are prefaced by a brief introduction to Dr. Vijay Vad. In other words, it's a DVD without any glitz.

Set A is modeled by a woman, while Set B uses a man. A woman narrates. There is the obligatory yoga-type music in the background.

I liked using it. Although I have memorized the exercises in set A and can do them anywhere without the book or the DVD I liked being led through them this way. I saw some things in the postures that I could not tell from the descriptions and illustrations in the book, and I felt I was paying more attention to my form. It is also helpful for pacing the deep breaths, although there is nobody counting them out loud. The model forms a little "O" with her mouth when she exhales (although the book recommends breathing in and out through the nose), so you can tell the pace of her breathing.

I noticed today that again there is one available, from practice yoga, through amazon. It appears that when one is sold they put one more out there on amazon. Perhaps they even duplicate the DVDs as orders arrive. I looked on the practiceyoga.com website and did not find this DVD anywhere. I wondered if there would be more information about it there but there isn't.

I recommend it!