Yoga for Fibromyalgia and Your Family with Melissa Reynolds

I recently interviewed Melissa Reynolds, a fellow fibromyalgia blogger and holistic life coach, about yoga for fibromyalgia and your family. Melissa talks about her fibromyalgia story, how she came into yoga for fibromyalgia management, whether yoga is possible during pregnancy, and how to get your kids involved with yoga.

Who is Melissa Reynolds?

Sure, so I have had the symptoms for much of my life. At 17, I was sent around to some specialists and then left alone. They implied I was making it up because my pain changed. I was diagnosed at 25, but there was still no help. At 25, I realized I needed to take charge of my life, which would continue to be miserably hard. For nearly ten years, I have been working on my health, and for much of that time, I have been sharing my journey in a blog in case it helped someone else, too. I have halved my pain and fatigue levels and dramatically improved my quality of life- I’m so thankful every single day. 

Q: You are a certified life coach and yoga instructor. What led you to do coaching and teaching yoga?

MR: It was an organic, accidental journey! At the beginning of 2019, I was home with my third baby and wondering how on earth I could manage three children five years old and under, a job, and my blog (which included two Facebook groups and all the attendant details required to operate a blog). People had been telling me how much I had helped them, and I was wondering what I could do to continue to help and to make an income to support my family. 

It was then that I learned about the concept of life coaching and the ability to study online. It was the framework I had been looking for. I took classes with my infant in the wrap. It helped redefine how I managed my blog, resources, and groups. But I wanted to offer something more practical—I use yoga daily and always recommend it. 

Then I watched a video from a fellow spoonie yogi who shared how she became a yoga teacher and that you can do it online. I was mind-blown. The only option, I had thought, was somehow managing two long days in a row for several weekends – and paying thousands of dollars simultaneously. It seemed counterintuitive – trying to cram all that knowledge and physical learning quickly if I could even make it through the first day!

So, my husband and I agreed I would create a business plan, research reputable online providers, and train. I found a fantastic person who has been providing in-person training for years and developed it into an online program—hundreds of people have gone through it. Her approach and philosophy gelled with me right away. 

The training was hard (fitting it around three tiny children), learning anatomy was new to me, and I did extra research and work for my angle with fibromyalgia. But I did it! I gained my certification in December and have adored every second I get to share these tools with people. 

Yoga helps with managing fibromyalgia and a family

Q: How does yoga help with managing fibromyalgia and a family?

MR: It helps me manage my symptoms and the children. I get overwhelmed by their noise, touch, and energy (they are all high-energy kids), so I can breathe, meditate, or stretch as needed. 

These are tools I can and do enact anytime, anywhere, and now that I’ve learned them, I have a valuable self-help toolkit forever. 

The tools’ adaptability means that I can still “do” yoga even with minimal time and energy. I will do a little standing sequence when I’m feeling stiff and watching the kids in the yard, and I will do several floor poses next to them when they are playing. 

Meditation helps me enormously, especially when they are babies and not sleeping in the night, to rest. I cannot nap, no matter how exhausted I am. So I do yoga Nidra guided meditations. It makes such a difference to the pain, fatigue, and my coping ability. 

Yoga During Pregnancy

Q: Is yoga possible during pregnancy?

MR: For sure. Some research shows that poses previously thought to be contraindications are delicate, so there are plenty of poses to choose from. Breathing helped me significantly during pregnancy and labor (I have long labors). Meditation saved my life, as I get so tired, and sleep gets even worse from very early in pregnancy. 

I have plans for yoga for pregnancy with fibromyalgia program as I’ve got some hard-earned knowledge, especially around pelvic dysfunction. Still, I wanted some more training and needed time to research. Time is at a premium as a mama with three busy boys, a part-time job, a blog, a small business, and a chronic illness! 

Yoga with Kids

Q: For those individuals with children, how can they practice yoga to include their kids?

MR: There are a couple of options here. You can include them in your practice. My (now) six-year-old loved learning the new poses with me as I was training and let me use him as my first student. We practice together regularly. The three-year-old tries, too. They both love the animal poses and show all the family their poses: ” Look, Nana, this is froggy.” The baby likes it when I practice on top of him and tickle him when I change poses. 

I’ve also taught the six-year-old some mindfulness practices. When he gets overwhelmed or wakes upset from a bad dream, we breathe. There is quite a lot of research showing the benefits of mindfulness for kids and adolescents. 

The other option is to set them up near us – coloring is a great distraction – and do our practice. 

Fibromyalgia Yoga Courses

Q: What courses do you offer? How can others connect with you?

MR: If people are curious about yoga for fibromyalgia, they can join my Facebook group, Yoga for Fibromyalgia with Melissa vs. Fibromyalgia.

I offer a unique, specialized virtual studio incorporating mindful movement, breathing, and meditation – Yoga for the Chronic Life is a monthly membership where you get specialized toolkits and series (like Yoga for the Bed, Chair Yoga, the Beginner’s Journey, and the 10 Day Meditation Toolkit), a library of classes and new classes added monthly. They are all designed to give you tools to enact daily and gentle movement. I have been working on this in the fringe hours and am so proud of what students have told me they have achieved using these tools.