01/06/2022
I’ve just launched a free community website exploring yoga for people who are HIV+ at pozyoga.org.
As part of my year-long advanced yoga teacher training program, I had to do an independent study. I immediately knew that I wanted to do the study on yoga for HIV as I’ve been HIV+ since 1999, and I’ve been doing yoga since 1995.
The big issue for long-term HIV survivors is chronic inflammation that the virus causes in the body. It’s something that all of us with HIV have, even if you’ve been undetectable for years. As people are aging with HIV, the medical community is recognizing that we experience earlier onset of a host of age-related conditions that are caused by this inflammation including heart disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer, anxiety and depression, etc, etc, etc.
In my studies, it was fairly easy to find a lot of scientific evidence that yoga is particularly good for people living with HIV and that it’s great at reducing chronic inflammation. It’s also great in dealing with those other issues mentioned above.
I was very surprised to find is that there’s not much out there serving this community. I think after 1996, when the drug cocktail came out, a lot of the yoga programs for people with HIV disappeared. It’s taken some years for the medical community to realize that even though we are living longer, healthier lives and that most of us won’t die from the virus, there are these other very difficult health issues we have to deal with. Because it’s a gradual thing, I think that most HIV positive folks aren’t aware that this is an issue. I think most people don’t realize that this inflammation can cause their anxiety or depression or diabetes or…
My focus has been on teaching a very accessible yoga that’s open to all ages including chair yoga, but also more rigorous practices for more athletic folks. In general my classes are aimed at those over 45 or 50. So if you are interested, you should know that I teach classes that are accessible to just about every age and body type. On my site there are on-demand classes and I’m hoping that yogis with their own practice will become a part of the site too so we can share information and support each other through this space. I’d love to find other teachers or therapists who want to teach within the community as well… yoga, meditation, breathwork, pilates, mindfulness, mental health, whatever.
So please check it out or tell your friends who might be interested. Go to the site and request to join. All ages, genders, body types, beginners, advanced yogis are welcome, as long as you are HIV+. It is free and private. I realize that some might not be out about their HIV status, and might not want to use their real name on the site, which is fine, but I’m making every effort to create a safe space where we all feel comfortable being ourselves.
If all goes well and if there’s enough interest, I plan on turning this into a non-profit (or a charity as it’s called here in the UK).
