| Date of Birth |
1975 |
| Occupation |
Jazz Pianist/Teacher, Actor |
| Hobbies/Activities |
-- |
| How long have you been diagnosed
with this condition? |
I was 23. I am now 31 |
| How would you explain your diagnosis? |
The tendonitis got serious when I was 22 - I was in denial
that I had a problem. But as the symptoms worsened it was
something that could not be ignored any longer.
- I was playing the piano an average of six hours a day,
plus doing a lot of computer work during my final year at
SFU. I was literally obsessed with jazz piano. I did little
else outside of it and school. It got to the point where
holding utensils was painful, playing the piano was agony,
and mowing the lawn was torture.
- A doctor told me if I did not stop playing the piano I
would not be able to use my arms at all eventually. So I
quit. I lived and worked in Chile and Japan for the next
four years which was a great way for me to keep my mind
off of piano.
|
| What kinds of things about your
diagnosis affect you: |
|
| - Physically? |
at its best, slight inflammation
in the upper forearm, at its worst, like someone ran a razor
down each of the tendons from the elbow to the wrists |
| - Psychologically? |
having to quit the
piano when I was 23 was devastating to my sense of self and
to what I had been dreaming of doing professionally since
I was young. |
| - General Quality of Life? |
Certainly I couldn’t justify
playing my favorite sport (tennis) when it was hurting just
to brush my teeth |
| What Treatments are you receiving
& how were they working? |
Complete rest was the number one
treatment when I was 23. That’s not an easy treatment
for a piano player to submit to, but I had no choice. It did
work, but it was not a solution I could accept. When I got
back from living overseas, thinking a four year break would
have allowed my arms to fully heal, I was furious when I started
to feel twinges in my arms after one hour of playing. I visited
sports medicine clinics and physio therapists. It did not
help my problem. I tried acupuncture once. I didn’t like
it. The first thing to help me was a recommendation from a
massage therapist to not just do icing after I played, but
to regularly do hot/cold water contrast with my arms, before
and after playing. |
| How did you hear
about Bikram Yoga? |
Lisa Pelzer, a director
of the Bikram’s studio I go to, studies piano with my
mentor Bob Doyle. When I got back in contact with Bob a few
months ago he told me he had a student who absolutely insisted
I try Bikram’s. She had told him confidently that it
would cure my problem. |
| Did you have any fear or tendencies
about the yoga? |
Naturally. “Hot Yoga”
sounded like the last thing I would ever want to do. In fact,
any type of yoga didn’t really appeal to me. The only
reason I gave it a try was on the off chance it could help
me play piano again. Lisa had seemed so confident with my
piano teacher, and Danny Dworkis spoke the same way when I
met him. As I met the other teachers they all were positive
about healing my arms. |
| How long have you been practicing
the yoga? How often per week? |
I started in March, going a 3 times
a week. I noticed immediate improvement after only a few classes.
I pushed myself hard every class. The strength it gave my
hands surprised me the most. After a few weeks, I was playing
the piano, maybe one or two hours a day, and felt no pain.
It was a great thing, seeing as I had promised naïvely
to play jazz piano for a live theater show with 15 performances,
and even to the director to cut a CD for it. Bikram’s
was taking up too much of my time, though… and as a musician/actor
it can get expensive to go regularly. I stopped going to the
Bikram studio, and decided to go into my sauna at my apartment
building, and do my own 30 minute mini version of it. I made
it through the show pain-free, and even got great reviews.
I kept playing. Then the pain came back. |
| What changes have you noticed
in yourself that you believe are a result of you practicing
the yoga? |
Four weeks ago I started going
back to the Bikram studio after taking a two-month break during
which the pain came back again in my arms. Immediately I felt
the difference between practicing Bikram’s alone in my
sauna for 30 minutes, and doing the full class with a teacher
and other students to motivate you and monitor your technique.
Again I’m feeling good and I’m playing piano again.
I played a wedding last week, and have another one booked.
I currently am doing five to six Bikram classes per week.
Outside of playing the piano again, I noticed how much better
I feel again overall, physically and mentally. |
| Has any of your conventional
treatment changed since practicing the yoga? (i.e. discontinuation
of medication) |
I’ve never been one for taking
pills to solve a problem, so nothing has changed that way.
In addition to Bikram, I do the hot/cold water therapy. |
| What would you like to tell
people who are feeling hesitant about trying the yoga? |
You are reading the testimonial
of a guy who never thought yoga was “real” exercise,
let alone that it could do so much for my tendonitis problems.
Bikram yoga heals your body and strengthens your mind but
you need the discipline to go to class and to work hard. I
truly believe that if you give it a try for a month you will
see great benefits and won’t want to stop. The instructors
should feel great pride for what they are doing. |
