Yoga for Health Foundation in England
Assisting at a Retreat on Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Plodda Lodge, Trees for Life's Field Base and tree nursery
Situated just outside Glen Affric,was built in the 1850's as a laundry for the Guisachan Estate.
One of the nursery's polytunnels is visible on the left.

I spent the 2nd week, the 9/11 week in Inverness, which I used as a base for day trips as well as toured the town and whereabouts as well. I was in a laundromat when I first heard about the terror attack in New York City. Of course I remember that morning, day and aftermath very well.

From Inverness I took day trips to the Isle of Skye, to the Orkney Islands North of Scotland, and spent time with the Loch Ness monster.

The 3rd week I participated in Experience Week at the international, spiritual community of Findhorn, and worked in the Findhorn Garden.

At the beginning of my 4th week I traveled from Findhorn in NE Scotland in a van across Scotland to Mull on its Western Coast. From Mull I took a small boat to the Isle of Erraid off the coast of Mull. Living on this island that is 1-square mile in size is a small community of people affiliated with Findhorn. On Erraid I worked in the gardens and kitchen and enjoyed relaxing tea breaks. The few houses on Erraid were built by Robert Louis Stevenson and his family, who also built a lighthouse on the island. If I'm not mistaken, all these structures were made of granite. Stevenson mentions the Isle of Erraid briefly in his novel "Kidnapped". From Erraid I went on a day trip to the Isle of Iona which is just across the bay, and there I took joined in on a Christian walking pilgrimage around Iona.

After Erraid I spent 4 days in Edinburgh and went on a lot of interesting walking tours including a visit to St. Mary's Close. Also known as Mary King's Close, it is hidden beneath the Royal Mile where lies a warren of hidden ‘closes’ where people lived, worked and died, I believe from the ravages of the plague. For centuries they have lain forgotten and abandoned… On another walking tour I learned about the medieval sewage system - 'Gar de Loo' would be shouted out as a warning from a window above, before the sewage was thrown onto the street below. Edinburgh is a really great city for ghost and cemetary tours.

The Yoga for Health Foundation has since disbanded, and Howard Kent, its visionary founder, who simplified Yoga and made it accessible to those with chronic illness, died in February 2005 around the age of 85. I met him when I worked at the Foundation, and bought one of his books that he upon request autographed for me. I'm going to take a look at that book again.

There is a new foundation in England that is being built on the ashes of the old, visit the YFH website for info:
http://www.yogaforhealthfoundation.co.uk/

When I returned to New York City I wrote an article about my experiences at the Yoga for Health Foundation for the New York Yoga Teachers' Association which was published in their newsletter. While the newsletter's editors made some good suggestions which I implemented, they wanted to cut out parts I felt were important. What was of most concern to me was that they did not let me edit the final copy, so I did not feel comfortable with the published article as I didn't like some of their editing choices.

I am going to take the best of the original article I wrote, putting back in some omitted sections and using the editing suggestions that I do value. That's my opportunity here, keep on reading...

The Center's founder, Howard Kent, discovered Yoga through the teachings of ahimsa (non-violence), a quality which he recognized within himself. Gandhi's translation of the Bhagavad Gita - "The Gita According to Ghandi" made a great impact on him - the war in the Gita as symbolic of the battle of life.

Howard Kent, Founder of the Yoga for Health Foundation

This photo and all photos below are courtesy of Ian Frame.

As producer of a popular television series called "Yoga for Health", in 1970 Kent arranged to bring Richard Hittleman, the instructor of the series, over from United States to London to give a presentation at Albert Hall. The response was so favorable that Howard Kent was led to start the organization Yoga for Health in 1972/73, and in 1976 the Yoga for Health Foundation began as a registered charity. In 1978 the Foundation took a lease on a large and beautiful property called Ickwell Bury ("The Bury"), in Bedfordshire north of London. The Bury was to be run as a residential center, where the holistic approach of yoga could be brought to many people, and the building was equipped with special facilities such as gentle ramps and a stairlift.

Howard Kent (top middle), Founder, Yoga for Health Foundation

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the body's defense system attacks the myelin sheath surrounding nerves. Without the myelin, nerves begin to short out, thereby blocking pathways between the brain and the body. The practice of Yoga is beneficial as it can help open up new pathways in the brain.

The Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis retreat I assisted on had 23 participants. 7 of the participants were in wheelchairs, and some of them brought helpers with them to assist them. Participants ranged in ability from an ex-lawyer who has had MS for 20 years and still runs, to a woman who came with her husband and her helper, who both would move her limbs for her in Yoga class, as she herself could not move her own body.

Each retreat day started at 7AM with a 1-hour Yoga class. Those in wheelchairs usually attended the longer class at 10:30 AM, where they were helped down to the floor to lie on their backs. The approach of the Yoga for Health Foundation was this - with prolonged wheelchair sitting (and worse, slouching), the diaphragm moves little and one's energy level sinks more and more, so it is very important to move wheelchair students out of their wheelchairs, which frees their bodies so they can relax and breathe on the floor. A rectangular plastic support with handles was placed on the wheelchair seat and the student would sit on it. Three or four helpers would hold on to the handles and all would inhale and (easily) lift the student out of the chair and then exhale to lower him or her gently to the mat.

Classes started with relaxation - lying on the back with pillows and blankets for support as needed. Breathing is emphasized -- both relaxed, rhythmical abdominal breathing, and a more energized rib cage breathing. With rib cage breathing, hands are placed on the sides of the lower rib cage, and on exhalation, the ribs are pressed firmly into the middle, which deepens and lengthens the breath, aids relaxation and encourages the intercostal muscles to move and regain elasticity. Simple arm movements were synchronized with the breath to open the chest, deepening breath awareness and mind-body connection. The class would include movements such as full-body stretches, twists, leg work, bridge pose, cat/dog stretches and sometimes included cobra and other gentle backbends. Seated forward bends were minimized due to participants' difficulties in sitting up on the floor. Class ended with a long relaxation.

Some of the students needed assistance to move into the various positions. One woman who had hip replacement surgery couldn't bend her leg. After I worked with her during the retreat, by the end of the week she could bend her knee into her chest! I showed her husband what to do so she could continue her good work.

Yoga class was followed by a well-attended meditation session, and then lunch.

After lunch there was free time and I'd go into the beautiful old brick-walled gardens, which were an integral part of the healing whole that is offered at YFH. The vegetable garden had massive pumpkins and squashes, and while there you might just see the cook run out and pull up some leeks for dinner.

The multi-colored rose garden had a little lotus pond and well-situated benches which beckoned for relaxing, inner moments. I weeded the rose beds, creating breathing space for the roses, and restoring my energy. I was able to approach a rabbit (who wasn't supposed to be there), and pet her, tentatively at first. Participants from the retreat would sit quietly in the garden, some in their wheelchairs, absorbing the gardens' stillness and energy. It seemed that the spirits of nature knew that people come for healing and so would provide a healing haven.

On one of my walks around the lake that was further back from the house my friend Damien - who I had met a few weeks previously at the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland - found a branch from a Yew tree,which he said was used to make shooting bows perhaps back in the time of Robin Hood.

At 4 PM there was an afternoon program on a yoga-related topic such as breathing or mudras, and then an entertaining evening program after dinner.

It was rewarding to be part of this and to see all the participants coming to drink in yoga for their health. Most enjoyed the shared group experience and felt that they noticeably improved in their health and physical ability - they were able to walk better, for example - after the retreat.

My schedule did not permit me to stay and assist in the next retreat "Yoga for Arthritis and Cancer", but I had hoped to visit YFH again. When this retreat was over I headed back to the US, now 5 weeks after the 9/11 attacks in New York City.

The Foundation underwent a long campaign to "Save the Bury", with the intent to raise money to purchase the estate. Unfortunately, as I post this in 2007, the Yoga for Health Foundation is now closed, as stated on their website.

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"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
- Anais Nin

Last modified January 2018.