Mary Moeller talks fibromyalgia, spondyloarthritis, seronegative arthritis – and YOGA

Mary lives with her husband in Encinitas, a coastal beach city in California

My mother, sister and brother had rheumatoid arthritis so when I started experiencing terrible knee pain in my forties I was preparing myself for a diagnosis. When it didn’t show up in tests, I was surprised and relieved. But in 2007, when I was just 47 years old, I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis, and two years later, spondyloarthritis, fibromyalgia and seronegative arthritis followed.
I had both knees replaced in 2009 and had to retire in 2010. I take a whole range of medication, supplements and multivitamins. I’m asthmatic so inhalers are part of the picture too.
Although I took yoga classes in high school and college, I had fallen out of the habit of going. But when the leader of my fibromyalgia support group, Dannette Rusnak, began teaching gentle yoga to the group in 2011, I found it hugely helped my pain levels. She is now a certified instructor and has opened her own yoga teaching school. She is my favourite instructor because she really knows me and my limitations and always makes me feel good about the class and my participation.
Yoga enables me to become more flexible and my joints feel less stiff. I feel calm when I practice yoga and I sleep much better at night. I have degenerative arthritis in my neck and upper spine and sometimes just turning my head in the car while driving can be difficult, but when I practice yoga regularly, my neck stiffness is diminished.
I have tried weight training and going to a gym, and the results were terrible. I hurt myself and I hired a trainer in 2007 who claimed she knew knee arthritis, but clearly didn’t and I hurt myself more. But I do love to walk and my husband and I try to walk up to five miles over the weekend and take a few shorter walks during the week.
My advice for others with arthritis is to work with your medical team and realise they are working for you. I found an amazing chiropractor/nutritionist and I get regular massage therapy. I have tried many different medications, some work, some don’t, but it’s so important to stay positive and keep trying things until they work for you. I have a relatively active and joyful life considering all my physical limitations. Yoga is a big part of keeping me focused and happy.

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