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Farewell to oMS Yoga

In 2011, Cheryl and I met at the North Florida chapter of the National MS Society’s annual luncheon. We were introduced because we both did yoga, and had expressed an interest in yoga teacher training to teach yoga to people living with MS. A year later, and with no contact in between, we found ourselves mat to mat at a Baptiste Master Class with Baron Baptiste, who had recently released a CD for people living with MS. We looked up at each other and said, “let’s do this.” oMS Yoga was born in 2012.

Over the past 12 years, we have been no less than blessed by yoga studio owners opening their doors to our non-profit, and yoga teachers seeking volunteer opportunities to teach. It brings tears to my eyes to think of the number of lives we touched, through yoga, by offering a safe space of community for people and families living with MS, a safe space to explore and overcome physical boundaries, and a space for joy to bloom and thrive as a teacher and a student.

At the height of interest in oMS Yoga, and prior to COVID, we had partnered with 9 studios in 5 cities:
Jacksonville: Big Fish Power Yoga, M Body Yoga, Dragon Dance Yoga, Yoga Den, Shine Massage & Spa
St. Augustine: Now and Zen
Del Ray: Beyond Fitness
Charleston: O2 Fitness
Philadelphia: Moss Rehab, as winners of the Albert Einstein Society’s Innovative Program grant via Einstein Medical Center

We published research about the benefits of yoga in Multiple Sclerosis, and we presented to health care professionals about these benefits at international meetings, teaming up with Yoga Moves MS. Yoga has since become known as way for people living with MS to address loneliness, anxiety, fatigue, spasticity, bowel and bladder issues, pain, and balance.

Cheryl and I had always wanted to make oMS yoga accessible virtually. We could not begin to imagine a pandemic would force us to do that, however imperfectly. Pretty quickly, our classes went from serving people in the cities listed above, to people in Canada, North and South America, Puerto Rico, and even Europe and Australia!

I stepped down from teaching in 2022. A HUGE shout out of love and gratitude to Barbara Baker and Chelsea Franklin for carrying the baton (or yoga mat) forward. In the fall of that year, my dear friend Mindy Eisenberg, founder of Yoga Moves MS, saw some overwhelm in my eye and called me, saying, “is there anything I can take off your plate?” Yoga Moves MS took over scheduling our classes as we entered a collaboration.

It is time to say goodbye to oMS Yoga for now. There are seasons for everything, and my season for this needs time to rest and regenerate.

Thank you to Cheryl Russell, for your behind the scenes advice for the past few years, and to Courtney Blanton, our fearless treasurer! Thank you to the National MS Society, MS Foundation, MS Views and News, Albert Einstein Society, and countless generous donors for keeping us afloat this long. Thank you to Susan McInnis and Mark Kloeppel for your expertise. Thank you to all of the studio owners and teachers who provided such joy and opportunity along the way.

Thank you, most of all, to our fearless superhero yogis for taking a chance with us 12 years ago, and floating to your feet.

Namaste and Blessings,

Megan Weigel