Can Yoga Help Fibromyalgia?

“Pain is inevidible. Suffering is optional.” – Buddhist Quote

I discovered Buddhism as a teenager, almost by accident, and it was through a book full of quoted wisdom. The quote above was one I really practiced through out my life, and through some very tough times. I believed it to be true, and deeply.

That is, until I was in my 40s and struggling with physical pain. Chronic pain. Pain that would go on for days and exhaustion and fatigue that made me feel delusional at times. I was suffering, and deeply. That quote suddenly seemed to be completely irrelevant and debatable during my time with long covid, that three years later lead to my fibromyalgia diagnosis.

Now, it has been almost a full year since that diagnosis. I stumbled across this quote, and laughed to myself. Do I believe it to be true still? I do. This is why: Fibromyalgia is inevidble pain, but how I choose to manage it is what creates how much I suffer or not.

In my own defense, I didn’t know what was causing my on-going physical pain beyond covid. And sometimes I would have days with no pain, so I would think it had passed, and then suddenly seemingly out of nowhere, I would be hit with days of pain again. At this point there was no clear pattern or explanation, and it was crazy-making. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was adding to my suffering through the choices I was making: Binging on comfort food to give me the sensation of temporary joy when I had a miserable day, pushing to do jobs that “normally” I would have been able to do, planning my social calendar above and beyond what I was actually capable of, and saying no to anyone who offered to help with anything (because, I can do it myself, thank you very much)! All these things were adding to my suffering, I just didn’t understand it at the time.

Getting Diagnosed With Fibromyalgia

What an eye-opener when my doctor told me to research fibromyalgia, and if I think I might have it we can discuss it at my next appointment. After years of tests and bloodwork coming back relatively normal, we did a simple “quiz” in her office that revealed I had a majority of “moderate” symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.

The truth is, in my research, I had the realization that I’ve likely had fibromyalgia my whole life, I had just been managing it well with life-style (until covid hit me so hard). I have always suffered from migraines, been highly sensitive to lights and noise (I may present as an extrovert, but am very much an introvert), and would often have extreme reactions or multiple contractions of “infections” that most people only get once (chicken pox and shingles for example). Not to mention covid, which became long covid, which resulted in the official fibromyalgia diagnosis.

Online you’ll find a long list of ways to manage symptoms!

life-style changes including:
sleep hygiene
eating healthy diet
gentle exercise
counselling
managing time (learning to pace)
medication

I was confident I would be able to get the life-style changes under control, but it was the medication I was unsure of. My doctor prescribed a low-dose amitriptyline, that I started onto slowly, and WOW it definitely took the majority of pain away. I was stunned how quickly it worked, and it was a huge relief to have a break from the chronic pain. However, the side affects never really passed. After 8-months on the medication, I was still sleeping 10-12 hours and not feeling rested. I felt very “stoned” through out my days, and a bit disconnected from the world around me. It felt like I had a dark cloud over my head, preventing me from fully “getting on” with life as “normal” or as I would have wanted to. My productivity was very low, perhaps even less than when I had pain, because I had no motivation. I decided to stop the medication, and would try to manage the pain naturally.

Since July 2025 I have been trying to eat better, I definitely am sleeping better, I am pacing well, and exercise most days (including teaching yoga four times a week). Is my pain gone? Definitely not! Do I feel better overall? Yes. So, the big question…