{"id":12563,"date":"2017-10-20T08:54:16","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T14:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=12563"},"modified":"2023-06-23T10:59:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T16:59:34","slug":"yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoga &#8216;warrior&#8217; fights chronic illness"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><figure id=\"attachment_12558\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12558\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12558\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022001\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized.webp\" alt=\"Ellie Bluestein illustrates her warrior pose at Chautauqua Park near her home in Boulder.\" width=\"840\" height=\"461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022001\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized.webp 1200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022001\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-300x165.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022001\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-1024x561.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022001\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-768x421.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022001\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-150x82.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022001\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-200x110.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12558\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ellie Bluestein illustrates her warrior pose at Chautauqua Park near her home in Boulder. With her are her dogs, Zev, left and Sadie, right. She has learned to modify her yoga poses as she copes with a chronic illness. She &#8216;Elliefies&#8217; her life. Photo by UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ellie Bluestein stands on a rock, lunges and stretches her right arm out to the horizon in one of her favorite yoga poses as Boulder\u2019s Flatirons jut up into the blue sky behind her.<\/p>\n<p>She is fierce. She is strong. She\u2019s a warrior.<\/p>\n<p>Forget that Ellie has a rare autoimmune disease that can leave her feeling exhausted and sore.<\/p>\n<p>Once a self-described \u201cgo-go girl,\u201d who loved challenging herself with trail runs, tennis and half-marathons, Ellie has figured out how to fight back against her disease.<\/p>\n<p>She \u201cEllifies\u201d her life.<\/p>\n<p>What, you might ask, does it mean to Elliefy your life?<\/p>\n<p>Well, one day, Ellie was feeling pretty lousy as she lay on her yoga mat. She was struggling to do poses that had come easily to her before she became weak and inexplicably tired about four years ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m going to need to modify,\u201d she thought to herself. \u201cNo. I\u2019m going to elevate and modify. I\u2019m going to \u2018Elliefy.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just came to me,\u201d said Ellie, 49.<br \/>\n<div class=\"su-callout-box col-xs-6 col-sm-6 right\" style=\"background-color:#dce4e7; color:#2e3b44;\">\n<p><strong>Elliefy your life:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Can\u2019t run? Go for a walk or hike at your own pace instead.<\/li>\n<li>Notice the beauty around you.<\/li>\n<li>Breathe.<\/li>\n<li>Focus on what you can do, not what you can\u2019t do.<\/li>\n<li>In yoga, simplify your poses. Try the child\u2019s pose or the puppy dog pose.<\/li>\n<li>Hold on to a mirror or wall if necessary to make it easier to balance.<\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019re doing lunges, use blocks to give you extra support.<\/li>\n<li>Develop an empowering mantra and repeat it often.<\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019re feeling lousy, imagine you are climbing a peak. Eventually, you will be at the summit and life will get easier.<\/li>\n<li>Find the beauty around you and revel in it.<\/li>\n<li>Embrace the people and pets in your life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Since then, she has been making little adjustments to Elliefy her workouts, her attitude and her life.<\/p>\n<p>The first time Ellie went to yoga after receiving a diagnosis of dermatomyositis, she shared with her fellow yogis that she was dealing with a tough, chronic disease.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s such a supportive place. I can cry on my mat. I can laugh on my mat. I can just be Ellie. There\u2019s no judgment. No competition. I don\u2019t care what anybody else is doing. I just breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When a fellow yogi saw Ellie struggling, he gave her a very comforting message: \u201cjust showing up is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt made me feel so good. I didn\u2019t even have to move. I just have to breathe. As long as I\u2019m breathing and I\u2019m on my mat, I\u2019m doing yoga.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some days, she feels well enough to do all her favorite poses, like the warrior. Other days, she keeps it simpler and does the child\u2019s pose, a basic move where she curls up face down on her mat and stretches her arms back alongside her body. She often practices with her eyes closed and feels no shame in holding on to the mirror in the front of the class to help her balance. Sometimes, she does her puppy dog pose. Or she takes her \u201cpuppies,\u201d 3-year-old Sadie and 1-year-old Zev, out to walk in a beautiful place like Chautauqua.<\/p>\n<p>Ellie used to race up and down mountain trails. During the summer of 2012, she completed a tough race that tops out on Mosquito Pass over 13,000 feet called the Leadville Heavy Half-Marathon. At the end of that year, however, she was having trouble running and keeping weight on and was diagnosed with a disease called Malabsorption Syndrome.<\/p>\n<p>The diagnosis of dermatomyositis came this year and Elli\u2019s doctors think the two illnesses are connected.<\/p>\n<p>These days, she has made peace with going for walks or hikes instead of runs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything is a little bit slower. But that\u2019s OK. It gives me more time to enjoy my surroundings, more time to play with my puppies,\u201d Ellie said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all about adjusting, \u2018Elliefying\u2019 my life. I adjust do what my body can do,\u201d she said. \u201cI look at the positive, not the negative. I think about what I can do, not what I can\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ellie\u2019s disease tends to throw her into cycles of low and high points. She uses a mountain metaphor to describe how she handles the fluctuations. When she feels sick, she visualizes being in a valley. Then she has to begin her climb to the summit, just like she did when she was running or climbing up peaks. When she feels well, she consciously enjoys the good days and being at her peak. When she starts declining, she knows she\u2019ll soon begin climbing out of her trough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElliefying makes me feel a little more in control. I can\u2019t control what the disease is going to do. I can control my mind and my thoughts and how I approach this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ellie draws strength from her husband, whom she married in August in Grand Teton National Park. They met just about the time she was getting sick, but Phil Bluestein patiently supported Ellie as she learned why her energy kept plummeting. She also counts on her family, friends and her medical team at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-neurosciences-center-anschutz\/\">UCHealth Neurosciences Center<\/a> in Aurora.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m grateful for where I live because I have access to the best medical team anywhere,\u201d she said. \u201cI have the most amazing support system, my husband, my medical team, my yoga family. It makes having this a little easier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ellie emails or calls her nurse, Jennifer Allen, every week and says she\u2019s her \u201crock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She also loves her neuromuscular specialist, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/provider\/matthew-wicklund\/\">Dr. Matt Wicklund<\/a>. He\u2019s confident that with Ellie\u2019s positive approach and his treatment options, Ellie faces a bright future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a chronic disorder, but we\u2019re optimistic that she\u2019ll get much better,\u201d Wicklund said. \u201cIt\u2019s an autoimmune disorder that tends to respond well to immunotherapy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dermatomyositis is like asthma in that it\u2019s an inflammatory disease. It causes inflammation of the skin and muscles. Because it\u2019s relatively rare and little-known, some people can suffer with the disease for many years before getting diagnosed, Wicklund said.<\/p>\n<p>In Ellie\u2019s case, her primary care doctor in Boulder honed in on the type of disease relatively quickly, then made sure Ellie saw the experts at UCHealth as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n<p>The disease turns Ellie\u2019s own body against her; her immune system is attacking her muscles, skin and gastrointestinal tract.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI often use a military analogy,\u201d Wicklund said. \u201cIt\u2019s like your immune system is the blue army, and you expertly train your soldiers to shoot everything in red: viruses, bacteria, etc. Then, if for some reason, your cooks decide to make a fashion statement and come to work dressed in red bandanas, unfortunately that blue army \u2014 one\u2019s immune system \u2014 shoots all of its cooks and the blue army goes hungry.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12559\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12559\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12559\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022005\/Ellie-wedding-photo-sized.webp\" alt=\"Ellie and her husband, Phil, on their wedding day in the Tetons.\" width=\"450\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022005\/Ellie-wedding-photo-sized.webp 1200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022005\/Ellie-wedding-photo-sized-300x201.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022005\/Ellie-wedding-photo-sized-1024x685.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022005\/Ellie-wedding-photo-sized-768x514.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022005\/Ellie-wedding-photo-sized-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20022005\/Ellie-wedding-photo-sized-200x134.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12559\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ellie met her husband, Phil, at about the time that she was diagnosed with a chronic illness. He&#8217;s been a great supporter and the two were married at Grand Teton National Park in August. Photo courtesy of Ellie Bluestein.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIn the same fashion, Ellie\u2019s immune system sees something threatening on her own muscles and skin, and her body ends up attacking itself,\u201d Wicklund said.<\/p>\n<p>Along with the medications, Wicklund said Ellie\u2019s healthy lifestyle will strengthen her immune system and keep her fit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs she uses her muscles in a non-strenuous way, doing activities like yoga, she can keep her muscles toned and fit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Yoga and meditation also contribute to positive mental health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou absolutely have a better outlook on life and all of those patients do better,\u201d Wicklund said.<\/p>\n<p>Ellie said that when she was first diagnosed, she was angry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have to feel that and move through it. It doesn\u2019t serve you to hold on to that. I could dwell on being one in a million and why I have this. Or I can say, \u2018I\u2019m special.\u2019 You have to change your thinking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Ellie comes from strong stock of powerful Jewish women.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mom had cancer when she was in her 60s. Both grandmas had different kinds of cancer. But they were very, very strong Jewish women. I got the \u2018dig-deep\u2019 gene from them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why it\u2019s no surprise that Ellie especially loves the warrior pose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven though my muscles shake and quiver a little, and sometimes my arms get tired, it\u2019s my favorite,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>When she\u2019s feeling well, she gets into that pose. When she\u2019s not, she keeps breathing.<\/p>\n<p>Many times a day, she repeats a mantra that fortifies her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am love. I am strong. I am relentless. I am a warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven when I\u2019m in a deep valley, I say that to myself many times a day. Words are powerful and I can dig deep.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not going to let this disease stop me. I\u2019m going to Elliefy my life on my best days and my worst days.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ellie Bluestein stands on a rock, lunges and stretches her right arm out to the horizon in one of her favorite yoga poses as Boulder\u2019s Flatirons jut up into the blue sky behind her. She is fierce. She is strong. She\u2019s a warrior. Forget that Ellie has a rare autoimmune disease that can leave her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2123,"featured_media":12569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4408,271,253,189,9187,1497,2276],"class_list":["post-12563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-chronic-disease-management","tag-exercise","tag-health-and-fitness","tag-immunotherapy","tag-readysetco","tag-uchealth-university-of-colorado-hospital","tag-yoga"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Yoga &#039;warrior&#039; fights rare autoimmune disease - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Forget that Ellie has a rare autoimmune disease that can leave her feeling exhausted and sore. Once a self-described \u201cgo-go girl,\u201d who loved challenging herself with trail runs, tennis and half-marathons, Ellie has figured out how to fight back against her disease. She \u201cEllifies\u201d her life.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yoga &#039;warrior&#039; fights chronic illness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Forget that Ellie has a rare autoimmune disease that can leave her feeling exhausted and sore. Once a self-described \u201cgo-go girl,\u201d who loved challenging herself with trail runs, tennis and half-marathons, Ellie has figured out how to fight back against her disease. She \u201cEllifies\u201d her life.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCHealth Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-20T14:54:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-23T16:59:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20024847\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-for-horitzontal.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uchealth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d43cd81d6f8e440a3e496f8a012c68e9\"},\"headline\":\"Yoga &#8216;warrior&#8217; fights chronic illness\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-20T14:54:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-23T16:59:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1597,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/20024847\\\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-for-horitzontal.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Chronic disease management\",\"Exercise\",\"Health and fitness\",\"Immunotherapy\",\"Ready. Set. CO\",\"UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital\",\"Yoga\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Healthy living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/\",\"name\":\"Yoga 'warrior' fights rare autoimmune disease - UCHealth Today\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/20024847\\\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-for-horitzontal.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-20T14:54:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-23T16:59:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"Forget that Ellie has a rare autoimmune disease that can leave her feeling exhausted and sore. Once a self-described \u201cgo-go girl,\u201d who loved challenging herself with trail runs, tennis and half-marathons, Ellie has figured out how to fight back against her disease. She \u201cEllifies\u201d her life.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/20024847\\\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-for-horitzontal.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2017\\\/10\\\/20024847\\\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-for-horitzontal.webp\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":613,\"caption\":\"Photo by UCHealth.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Yoga &#8216;warrior&#8217; fights chronic illness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"name\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"description\":\"UCHealth Today\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UCHealth\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/24135149\\\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"UCHealth\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/uchealth\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/uchealth\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/school\\\/14839\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/uchealthorg\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d43cd81d6f8e440a3e496f8a012c68e9\",\"name\":\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth\"},\"description\":\"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon is a proud Coloradan. She attended Colorado College thanks to a merit scholarship from the Boettcher Foundation and worked as a park ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park during summers in college. Katie is a dedicated storyteller who loves getting to know UCHealth patients and providers and sharing their inspiring stories. Katie spent years working as an award-winning journalist at the Rocky Mountain News and at an online health policy news site before joining UCHealth in 2017. Katie and her husband, Cyrus \u2014 a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer \u2014 have three adult children and love spending time in the Colorado mountains and traveling around the world.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.uchealth.org\\\/today\\\/author\\\/mccrimmonk\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Yoga 'warrior' fights rare autoimmune disease - UCHealth Today","description":"Forget that Ellie has a rare autoimmune disease that can leave her feeling exhausted and sore. Once a self-described \u201cgo-go girl,\u201d who loved challenging herself with trail runs, tennis and half-marathons, Ellie has figured out how to fight back against her disease. She \u201cEllifies\u201d her life.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Yoga 'warrior' fights chronic illness","og_description":"Forget that Ellie has a rare autoimmune disease that can leave her feeling exhausted and sore. Once a self-described \u201cgo-go girl,\u201d who loved challenging herself with trail runs, tennis and half-marathons, Ellie has figured out how to fight back against her disease. She \u201cEllifies\u201d her life.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/","og_site_name":"UCHealth Today","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","article_published_time":"2017-10-20T14:54:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-23T16:59:34+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20024847\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-for-horitzontal.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uchealth","twitter_site":"@uchealth","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/"},"author":{"name":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/d43cd81d6f8e440a3e496f8a012c68e9"},"headline":"Yoga &#8216;warrior&#8217; fights chronic illness","datePublished":"2017-10-20T14:54:16+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-23T16:59:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/"},"wordCount":1597,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20024847\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-for-horitzontal.webp","keywords":["Chronic disease management","Exercise","Health and fitness","Immunotherapy","Ready. Set. CO","UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital","Yoga"],"articleSection":["Healthy living"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/","name":"Yoga 'warrior' fights rare autoimmune disease - UCHealth Today","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20024847\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-for-horitzontal.webp","datePublished":"2017-10-20T14:54:16+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-23T16:59:34+00:00","description":"Forget that Ellie has a rare autoimmune disease that can leave her feeling exhausted and sore. Once a self-described \u201cgo-go girl,\u201d who loved challenging herself with trail runs, tennis and half-marathons, Ellie has figured out how to fight back against her disease. She \u201cEllifies\u201d her life.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20024847\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-for-horitzontal.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2017\/10\/20024847\/Ellie-warrior-photo-sized-for-horitzontal.webp","width":1600,"height":613,"caption":"Photo by UCHealth."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/yoga-warrior-fights-chronic-illness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Yoga &#8216;warrior&#8217; fights chronic illness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","name":"UCHealth Today","description":"UCHealth Today","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#organization","name":"UCHealth","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/24135149\/UCHealth-square-logo-1000x1000-1.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"UCHealth"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/uchealth","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uchealth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/14839\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/uchealthorg\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC41SJI79yjZIe96OajzN22g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/#\/schema\/person\/d43cd81d6f8e440a3e496f8a012c68e9","name":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e4b3e7f171d65a6d6ea64ec84c6b217b969af09b9439c593a692bbcccd793724?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth"},"description":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon is a proud Coloradan. She attended Colorado College thanks to a merit scholarship from the Boettcher Foundation and worked as a park ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park during summers in college. Katie is a dedicated storyteller who loves getting to know UCHealth patients and providers and sharing their inspiring stories. Katie spent years working as an award-winning journalist at the Rocky Mountain News and at an online health policy news site before joining UCHealth in 2017. Katie and her husband, Cyrus \u2014 a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer \u2014 have three adult children and love spending time in the Colorado mountains and traveling around the world.","url":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/mccrimmonk\/"}]}},"coauthors":[{"id":2123,"name":"Katie Kerwin McCrimmon","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/author\/mccrimmonk\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12563"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22271,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12563\/revisions\/22271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}