Am I limitted to yoga because of my ileostomy bag ?!

Your Ostomy bag should not limit you EVER! I have had my bag for 10 years now - I'm only 33 and no one has any idea I have the bag unless I tell them. additionally, when I tell them that I've had 38 surgeries due to a chronic illness (crohn's) they don't even believe me because I don't let it impact my life.
I admit - it hasn't been easy - going to Hawaii last year for my 10 year anniversary - I wish I could have worn a "real" bikini - but I truly have the most amazing husband! I got my bag a mere 6 months after we were married and I actually gave him an "out" - which obviously he didn't take. You WILL find the one- no matter what your abdomen looks like. I played college basketball and fastpitch pre bag, but I can - and still play and do whatever I want - and I have been healthy ever since getting the bag.
It sounds like you have a great head on your shoulders, you know what you want and it is completely realistic for you to attain it!

Hang in there and keep the faith!

Bridge

Does your dad wear reading glasses yet? They are "abnormal" too -- we weren't made with plastic or metal on our faces. Clothes are abnormal too, no one's born wearing them.....

A j pouch isn't any less abnormal than a bag -- these are things that through human intelligence and compassion people have figured out as alternatives to being DEAD or SICK all the time. So sorry your parents aren't grasping that, and so glad you aren't listening to them.

A lot of people meet partners when they have a bag -- it's a great screening device for weeding out superficial people who only care about looks (and you know, those go for everyone, eventually.....and it's not even like a bag affects your looks very much)

That said, I think there are some potential limitations with yoga -- I would be careful about belly down poses where you could be right on top of your stoma. You can probably figure out a way to teach them though without doing things that would hurt you. Yoga is about being present w/your body in the moment and working within your limitations -- and everyone has limitations.

I was going to a very gentle restorative yoga class before my current surgery/bed rest -- the teacher said that this kind of yoga was developed by a yoga teacher who got into a serious car accident and couldn't move very much.

I used to do yoga w/an IV pole in the hospital, as I could and when I was up for it.... thought it would be great if they had a class on the hospital tv.....

So just keep listening to your body -- on keeping the bag or not, on how you do yoga, etc.....

Jackie, sometimes people say the wrong things because they just don't know what to say. YOU are the one who is really living life with the bag, not them, so YOU can decide what your life will be like! I have learned so much from reading these boards and one thing I see over and over again is that the bag does not limit you from doing anything you want to do. There may be some obstacles to work around, and there may be some difficult times, but you can do whatever you put your mind to. I think it is just hard for parents to see their child going through something and it is easier for them to deal with it by just pretending it is not really happening, or it's only temporary. Just keep being positive, you are doing a great job, and your parents will start to see that the bag isn't what defines you. Keep up the good work Jackie!
Ali

Jackie, all I can say is if we didn't do things because they are abnormal then medical science wouldn't have advanced much. Does your Dad consider hearing aids and walking sticks shouldn't be used and that wheelchairs are to be abolished. Think he needs a bit of a reality check, if people are only interested in someone for their looks then they aren't the person you would really want to be with anyway, well not unless you go for the shallow as a puddle kind, I guess not but you never know. I mean how would you ever get to the mirror or into the bathroom as the sort of people who are only with you for looks are usually too in love with their own reflection to notice what is going on around them anyway.

The yoga thing, I think people you teach will actually find it beneficial to know their teacher has been though a major illness and come out the other side. It gives people hope that there is more to life than illness. You could do a special class for those with illnesses who maybe need a more sedate type of yoga and a teacher who understands rather than one who pays lip service to knowing what it is like to life with a chronic illness.

Take your time to make your decision and as long as you are happy and confident with your decision then people will find that more attractive than someone who gave into to popular convention and is unsure of whether is was right thing to do.

Oh Jackie,
I am so sorry your parents said what they did. As Blue and others have said the bag is actually the best screening device in terms of finding the "right" one. At your young age it must be rough, but if you are feeling better after your surgery then that is what really counts. I made very serious mistakes of listening to my parents all my life. They have both passed on now and because I let what they said and their attitudes influence me so greatly I made some horrid mistakes. My life was never really my own. Only when I almost died due to the gut injury that landed me on this board did I realize what I did not realize for 50 years. Parents normally mean well, but keep in mind that certain situations bring out issues they have that are all their own. The "not sexy enough" "not normal" comments carry with them some issues that are those of your parents not issues of yours. We all need the love and approval of our parents on different levels as they are our foundation but so often they are wrong just because they are. It's so hard. I could write a book. But you get my drift. Good luck sweetie and pursue your own dreams the way you need to pursue them because it's about you, not about other people. Rosemary