Becoming 'Skinheads' for Scleroderma!

Hi! I’m Anna, the director of Bikram Yoga Tasmania. The two ladies in the pictures next to me are Debbie and Ceinwen. I have been so fortunate to teach Debbie and Ceinwen yoga over the last few years and have seen them go from strength to strength with their yoga practice. The health struggles that these women are facing head-on needs light shed on it, so we are joining forces and turning on Every. Single. Light. We. Can! Through our yoga community and the community of Hobart, we are going to raise funds for Scleroderma Australia and support these gorgeous women as they shave their hair off at the yoga studio! All donations, big or small, will be most welcome with gratitude and we look forward to having you join us on this journey. Let’s kick its butt!!


Ceinwen's story
Around 6 years ago, my lungs stopped working properly; well before I was finished with them! My body was rejecting them and thus began a 5 year regime of chemotherapy, anti-rejection and disease modifying drugs and a stem cell harvest. I have Scleroderma - progressive systemic sclerosis type. I chose to stop treatment 18 months ago and have thankfully been in remission. A couple of months ago, my hair started falling out again! Rude! It is likely that this is related to my system having a flare and altering the fine balance or chemicals in my body, so I wanted to turn what feels like a bad situation into a positive one and raise funds for research. Another positive is that this illness is ultimately what led me down the path to Bikram Yoga which is a fantastic way of healing and balancing the body - and this is how I met Deb and Anna!

Debbie's story
Hi I'm Debbie, I was diagnosed with Crest syndrome - also known as limited scleroderma - eight years ago. Manly I had a chronic fatigue and arthritic pain through out my body. I chose to try Bikram yoga and look at my diet rather than taking drugs that had significant side effects. I still have flare ups when I am not looking after myself, and with a diagnosis of early breast cancer that has become even more important.

About Scleroderma
Not everyone with Scleroderma has such aggressive symptoms, but this disease comes with a range of symptoms from skin involvement, joint pain, gastrointestinal damage, raynauds phenomenon, general pain and fatigue, and damage to organs such as lungs and kidneys. It is a silent and nasty killer, most sufferers have multiple symptoms and some of us have secondary autoimmune diseases, and there is currently no cure, we would love to help change that!