To the Editor:

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, known as BPPV, is a medical condition that has revisited me frequently in recent years. &bsp;

I was surprised to learn in talking with others Im not alone in suffering the symptoms of this disorder. It is a dizziness that comes on abruptly upon changing the position of the head, for instance when you get into bed or get out of bed. Its possible to lose your sense of balance and fall to the ground or floor.

This is an inner ear hair-like fiber problem that sends mixed messages to the brain which is then unable to calculate the position of the head.

I am writing this letter to share with you a self help treatment I have discovered that works for me. Yoga. Yes, I started a yoga class at the Adawehi Healing Center almost a year ago, and under the guidance of our capable instructor Jennifer Woods, we go through a series of poses involving changing head movements. Since the start of this class all of my recurring symptoms have disappeared.

It turns out that one of the treatments recommended by the Johns Hopkins Medical Center book on Symptoms and Remedies is having a doctor move the patients head rapidly to one side and then to the opposite. The book indicates, This treatment has been shown to be effective in nearly all patients.

Yoga does the trick for me, and in the process I am gaining in core strength and balancing skills.

Burt Baer