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Yoga for Back Pain – It Works!

Beginning Yoga Helps with Back Pain

Beginning Yoga Helps with Back Pain

How do I know yoga works for back pain? I began doing basic yoga to relieve my back pain more than a decade ago and it worked! I believe yoga can help ease your back pain too.

I’m not talking about a slight back ache. I had several herniated disks with severe sciatica running down the back of my right leg. The pain was so bad that I couldn’t wear shoes with closed heels, and I limped. Physical therapy didn’t really offer much relief and I didn’t want to take cortisone injections.

I wanted to help my back heal naturally, so I turned to yoga and never looked back. I want everyone suffering with back pain to discover the same healing power of yoga that worked for me.

Caution: You should not perform these yoga exercises if you are experiencing severe or acute back pain. Please check with your doctor before beginning yoga or any exercise program, especially if your back pain is accompanied by other symptoms like numbness or pain and tingling or weakness in your legs.

Low back pain is a significant health problem in the U.S. Did you know that according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH):

  • Seventy to 85 percent of all people have back pain at some time in their life.
  • Back pain is the most frequent cause of activity limitation in people younger than 45 years old.

Doctors usually recommend a combination of pain medications and exercise to treat low back pain, but complete relief is often difficult to achieve.

More than one million Americans use yoga for back pain, a form of “mind-body” exercise, as treatment.

Studies are beginning to confirm what I personally experienced; yoga for back pain works!

In an article published in the December 20, 2005 Annals of Internal Medicine researchers compared the effectiveness of yoga, traditional exercise (combining aerobic, strengthening, and stretching exercises), and a self-care plan for the treatment of chronic low back pain. Results showed that after 12 weeks, yoga was significantly more effective than traditional exercise or a self-care approach in improving back function.

“Yoga may be beneficial for back pain because it involves physical movement, but it may also exert benefits through its effects on mental focus,” they wrote.

Viniyoga Used in Back Pain Study

Patients in the study learned Viniyoga, a therapeutic style of yoga that is easy to learn and can be adapted for various body types and fitness levels.

“This study suggests that Viniyoga is a safe and effective treatment for chronic back pain and provides physicians with a rationale for recommending it (and possibly other therapeutically oriented styles of yoga as well) to their patients.”

There’s even a Viniyoga for back pain DVD. Gary Kraftsow, the renowned yoga therapist who designed the program used in this NIH Back Pain Study, has created the DVD Viniyoga Therapy for the Low Back, Sacrum & Hips with Gary Kraftsow. It provides a gentle regimen of stretching and strengthening exercises designed expressly for the low back, sacrum, and hips. I use it frequently to keep my low back in top form.

How a Good Teacher Can Help with Yoga for Back Pain

Once your doctor gives you the okay, find a good yoga teacher and tell her about your back pain and any other medical concerns. Find out if she is certified and what kind of yoga she teaches.

An experienced teacher with a background in Viniyoga, Iyengar, or Anusara yoga should have the training required to respond to your physical limitations creating gentle yoga for back pain exercises to safely stretch and strengthen your back.

Why Yoga for Back Pain Helps

One of the essential principles of back care is to create balance by developing strong yet flexible muscles, something yoga for back pain is designed to do. Most people, especially those of us living sedentary lives, have certain muscles in our bodies that tend to be tight and others that are weak, creating imbalances and pulling our spine and joints out of alignment. So, the focus will be to stretch and increase flexibility in some areas, while strengthening others.

For example, tight hamstring muscles (in the back of the thighs) and hip flexors (in the front of the thighs) can contribute to low-back pain so poses that stretch these muscles are important for overall back care.

How Yoga For Back Pain Positions (Exercise) Help

  • Strengthens and stretches the back muscles
  • Helps lengthen the spine and create more space for the discs between your vertebrae
  • Improves posture leading to diminished pain
  • Increases flexibility in your shoulders and hips, decreasing demands on your back
  • Increases blood flow to muscles and joints, allowing nutrients to flow in, and toxins to flow out
  • Increases blood to the spongy discs between the vertebrae and spinal muscles
  • Improves body awareness, making you more conscious of movements that may contribute to back pain
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Yoga for Stress Relief

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Why yoga for stress relief?

Yoga for Beginners Helps with Stress Relief

As our world gets more and more complex and the flow of information continues to speed up with newer and faster technology, people’s stress levels continue to rise. Computers, cell-phones, pagers and fax machines keep us connected and on-call 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week.

Is there any escaping the information overload as we multi-task our way through our days? Or the demands competing for our time—the kids need to be driven to practice, your boss wants the report by 5:00 PM, and your spouse is wondering what’s for dinner. As our minds race to keep up, tension builds in our bodies, leaving us feeling mentally overwhelmed and physically depleted.

When times are most stressful, we may stop doing the things that nourish us and engage in unhealthy behaviors. We may overeat and/or fail to eat well; we may not get enough sleep, we may even become dependent on alcohol, cigarettes or caffeine to power us through our days.

Is it any wonder that we need yoga for stress relief?

According to The National Mental Health Association, 75 to 95 percent of all doctor visits are stress related. Stress has been linked to many health conditions and illnesses including chronic headaches, backaches, weight gain, high blood pressure, sexual dysfunction, ulcers, insomnia, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and heart disease.

Common psychological responses to stress include anxiety, depression, anger, irritability, and decreased ability to concentrate and retain information.

What exactly is stress?

What we refer to as ‘stress’ is actually the body’s natural response to a perceived physical or psychological threat that causes a chain reaction of chemical and hormonal changes in the body, commonly referred to as the ‘flight or fight’ response.

Adrenaline and cortisol are released into the blood stream, heart rate increases, blood pressure goes up, pumping more blood to the heart and muscles and shutting down all non-essential functions.

This reaction is important to self-preservation and can protect us in dangerous situations. However, when the stress response becomes habitually engaged because of chronic physical and/or mental stress, the entire body suffers leading to depression of the immune system, weakening of the entire body, and ultimately disease.

How Does Yoga Help Relieve Stress?

The benefits of exercise in diminishing the stress response are widely touted. A host of studies points to the benefits of such exercise. Yoga, a form of mind-body exercise, with its various postures designed to stretch and strengthen the body, controlled breathing exercises and guided relaxation components has become a popular method for stress management.

Benefits of Yoga for Stress Relief

  • Improved muscular strength and flexibility while releasing stored muscular tension
  • Increased blood circulation and oxygen uptake
  • Focused attention as you concentrate on moving your body helps the cares and worries of your busy day literally fade away
  • Increased relaxation
  • Improved sleep
  • Increased energy
  • Increased coping skills
  • Decreased production of stress hormones
  • Increased feeling of well-being
  • Increased endorphin (‘feel good’ hormones) production
  • Improved mood
  • Increased self-confidence
  • Improved digestion and elimination

Developing your Yoga for Stress Relief Practice

Every successful exercise program, including yoga for stress relief, begins with a few simple steps.

  1. Consult With Your Doctor
    Before getting started with yoga for stress relief, consult with your health care provider, especially if you have a history of heart disease or other risk factors.
  2. Start Slowly
    Build your yoga for stress relief practice gradually. Early enthusiasm can lead to overdoing it and even injury. If you begin your program slowly, the chances are better that you’ll stick with it.
  3. Find A Class, Teacher, or Style Of Yoga You Love
    There are lots of different styles of yoga being taught, from very gentle to extremely vigorous. Find what resonates with you. If you are in good physical shape and want something challenging Bikram, Iyengar, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, or Power may be for you.If you want to work gently and move slowly, look for a class labeled Gentle, Basics, Anusara, Restorative, or Viniyoga.
  4. Pick A Time And Stick To It
    Dedicating some time to practice every day will help you make your yoga program an ongoing priority. Let a routine develop.
  5. Create A Quiet and Comfortable Place To Practice
    This may include asking for cooperation from others to ensure that you will not be disturbed.
  6. Be Gentle
    Do not push yourself or try too hard. Be gentle and persistent in your efforts, not overzealous or forceful.
  7. Be Patient
    Trust in your self and in the process, allowing your practice to develop. Bring your attention back to what is happening in each moment instead of focusing on some preconceived goal or expected result. It takes time but it is worth it.
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Yoga for Diabetes

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What are the benefits of Yoga for Diabetes?

Yoga Can Help with Diabetes

Yoga Can Help with Diabetes

Do you suffer from Type 2 diabetes?
Do you need to lose weight?
Yoga for diabetes can help!

Yoga is a mind-body exercise that can help you build concentration and willpower so that it’s easier to stick with a healthy weight-management program. Yoga also helps you connect with yourself so you begin to know how to take better care of yourself which often leads to healthier habits.

The dietary and other lifestyle changes that often result from doing yoga can dramatically control or reduce the negative effects of both Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

A 2002 study demonstrated that stress-management techniques like yoga can decrease glucose levels and improve diabetes management!

How can yoga for diabetes help you manage your symptoms?

Yoga…

  • Can help you feel more in control of your health and well-being
  • Can help you lose weight
  • Can help normalize blood-sugar levels
  • Is gentle and non-competitive, so it doesn’t strain the heart
  • Is gentle, so it is less likely to cause a rapid blood-sugar drop
  • Gently tones and shapes the body
  • Improves balance and flexibility
  • Decreases stress
  • Improves moods
  • Improves circulation, especially to the extremeties
  • Gently stimulates the body’s glands and organs
  • Improves focus and concentration
  • Soothes the nervous system
  • Releases muscle tension

The increased awareness you cultivate during yoga carries over into other areas of your life. You begin to pay better attention to your thoughts and actions, which can lead to healthier lifestyle and dietary choices. Cravings often become more manageable too!

Many people also report increased feelings of well-being, improved mood, better sleep, increased inner strength, and improved self-perception.

Yoga for Diabetes…Where to Begin?

Don’t let obesity and Type 2 diabetes control you.

Take control of diabetes and your health and wellness with yoga:

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Yoga for Beginners

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Answers to some common questions from beginning yoga students

What Is Yoga?
Yoga is an ancient health and fitness philosophy designed to help bring your body, mind, and spirit into balance. It’s a true body-mind approach to health and wellness that originated in India more than five thousand years ago.

The branch of yoga most common here in the west is hatha yoga, which focuses on the practice of physical exercise to bring balance, strength, and flexibility to the body and mind.

The fundamental aim of yoga from its onset was to help quiet the mind and create inner stillness—something we need more than ever in these over-scheduled chaotic times.

Is Yoga A Religion?
According to respected Viniyoga Master Teacher, Gary Kraftsow, “Yoga is actually more correctly understood as a science of mind oriented towards understanding the mind/body relationship.”

Yoga can support and complement the faith of all religious traditions. There are Yoga enthusiasts who are practicing Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, and Muslims.

Why Yoga?
The list of benefits yoga can provide is long and varied. Learn more about the benefits of beginning yoga.

What Is The Best Type Of Yoga For Beginners?
There are many types of yoga being taught today. The type of yoga for beginners that is best for you will depend on many things including:

  • Your reason for practicing
  • The benefits you seek
  • Your age
  • Your current fitness level
  • Your existing health concerns
  • Your exercise style

Some types of yoga are very detail-oriented and slow, others very physical and/or fast-paced.

Some types of yoga are suited to the healthy athlete and others are more amenable to modification for mature adults and/or those with health concerns.

Some types of yoga are gentle while others are very vigorous.

Do a little research to learn about the different types of yoga being taught in your area. Remember to check with your doctor or health care provider before starting a yoga practice.

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