Yoga and Back Pain

What a Good Yoga Teacher Can Do:

Back pain is the most common reason to seek medical attention. Yoga has consistently been used to cure and prevent back pain by enhancing strength and flexibility. Both acute and long-term stress can lead to muscle tension and exacerbate back problems. A number of components of yoga help to ease back pain: * Asanas (Postures)-Practicing of postures provides gentle stretching and movements that increase flexibility and help correct bad posture.

Doing yoga cultivates a balance between the flexibility and strength of the muscles of the body, often the real culprit in back pain. Most people are tight in key areas affecting the spine, for example in the hips and shoulders. A system such as yoga, which releases the tension in the muscles, should improve back pain. While the emphasis is on stretching and flexibility, yoga also develops muscle strength.

Yoga incorporates breathing techniques which can lead to stress relief as well as help you get through the challenge of the stretch. Often yoga classes have a spiritual basis, and may offer techniques and the environment to work on deeper levels of healing and resolution of pain.

Pranayama (Breathing Exercises) - Breathing patterns can affect the spine in various ways, such as movement of the ribs and changes in pressure within the chest and abdomen. Exhaling can help relax muscles.

Relaxation and Meditation - Relaxation provides a physiologic antidote to stress. Imaging techniques may also be used. For example, imagining a movement before it is actually performed makes it easier to move the muscles that are being used.