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It seems that more and more people are turning to Yoga to help
them with health conditions. This change coincides with evidence from recent
scientific studies showing the benefits of specific yoga practices for specific
groups of people with ‘medical’ conditions. It is no surprise to those practicing
Yoga that science is starting to sing the same praises about Yoga as we have
heard from our teachers and those whom we teach. With the western scientific
support, there is a growing comfort from health care professionals to recommend
yoga as a therapeutic option.
Chronic pain conditions are particularly responsive to therapeutic
yoga. In western health care, there is evidence that chronic pain changes
many aspects of our existence. It changes cellular function in nerves, muscles,
joints and immune system cells. It changes how muscles contract and relax,
how the fight/flight aspects of your nervous systems work along with all
the other stress responses, and it changes the sensitivity of your tissues
to internal and external stimulation. Persistent pain changes your breathing
patterns, the amount of CO2 in your blood, your posture, your body awareness,
and your ability to coordinate movements. It changes how you sleep, how you
think and the way in which you respond emotionally. Pain can change your
relationships and your identity> it can disconnect you from your community
and your faith. Think about how much we lose in the face of persistent pain,
about how we never take the time to grieve, and it is no wonder that the
suicide rate is higher in people with persistent pain than in those with depression.
And it is no wonder that practising Yoga can be so helpful.
In western science, there is evidence that the two most important
aspects of pain management are self-management techniques and an exercise
or activity program. There are many ways to provide these, yet I hope you
can imagine from reviewing the list above that Yoga could be a highly effective
path to recovery.
Yoga refers to union. Practising Yoga reconnects us. We usually
think about how it reconnects us to the important integration of body, mind
and spirit. Look more deeply, and you see how Yoga practices can reconnect
us to such things as normal movement, body awareness, breathing, muscle tension,
emotional balance. Look even deeper and you would see that Yoga practices
change the functions of our cells – nerves, immune, muscle. Then look more
broadly and you see that Yoga practice has the ability to reconnect us to
who we really are, to our faith, to our friends and to our community.
As you read this, I hope you can understand that it is not
completely up to Yoga to reconnect us. People in pain, practising Yoga,
and finding improvements will tell you that the changes are not quick or
easy. It is the person in pain who is doing the work, finding their Yoga.
They need to practice, be persistent and find compassion. They need to become
a fearless warrior. Not reckless, but mindful, and agile in their practices
and life, finding ways to move towards what they have lost.
I hope this doesn’t sound easy!
Yoga teachers can help their students in pain in so many ways.
Listen first to your students stories. Learn more about the lived experience
of pain. Be open to the reality that within Yoga there are many paths. Provide
the student with experiences, through which they can know that pain is not
immutable and through which they can find the most effective way to influence
their life and start their recovery from pain. Each person will find their
own best way to breathe, to reconnect with what they have lost, and learn
to move again. For many there is a huge need to reconnect with calm breath
and calm body before they move too far into asana. For others, asana is the
way to start. Others start with bhakti, with santosha, or pratyahara. Yet
where-ever we start, because pain affects so many aspects of our lives, it
is important to reconnect in as many ways as we can. One step at a time.
Each time we reconnect a little more, we suffer less.
If one of your students is not finding success with practicing
yoga to help recover from chronic pain, often the best thing to do is go
back to the basics. Return to breathing. Then, assist with regaining body
awareness and decreasing muscle tension. These are often barriers to success
with asana, activities and life. You have reason to optimistic as a Yoga
teacher. Whether your student has pain from a low back injury, whiplash or
fibromyalgia, Yoga practices seem almost ideally suited to help people with
persistent pain.
Neil Pearson, MSc, PT, RYT500, CYT
www.lifeisnow.ca
Neil Pearson is offering the "Overcome Pain Yoga Retreat" in Naramata BC
Sept 28-Oct 2, 2011. More information is here.
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