Yoga for Chronic Pain
“Pain changes your life forever, but so does healing from it.”
Today’s post is the first in a series of four blog posts discussing chronic pain. Below is a basic introduction to yoga for chronic pain. Each of the three posts to follow will dig a little deeper into specific yoga practices to help manage pain such as breathing practices, meditation, and gentle movements. I hope you will join me on this important journey.
Chronic pain and yoga
Most of us have had to deal with pain in our lives. And the vast majority of us are most familiar with acute pain from twisting an ankle, breaking a bone, or having surgery. But there is another common type of pain called chronic pain.
Cleveland Clinic describes chronic pain as “pain that is ongoing and usually lasts longer than six months. This type of pain can continue even after the injury or illness that caused it has healed or gone away. Pain signals remain active in the nervous system for weeks, months or years. Some people suffer chronic pain even when there is no past injury or apparent body damage.”
Our pain signals play a critically important role in our health and safety. But when these signals are over active or active longer than is helpful and protective, they can cause significant mental, emotion, and physical dysfunction. The impact can be severely limiting to your normal function.
Whether physical pain from injury, surgery, biomechanical dysfunction or emotional and mental pain from everything life throws at us, yoga can be an incredible tool in your personal arsenal to manage your symptoms and limit its impact on your daily life.
Research into yoga for chronic pain
Over the centuries since yoga was developed, many have worked to validate and substantiate the results and benefits that people around the world have gained from their yoga practice.
More recently, the scientific and medical communities have started to dive into studying the impact yoga has had on so many. Multiple studies cited by Harvard Health Publishing - Harvard Medical School have shown yoga to be as effective or more effective than standard medical care for low back pain by improving mobility and relieving chronic low back pain.
From a 2010 article in the Indian Journal of Palliative Care, it was found that “Meditation and pranayama (breathing practices), along with relaxing asanas (poses/postures), can help individuals deal with the emotional aspects of chronic pain, reduce anxiety and depression effectively and improve the quality of life perceived.”
Why yoga for chronic pain management?
Yoga is an empowering tool giving you agency in your own healing process and does not force you to move faster or go deeper than you are ready and willing to go at any given time. Yoga meets you where you are without judgement. From learning the basics of a simple breathing or meditation practice to go within and acknowledge and just observe your pain to practicing short daily sequences to loosen up your body and help the tension slowly begin to melt away, yoga will be there for you.
Private yoga for pain management
Private yoga sessions are the ideal way to learn techniques to feel empowered in your journey beyond the pain. Through individualized one-on-one yoga lessons, we can work together to guide you in developing a sustainable and nourishing practice to carry with you through life. Each 1:1 yoga class can take you another step closer to independence and life beyond pain.
There is no way to guarantee a life free from pain but taking action now and developing sustainable techniques to manage pain can at life to your years and possibly even years to your life.
More Information:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/12051-acute-vs-chronic-pain
https://www.health.harvard.edu/alternative-and-complementary-medicine/yoga-for-pain-relief
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2936076/
https://www.beaumont.org/services/pain-management-services/benefits-of-yoga-for-pain-management
