Welcome
Yoga
What is it?
Yoga is a combination of physical exercises, breathing exercises and meditation developed in India almost 4,000 years ago. In the last two decades yoga has become increasingly popular in the West for its physical, psychological and spiritual benefits. Whether or not you study yoga as a spiritual practice, you can benefit from its health promotion and disease prevention aspects. In fact, many of today's commonly accepted calisthenics and stretches have their origins in traditional yoga positions.
How can it help?
Yoga isn't for everyone, and (as with any other exercise program) anything other than "gentle yoga" moves for patients over 65 or those with chronic pain or an injury should be approved by a doctor. Many aspects of yoga make it ideal for treating back and neck pain since many people improve core body strength, flexibility and endurance.
Yoga stresses mindful breathing patterns and meditation. Together, especially over time, these create a relaxation response that many people find helps in decreasing pain and the depression and anxiety problems that frequently accompany it.
What can I expect?
Yoga can be practiced individually, although it is advisable to have a skilled instructor supervising you as you learn the positions, their combinations and your body's limitations. A good instructor teaches you to effectively "listen to your body," teaching you how to know your limitations and instructing you to adapt postures and positions more appropriate to your condition.
Most yoga classes begin with individual meditation and calming breathing exercises. This helps you to concentrate and "tune in" to the stresses of your body, consciously working to relax each area of your body. Light stretching follows to warm the body up and further release tension. Different postures or positions follow in combinations that benefit certain muscle groups. In more advanced classes, the speed and range of the stretches and postures may increase to build body heat and provide more exercise benefit. Throughout the session, focus is always on the breathing techniques which help to maximize the exercises and encourage relaxation. At the end of the session, the body is returned to rest, calming breathing exercises and meditation.
Tips
Patients with certain back conditions (such as spinal stenosis) should avoid yoga postures that employ an extreme extension of the spine (like back bends). Patients with cervical spine disease should avoid head and shoulder stands.
Try to find a yoga instructor with advanced training or coursework that specifically addresses yoga and the spine.
Yoga can be seen as intimidating to a new practitioner. Don't be afraid to ask to observe a class or two before beginning participation. You may prefer to place yourself at the back of the class initially as you become familiar with the moves. This also allows you to observe more of the participants and correct or fine-tune your posture.
A premise of yoga is that you should not experience pain. Most instructors will tell you that pain is your body telling you that you should be doing something different. If you experience pain from a particular position, ask your instructor if there is an alternate position with the same or similar benefit. Almost all yoga moves and positions have variations.