Yoga Treatment For Back Pain
Backaches are a modern ailment that afflicts young and old alike.
From being hunched over our computer desks all day to lounging in front of a TV, we have made back problems a common health issue and too many of us choose to treat it with drugs and painkillers.
These damage our digestive systems and add to our bodies' toxicity in a vicious cycle that gets progressively worse as we need higher dosages with each use.
The two most common causes of back problems have to do with exercise: lack of exercise which allows the muscles that support the back to become weak and the wrong kind of exercise that result from bad posture at work, home and play.
Ironically, the cure that yoga provides is also through exercise but of the right kind which relaxes the muscles, eliminates tension in them, lets the blood flow freely and reduces stress.
Yoga helps the body to heal itself and to help it along, we must allow the back to rest completely.
Studies show that muscular tension persists even when we are lying down but yoga postures cause negligible tension in the body.
One of the great healers is heat and yoga postures that help back pain use heat to speed healing.
While doing the following three exercises, please place a hot water bottle or heat pad on top of or under the area of the back that hurts as noted, making sure that it is not too hot or more than an inch thick.
1.
Lie on your stomach with your face down and your arms resting outstretched straight above your head.
Place the hot water bottle or heat pad on top of where your back hurts and maintain this position for as long as possible.
2.
Lie on your back with your arms lying relaxed by your side slightly away from your body, palms up, and your legs slightly apart.
Place the hot water bottle or heat pad under the area where your back hurts and hold this position completely relaxed for as long as you can.
3.
Lie on your right side and pull up your left leg as far as it will come towards your chest, resting it besides you.
Bend your right arm, resting your head on it and interlock your fingers with your left hand resting by your side above your left leg.
Once you are comfortable with this position, hold it as long as you can or like, with the heat pad or hot water bottle placed above the area of back pain.
None of the above exercises should be forced and all of them should feel completely natural and comfortable.
From being hunched over our computer desks all day to lounging in front of a TV, we have made back problems a common health issue and too many of us choose to treat it with drugs and painkillers.
These damage our digestive systems and add to our bodies' toxicity in a vicious cycle that gets progressively worse as we need higher dosages with each use.
The two most common causes of back problems have to do with exercise: lack of exercise which allows the muscles that support the back to become weak and the wrong kind of exercise that result from bad posture at work, home and play.
Ironically, the cure that yoga provides is also through exercise but of the right kind which relaxes the muscles, eliminates tension in them, lets the blood flow freely and reduces stress.
Yoga helps the body to heal itself and to help it along, we must allow the back to rest completely.
Studies show that muscular tension persists even when we are lying down but yoga postures cause negligible tension in the body.
One of the great healers is heat and yoga postures that help back pain use heat to speed healing.
While doing the following three exercises, please place a hot water bottle or heat pad on top of or under the area of the back that hurts as noted, making sure that it is not too hot or more than an inch thick.
1.
Lie on your stomach with your face down and your arms resting outstretched straight above your head.
Place the hot water bottle or heat pad on top of where your back hurts and maintain this position for as long as possible.
2.
Lie on your back with your arms lying relaxed by your side slightly away from your body, palms up, and your legs slightly apart.
Place the hot water bottle or heat pad under the area where your back hurts and hold this position completely relaxed for as long as you can.
3.
Lie on your right side and pull up your left leg as far as it will come towards your chest, resting it besides you.
Bend your right arm, resting your head on it and interlock your fingers with your left hand resting by your side above your left leg.
Once you are comfortable with this position, hold it as long as you can or like, with the heat pad or hot water bottle placed above the area of back pain.
None of the above exercises should be forced and all of them should feel completely natural and comfortable.
