The Yoga rules

By James Chen

Has chronic back pain taken control of your life? It can, and for those who suffer, it is both mental and physical misery. As one who has had to deal with lower back pain for a number of years, I promise you it is true. A back injury while I was still a teenager changed all of the muscular skeletal relationships in my back and hips. As a result, when I get out of shape and put on a few unwanted pounds, the muscles from my neck to my knees let me know it.

Several years past I jogged outdoors, on my gym's track and on my treadmill. For those who can do it, I submit that TV shows on tape and a treadmill session go together like vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce! Zap out the commercials and what's left provides a forty-eight minute warm up, workout, and cool down. Perfect! When joint issues slowed me to walking on the treadmill, this was still a great session but finally the joints won. Not only walking but also other milder forms of exercise like my beloved golf went by the wayside and exercise was limited to resistance bands. This was a problem until I turned to the Yoga. In the practice of this 5000-year-old art, I found not only an exercise program but a stress management program as well.

For so many people today, muscle pain in the neck, shoulders and back is directly linked to the role those muscles play in carrying the weight of our emotions and stress. When your back pain is not due to injury or illness, but is a result of the link between our emotional and physical selves, Yoga is a perfect practice to turn to for relief. At the heart of the art of Yoga, are the poses and positions that can reset the body with improved balance, flexibility, and posture. Moreover, there are poses that help relax and calm the mind as well as the body. The principles and practice of Yoga enhance our awareness of our body messages and provides us the tools and the means to respond to what our pain is telling us.

When tense back muscles act out like an angry child, misery is our company. These tense muscles need to relax and the regular practice of Yoga delivers the combinations of stretching, flexibility, and strengthening that can renew the muscles and relieve your back pain. A report in the December 2005 edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine indicated that Yoga might be a more effective exercise prescription for the relief of lower back pain than traditional strength, resistance and aerobic exercise programs.

If back pain and joint issues have derailed your past fitness routines, learn about Yoga. The Gentle Yoga and Chair Yoga sessions are perfect for beginners and for those who need to ease back into a fitness regime. Both your back and your mind will thank you.

James Chen is a long-time Yoga practitioner.

His new website Yoga Revealed is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about this ancient healing practice.