Yoga's Healing Powers

The practice of Yoga shows up in some very early archaeology. In fact, the existence of Yoga could be found in stone seals which illustrate figures of Yoga Poses. The pictures on the stone seals place Yoga's existence around 3000 B.C. Scholars, however, have grounds to consider that Yoga may have existed long before that and traced its beginnings in Stone Age Shamanism. Both Shamanism and Yoga have similar characteristics particularly in their efforts to progress the human condition at that time. In addition, they aspire to restore to health community members and the practitioners act as religious mediators. Despite its humble beginnings, Yoga has evolved into a method of exercise, health and rehabilitation.



According to the American Pain Foundation, numbers indicate that 26 million people in the United States alone are bothered from perpetual enduring back pain. The most common cause of low back pain is simply injury or overuse of muscles, ligaments, facet joints, and the sacroiliac joints. Generally for these common causes, movement based rehabilitations such as Yoga techniques can make a significant impact. The techniques used in Yoga, work on the bodies equilibrium, help give muscles more strength, breathing, adjusting strength, flexibility, adjusting your body and putting your body in the correct alignment in which will make a person feel better and have more resistance against injuries and muscle fatigue.



Additionally, many peer based independent studies have verified the validity of Yoga in reducing pain. For example, in one study, 30 men and women with chronic low back pain took hatha yoga classes for 12 weeks or were part of a control group that had standard care. Those in the yoga group had substantial decreases in pain compared with the control group, which had almost no change. At the end of the study, published in 2009 in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, the yoga group was also using fewer analgesics and opiates for pain, and reported greater overall improvement in quality of life. Yoga has been found to be effective for relieving low back pain, so that you can use fewer medications and be better able to do daily activities.



Yoga exercises can help support the musculoskeletal system and bring pain relief, but beyond those physical improvements, another fantastic benefit of yoga is that it can provide patients support in their mind. Yoga has been shown to provide an outlet for tension and stress that can sometimes cause minor lower back pain. This is where the distinction comes in between pain and suffering. The actual pain in fact does come from the physical issue; however it is commonly the mind that leads to suffering and negative conclusions.



These conclusions in the brain can activate the stress response system. The meditation and breath practices component to yoga can negate such stress responses. Additionally, by acknowledging the pain is there, people practicing yoga can more effectively deal with it.



Despite all the positive implications of yoga, it is important to note that these types of exercises are not for people who have either herniated or degenerative discs. Certain kinds of yoga strongly aim at being flexible and immensely stretch the spine which in all possibility can be undermining to persons with degenerative spinal changes or who have stress fractures. Furthermore, not all yoga poses relieve back pain, and some can in fact aggravate existing pain, so it is important to know which poses will be most helpful in relieving back pain. It is best to do these exercises under the supervision of a certified yoga instructor, and if you encounter any problems with these poses, you should consult your Arizona pain specialist.