Yoga is a full-body movement program that can help you become strong, straight, long and flexible. All of those are good things that will help you be pain-free.
If you watch yoga instructors very carefully, you may notice that some of them aren’t exactly symmetrical. The reason they started doing yoga movements was because they had pain from their asymmetry. (That means their body wasn’t balanced from side to side; one side was shorter than the other. There are many reasons for this.)
When they were successful in reducing their own pain symptoms, some went on to become yoga instructors. They continue to practice so they continue to feel well. They are now also able to help others become pain-free.
The part of yoga that contains the movements is called Hatha Yoga.
The reason yoga helps is because you use ALL of your muscles and ALL of your body. We have 600+ muscles.
But, most of use only the same 60 or so muscles every day.
When we were children, we used ALL of our muscles. We ran, jumped, climbed, crawled, slid, hopped. And, now?
Well, you can see the problem.
You need to use ALL of your body in order to function and feel your best.
You can take a class in yoga. The advantage of that is the support of your instructor. He or she will guide you in doing the movements correctly.
Yoga videos are available at stores and libraries as well as online. The advantage of a video is that you can do it in the comfort of your own home. That may help you to practice more regularly.
Yoga can be adapted for everyone. If you cannot do certain movements, then don’t. Do the ones that you can do, and over time, you will become stronger and more flexible and will be able to do more and more.
Here’s a tip for “doing” the movements you can’t do yet: Do them in your mind. Pretend you can do them. “See” yourself doing them when you close your eyes. That will help your body understand what it will do when you are finally ready for that movement.
And, when you practice a yoga movement in your mind, always do it perfectly. That’s what the best athletes do and if it works for them, it’ll work for you, too!
