Yoga with Divya

Yoga can effectively release chronic pain. For that to happen, you need to be open to the idea of becoming more aware about your body and its pain, to develop a compassionate view towards oneself, and to build core strength. The following outlines the process through which Yoga can help release pain:

Preparing the body with conscious breathing

The first step is to establish full, deep breathing. Use Ujjayi (the wave sounding breath, breathing through the nose and channelling the air through the back of throat) and the three-part breath (inhaling into the belly, then ribs, then upper chest/collar bones; exhaling through the upper chest, mid-body, down to the pit of the belly).

When you have chronic pain breathing tends to be shallow and you frequently hold your breath. With restricted breathing you’re not exhaling fully and can’t remove from the lungs stale air and the residual build-up of toxins. With chronic pain the muscles are cold and contracted from poor circulation, so even less oxygen comes in and fewer toxins are removed.

When you breathe fully and deeply, the lungs work more, the diaphragm moves, the intercostals (in rib cage), back and abdominal muscles work. This generates heat into the core of the body.

Another positive result of conscious breathing is its calming effect on the emotions, reducing fear and anxiety in the nervous system. You feel safer emotionally as well as more at ease and relaxed physically. Conscious breathing also helps diminish tension before it accumulates around the areas where chronic pain exists.

Developing a positive attitude

There are many attitudes associated with chronic pain: suffering, anger, despair, depression, loss, and helplessness, to name a few. Each of these emotions contributes further mental and physical stress within the body.

Creating a feeling of comfort and safety will help turn negative emotions into healthier ones. Find a relaxed position, lying on the floor in the relaxation (Savasana) pose, or perhaps in a Restorative posture. Ask yourself to communicate with the pain by either directing your attention (inner eye) or placing a hand on the part of the body that hurts.

Putting hands on the painful part of the body, and “sending the breath to that place”, is soothing. It opens a relationship to this part and brings an internal sense of reassurance to it. It starts to send energy, heat, and fluid to this part of the body, creating an overall feeling of well-being and nurturance. It invites the traumatized part of the body to feel unified with the rest of the body, and helps you from a state of denial to interest.

Let your body speak to you.

At this point in the process, there’s often a release. There is a wide range of emotional releases, from full expression to silence.

Yoga Core Strength

True strength runs deep and takes root in the centre of vulnerability/weakness – it is crucial to get to and connect to what is inside if we are truly going to heal. To do this you need a yoga practise that is: steady, strengthening and progressive.

To build core strength a strong and mobile pelvic floor, a softly engaged abdomen, an open, lifted heart, and an aligned spine are essential. Pelvic floor work provides the foundation anatomically, neurologically, structurally, and energetically.

The pelvic floor relates to the muladhara or root chakra where basic issues of survival and safety reside. If this part of the body is frozen then the foundation of safety is locked and movement is based in fear. When you can begin to engage the pelvic floor, energy can move through and up this chakra, and one can consciously act on issues of survival and fear, thus building a strong foundation for living.

Connecting to your core: it is important to note that the pelvic floor is not an easy part of the body to access. The ‘Yogic’ core engagement and lift is accomplished by a subtle lifting or arching of the pelvic floor into the core of the body. This is done by contracting the muscles surrounding the perineum, the area between the genitals and the anus. It’s not difficult to do, yet because the lift is subtle it requires as much attention and focus as any technique in Yoga. The ability to focus, however, is of great
benefit because when our mind is strongly focused, we can begin to relax and feel safe.

Asana – Yoga’s Postures

The physical postures of yoga can help relieve pain in a number of ways. The most significant is the ability of well-rounded yoga practise to lower stress levels. Stress makes muscles more likely to go into spasm, and muscle spasms are an underappreciated contributor to both acute and chronic pain.

Indeed, in the case of back pain, it’s tight, aching muscles (which can grip in response to even minor injuries to tendons, ligaments, or other connective tissue) that experts now believe cause most of the pain. The practice of asana, beyond its ability to induce relaxation, can be an effective way to relieve muscle tightness. In contrast to many other forms of exercise, yoga promotes both strength and flexibility in muscles.

Asana can also be very helpful where poor anatomical alignment and dysfunctional movement patterns are usually contributing to the problem (e.g. athritic conditions). By learning how to engage muscles that aren’t working properly, and relax ones that don’t let go when they should, you can help bring your bones into better alignment, relieving compression of joints and soft tissues.

Unconscious muscular gripping can be a problem in a host of conditions ranging from headaches to carpal tunnel syndrome. Ideally, your Yoga Teacher would be on hand to guide you on this as you practice. In some areas, such as in the muscles of the face, simply ungripping creates a release in the whole body. For other areas, such as in the hips or quadriceps, it can take years of steady “mindful based” asana practice to find significant muscular release – but it works.

A regular asana practice can also improve sleep.

Poor sleep can worsen pain and is thought to be a major contributor to the pain in such conditions as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

It is best to avoid doing activating practices, such as backbends or vigorous breath work too close to bedtime. Sensitivity varies among individuals, but generally it’s a good idea to put a few hours between vigorous asana and sleep, and to balance active practices with a good dose of restorative and relaxing ones, especially when practicing later in the day.

Peace to you.
YoginiD

Sources:
Chronic Pain Release through Yoga, by Christopher Ken Baxter, founding member of Kripalu Centre for Yoga and Health.
Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing, by Dr Timonthy McCall