Do people even wear real clothes anymore? It seems like everywhere we look women are wearing yoga pants practically everywhere. Yoga has gained a lot of popularity over the years and if you are in pain you may want to consider yoga for Pain Relief. Yoga has a stellar reputation for helping practitioners build their balance, flexibility, and core strength. But yoga has a wider range of useful applications. In particular, yoga is wonderful for helping ease pain and reduce suffering. Put on those yoga pants and get the benefits of pain relief.
Don't be intimidated by yoga
Sure, there are crazy poses and pretzel looking moves that look impossible. But there are also several poses that you can easily do to help ease the pain with soft gentle stretches and mindful mediation.
The Harvard Health Review says -
"Yoga can help people with arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine, low back pain, and many other types of chronic pain conditions"
Listen to your Body
Before you start ask yourself what type of pain you are experiencing. If it’s something serious, always talk with a doctor before engaging in a new activity. But for most situations, simply be mindful about how you are feeling and do not do anything which causes additional pain. For example, if you have shooting pain in your right foot, it’s probably best not to stand on your right foot for ten minutes in hopes of helping your foot feel better. Choose the pose which best matches the situation you’re in.
3 Yoga for Pain Relief Moves For You
Legs Up The Wall
This is a great pose which helps with a wide range of pain, although be cautious with this if you have lower back pain. Sit an inch or two away from a wall. Gently rotate yourself around so your rear end is close to the wall and your legs are supported up by it. If you need something under your head, you can use a low pillow or a folded blanket. Breathe in deeply in the upper chest, middle chest, and abdomen, filling out the abdomen gently and full. Pause. Then squeeze, squeeze, releasing all the spent air and toxins from your system. Pause. Repeat, slowing and easing with each new cycle.
This pose is immensely helpful for all parts of the body because of its inversion. We tend to spend most of the day with our body in a feet-down configuration. All of our fluids and systems put pressure down on those lower areas. By putting our feet up, we ease all of the flow of blood and other fluids back toward our core. This helps the entire circulatory system and all the body parts it reaches. Having our full body in better balance naturally brings a sense of relaxation to our system, which allows our components to focus more fully on healing and pain relief.
The Legs Up The Wall pose also releases pressure on the lower back, on the leg muscles, on the pelvic area, and more. Again, that easing of strain in one region brings a deeper relaxation and calm to the entire system.
Lying Spinal Twist
Another favorite pose for pain relief is the lying spinal twist. Start by lying flat on your back on a mat. Put your right knee up with your foot next to your left knee. Put your left hand on the outside of your right knee and gently fold it so it is over your left leg and toward the mat on your left. Stretch your right arm out on the ground pointing perpendicular to your torso. Again, do the deep breathing as described previously, slowing with each cycle.
This is an ultimate relaxation pose which is wonderful for many body parts at once. It gently squeezes the stomach, lungs, intestines, core circulatory system, bladder area, and much, much more. Fluids and blood are softly massaged into those areas, bringing healing oxygen and easing pain. Breathing slowly and surely into those systems brings calm and stress release. That then benefits the entire body.
Savasana
Savasana is the most relaxing pose of all. This pose should be suitable for all levels of individuals. Lie flat on your back on a mat or bed. Gently stretch each limb out and release it. Close your eyes. Take in a long, deep breath, breathing into the upper chest, middle chest, and lower abdomen, filling it out. Pause. Then breathe out, out, releasing all your tension. Pause.
As you continue this cycle, start by tensing your right foot, unless of course this is what is hurting you. Then slowly release. Work your way up to your calf, tensing it, and then relaxing. Continue step by step up your right leg to your hips. Then work on your left leg. Continue up until you reach your right hand and arm. Then move over to your left hand and arm. Go up through your neck, jaw, eyes, brow, and finish with the crown of your head.
When you are complete, breathe in gratitude. Think of all the blessings you have in your world. Focus on the beauty in your world and the opportunities ahead.
BONUS – Don’t forget to Breathe.
One of the most important concepts we learn in yoga is that our body’s pain reactions are intimately connected with our emotional and mental state. When we are stressed, and stress hormones flood our system, those chemicals become a key component in how our body interprets pain. The more stress we are under, and the more our body fills with those chemicals, the more pain we tend to experience.
A reduction in stress hormones and chemicals leads directly to a reduction in the sensation of pain. The more we train ourselves to relax, the better our body gets at managing the core underlying pain signals.
Frequent meditators are even able to mute the pain signals so that the signals are present but not troubling. One would never want to completely eliminate all pain signals. That would become a dangerous situation where we become unaware of serious injuries because we simply do not notice them. The key is to find a moderation level where we are aware of new pain, make sure we address the cause, and then are able to manage existing pain while we work our body into a better state of health.
By focusing on this process in a regular routine, we help our body become mindful of its signals and to manage them in the most beneficial manner possible.
Try these moves out and let us know what you think. You may also want to try Aromalief Vegan Pain Relief Cream in Lavender to help with additional relaxation and deep penetrating relief.
This blog post is not intended to substitute the advice of a medical professional. Please consult your doctor.
Interested in trying Aromalief? Use this special discount code BLOG20 to get your first subscription bottle for just $20 (cannot be combined with any other offer, limit one per person)
