By Faye Martins
Does Yin Yoga for pain really work? Yes, and here’s why. Chronic pain can be debilitating and frustrating. It can make it difficult to do the things you love and can prevent you from enjoying your life. Yoga is a method to help cope with chronic pain and suffering. Yin yoga is a style that focuses on slowing down and holding poses for longer periods of time. This can help to stretch and lengthen the muscles, which can provide relief from pain.
Chronic Pain
Yin yoga can also help to improve flexibility and range of motion. Yin yoga is a style that is focused on easing chronic pain. The poses in yin yoga are held for longer periods of time, which allows the body to slowly release tension. This can help to reduce pain and improve flexibility. Yin yoga can also be used as a tool for managing stress, as it can help to calm the mind and body.
About Back Pain
Yin yoga is an excellent way to reduce back pain. The slow, gentle movements help to release tension from the muscles and connective tissues. The long holds in each pose also help to lengthen the spine and improve posture. In addition, deep breathing which is a part of yoga practice helps to oxygenate the tissues and reduce inflammation.
Coping with Headaches
Many people suffer from headaches on a regular basis. Some people get them from stress, others from allergies, and still others from neck or back problems. Whatever the cause, headaches can be extremely debilitating. Thankfully, there is a yoga practice that can help. Yin is a slow and gentle form of yoga that focuses on stretching the connective tissues in the body. This can help to release tension in the muscles and relieve pain. Yin yoga is a great way to cope with headaches. The slow, gentle movements help to relax the body and mind, and the deep stretches can help to relieve tension headaches. Yin yoga can also be helpful for migraines, as the focus on breathwork can help to ease the pain.
Solutions for Nausea
Yin yoga can be helpful for those who are struggling with nausea. The slow, passive movements can help to ease the stomach and ease any feelings of sickness. The deep breathing associated with yin yoga can also help to relax the body and mind, helping to take the focus off nausea. If you are feeling nauseous, try a few yin yoga poses to see if they help you feel better.
© Copyright – Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
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Yin Yoga Benefits Cancer Patients: Relaxation
By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed.
We often hear that Yoga benefits cancer patients, but how does this happen? For those of us who are regular Yoga practitioners, and who are facing a cancer diagnosis, maintaining a daily or weekly Yin Yoga for pain routine can help to engender a sense of normalcy and promote self-care during a very difficult time period in your life. This is particularly true if you are accustomed to practicing several times a week, in order to generate energy, balance, and well-being. However, if you are undergoing treatment for cancer, you may find it difficult to do the same kind of Yoga practice that you are used to doing for months, or even years to come.
Time to Heal
During the time period when you are healing from cancer and any cancer treatments that you have undergone, including surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy, you may find it to be more manageable and respectful of your own body to engage in a slower-paced, restorative practice. Of course, it is prudent to check with your family doctor or surgeon before engaging in any Yoga practice post-operatively. Do keep in mind that if you push yourself too quickly back into a challenging physical practice, you may find that you are undermining the healing and well-being that you are seeking.
Precautions for Physical Condition
For instance, you may still be in the process of healing from major surgery, and by pushing yourself into doing a vigorous asana practice too quickly, you may weaken the healing process by putting undue strain on fragile surgical sites. Although you may feel impatient to get back to your “normal” life, you may need to create a new normal that fits your own individual needs during your cancer recovery process. For some Yoga practitioners, this may mean a time period of practicing only supported, restorative asanas and breathing exercises, rather than a vigorous, vinyasa-based practice.
Focused Healing
For other Yogis and Yoginis, it may be necessary to abstain completely from practicing asanas for a period of time while you are healing and to focus instead on calming breathing exercises and contemplative meditation practices. Simply maintain your regular time on a Yin Yoga for pain sessions, even if all you do is the minimum. For example, ten minutes of pranayama and five minutes of meditation will help you to cope with the day. As a result, you carve some time out for yourself that is focused on health and well-being, instead of worrying.
Restoration
Yin Yoga classes are a wonderful way to receive many of the benefits of regular practice, while still allowing your body to deeply rest and restore its vital life force energy. Yin poses are usually practiced at a much slower pace and allow your body time to settle into the postures and feel supported by the earth. The underlying mechanism of the stress-relieving benefits of Yin Yoga is the passive action of gravity on the muscles and connective tissues, as deeply held tension and stress begin to melt away over the course of several minutes.
Medical Merry-Go-Round
The relaxing benefits of Yin Yoga postures can be further enhanced by the use of props, such as bolsters, blocks, folded blankets, and aromatherapy eye bags. All of these props allow your body to feel supported and free to release the tension that accumulates over time, due to stress and anxiety. For many cancer patients, surgical procedures, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments can cause a great deal of physical and emotional discomfort, fear, and pain. Yin Yoga postures are quite effective at releasing this physical and emotional tension, which is frequently held in the connective tissues of the body.
Fear and Tension
The connective tissues in the body often hold surgical trauma and emotional bracing. Yin Yoga postures are very effective for releasing some of this deeply held fear and tension, by undoing the physical constriction in the body and washing away some of the anxious thoughts in the mind, in a safe and effective manner. The deep sense of relaxation and release that comes from a practice of Yin Yoga will help to further support you during your cancer recovery process, which is understandably a very challenging and difficult time for most Yoga practitioners.
Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York; where she specializes in writing customized articles that are 100% unique. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.
© Copyright – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
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Yin Yoga for pain is quite effective at releasing this physical and emotional tension, which is frequently held in the connective tissues of the body. Thanks for posting this great article.
Yin yoga for pain and relaxation are good. My class members have benefitted from the techniques over the years. We avoid strong perfumes, it does not always help and for some, it can increase the feelings of nausea. We must also remember that there are medical conditions where perfumes may affect one’s health. Example, a person who suffers from asthma.
Yin Yoga classes are a wonderful way to receive many of the benefits of a regular practice, while still allowing our body to deeply rest and restore its vital life force energy. Thanks for sharing this helpful article.