I hope everyone is taking something away from my new Health and Fitness Monday.  Today I want to discuss the health benefits of yoga.  Both spiritual as well as physical.  I began yoga to benefit me physically as I have chronic low back pain.  I’ve been to doctors several times over the years and the suggestion has always been medication.  I don’t want something that’s going to mask the pain.  I want a natural fix that will prevent the pain from returning.  It’;s one of the reasons I tend to not visit my doctor unless I’m going in for my annual check up.

Doctors today (at least in my opinion) are too eager to push a pill on someone.  I want to feel better without the help of medication.  I’m very conscious of what I put into my body.  Food wise and drug wise.  I’d rather take care of myself naturally, if at all possible.  Yoga has definitely helped me physically as I am much more flexible and I no longer have low back pain when I practice my yoga regularly.

My sister in law, who is a physical therapist introduced me to the practice in 2010 and when she saw how flexible I was even then, she was surprised.  The first position she had me do was the pigeon pose:

When she saw how far I could stretch my back leg, she was absolutely shocked.  I guess I was more flexible than even I realized.

This pose does amazing things for my low back.  Anyone experiencing low back pain can expect relief if you make this part of your yoga regiment.  The next pose that helps even more is cat cow:
In this pose I can really feel my low back stretching immensely.  More than pigeon pose even.  The next pose I use after cat cow is cobra:

This pose is very easy to move to after cat cow as it is just two moves of my body.  I can tell you beyond doubt that yoga has been a major boon for my physical well being as it has prevented my lower back pain from continuing to be a chronic challenge.

As far as the spiritual aspect of yoga goes, the practice has also helped in that respect, as I generally practice in quiet or with soft instrumental music playing in the background.  This typically puts me in a very contemplative place, almost a meditative state.  Yoga is something you have to fully concentrate on, shutting out all outside distractions, thus staying in the present moment, which is exactly one of the qualities of meditation; being in the present moment.

Taking these things into consideration, you can certainly see why I’ve decided to write on the topic today.  I highly recommend practicing yoga to anyone who needs to rid themselves of chronic pain as it is a natural way of doing so.  It can also help quiet your body and mind.

Be Happy!  Be Well!  Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
—
Chris