Yoga+ Joyful Living

Seven Poses to Soothe Sciatica

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:53:40 -0400

Sciatica has a long (and painful!) history. As far back as the 5th century BCE, doctors and sufferers alike have tried a host of imaginative remedies, from leeches and hot coals in Roman times to 20th-century use of creams and injections. The principle causes of sciatic pain are less mysterious than its heritage suggests, yet there are still millions who suffer from it. In 2005, the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine estimated that more than 5 percent of the adult population in the United States suffers from sciatica, and over a lifetime, an individual has a 40 percent probability of experiencing it. But here’s the good news: in many cases, a mindful, targeted yoga practice can help you overcome the pain..

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Bye-Bye- Bunions!

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:00:30 -0500

A bunion is an all-too-common foot problem that can easily develop into a painful deformity if left unchecked. Medical science treats bunions as a progressive disorder and cites hereditary factors as the main culprit. But from a more holistic perspective, constrictive shoes, coupled with the fact that we rarely stretch, massage, or otherwise properly exercise our feet, are also contributing factors. The good news is that a few warm-ups and exercises for the feet, along with targeted yoga poses, can slow the progression of bunions caused by hereditary factors, and even halt the formation of bunions resulting from neglect and ill-fitting shoes. Even if you don't have bunions, these exercises will reduce soreness and fatigue, and keep your feet healthy and strong...

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September—October 2008 Recruit the Gluts

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 19:39:14 -0400

Did you know that you can simultaneously improve your posture, stabilize your knee and hip joints, and relieve your lower back pain by engaging the trio of muscles that make up the gluteals? Primary among these muscles is the underappreciated "emperor" of postural integrity, gluteus maximus-along with his retinue of the deeper gluteal muscles: gluteus medius and gluteus minimus.
These gluteals playa vital role in the health of our lumbar spine, sacrum, hip joints, and knees- when and if we use them properly.
If we don't (which is quite often the case), the result is joint problems as well as overdeveloped and tight hamstrings...
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July—August 2008 Smart Stretches for Your Hamstrings

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 17:43:25 -0400

Those darn hamstrings. Their stubborn inflexibility is a source of frustration for many yoga practitioners, often because they know (or have heard) that forward bends would help their sore and stiff backs-if they could just get past their hamstrings.
More than vanity is at stake here; lower back problems, hip problems, and knee problems can be traced, at least in part, to tight hamstrings. So why are the hamstrings so resistant to stretching? Three factors are worth considering: the anatomy of the muscles themselves, the postural habits of our well/heeled (shoe-wearing) culture, and counterproductive efforts to stretch them.
Let's first take a look at the anatomy of the hamstrings...
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May-June 2008 Yoga Therapy for your Arches

Wed, 28 May 2008 10:10:16 -0400

Our cultural epidemic of weak and fallen arches provides a sure and steady income to the orthotics industry. But many of us still suffer from aches and pains that arch supports and padded insoles can’t quite eradicate. For instance, when you first hop out of bed in the morning, do you get a rude awakening from sore feet and tight calves? This is just one kind of soreness from chronic strain to a muscle whose job is to help lift the inner arch of your foot. Fallen arches can result in tendonitis and contribute to the development of bunions, shin splints, and pains in the knees and hips—and can even affect the lower back, neck, and shoulders...

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March-April 2008 So Long Sore Shoulders!

Sat, 8 Mar 2008 09:38:33 -0500

Flexible ashtangis and other hatha yoga enthusiasts often suffer from dull, persistent pain at the fronts of the shoulders. Why? This type of soreness occurs when we overtax our shoulders in demanding poses such as chaturanga dandasana (four-limbed staff pose). If our shoulders are incorrectly positioned in such weight-bearing poses—and they often are—the tendons attaching the biceps to the fronts of the arm bones can be strained and may even begin to tear. The injury is a form of tendonitis called biceps tendonitis (Fig. 1). This, in turn, may put strain on the rotator cuff, the group of muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder. Here are some tips to help you protect your biceps, develop proper shoulder alignment, restore structural integrity to your shoulders, and perform poses like chaturanga and plank safely and effectively...

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January-February 2008 Abs to the Rescue

Sat, 8 Mar 2008 08:54:23 -0500

Did you know that the abdominal muscles are designed to protect the lumbar spine against disk problems?

It’s a paradox then, that in our ab-obsessed culture, so many of us suffer from low back pain—and in particular, disk herniation among the lowest vertebrae. You might think that toning your abs would lead to fewer back problems, but unfortunately, that is often not the case. Sit-ups and related exercises strengthen only one set of abdominal muscles, the rectus abdominis, which have little to do with the health of your spine.

Although most yoga postures don’t emphasize exercising the abdominals exclusively, a number of asanas work the full set of your abdominals to stabilize and support your lumbar spine, thus preventing disk problems and other forms of lower back pain...

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November — December 07: How to Heal (and Prevent) Shoulder Injuries

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:20:31 -0500

Each time you lift your arms, your shoulder muscles — both big and small — initiate a dance full of subtle
nuance . The complex interaction of these muscles coupled with the unique structure of the shoulder joint, gives your arm a wide range of motion. In fact the shoulder is one of the loosest joints in the body.

But this freedom of movement comes at a price: shoulders are vulnerable to injury both from sudden falls and from repetitive action such as throwing a baseball. The muscles of the rotator cuff, the most delicate movers of the shoulders are particularly susceptible. But here s the good news: a regular, targeted asana
practice can help you maintain healthy rotator cuffs by bringing awareness to your alignment, strengthening your shoulder muscles, and opening your chest. And several of the poses described in the pages that follow can even encourage the healing of rotator cuffs if you've already injured them...

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September — October 07: Sole Support — The Feet

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:10:59 -0400

In the Vedas, the feet are referred to as "organs of action." They are the body's foundation, structured to support
its weight and provide a mobile platform in a variety of terrains. Just imagine: if the foundation of a house is weak, the entire structure begins to creak and buckle. In the same way, a weak foundation in your feet creates problems in your legs, knees, hips, back, shoulders, and neck, causing muscle tension, postural imbalances, and fatigue.

According to ayurveda, reflexology, and
other ancient healing systems, your feet are
mirrors for the rest of the body. If you're
holding tension in your feet right now,
you're probably holding tension in other
parts of your body, too. And when your
feet are tired, your entire body is tired.
This explains, in part, why yoga practitioners devote so much attention to the position, alignment, and distribution of weight through the feet...

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http://www.doyoga.com/a_yp_articles/Y+9_07.pdf
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July — August 07: Yoga Therapy For Your Knees

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 16:38:54 -0400

If you have chronic pain in your knees, if they “snap, crackle, and pop” when you bend or extend them, or if they tend to hyperextend, you may have improper tracking or “dislocation” of the kneecap. This misalignment causes the most common kind of chronic knee pain and damage to the knee joint, which develop slowly over time.

Here’s a simple anatomy lesson: The kneecap is designed to slide along a groove in the femur, and it has to move smoothly within that groove to do its job well. If it goes “off track” (and it often does) it grinds away at the cartilage underneath and destabilizes the knee. The ensuing wear and tear is a key reason for knee replacement surgery, which a lot of people believe is necessary because they think the cartilage is “gone.”

But the truth is that cartilage can grow back, albeit slowly. The main problem is that if we don’t correct the imbalanced pull of muscles on the kneecap, we will continue to grind our cartilage down faster than our body can replenish it...

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