From Uncategorized

Pain Management: Routine for Chronic Pain #2

Standing

Chair yoga – Variation of Half Sun Salutation with Twist

Place one leg on chair, flex foot, toes point up. Forward fold for hams, Inhale half way up, exhale forward fold.

Inhale all the way up Utthita Hasta in Tadasana (focus on lifting up out of the hips and firming the thigh back without locking the knees), exhale twist and hold.

Inhale all the way up, exhale twist to the other side and hold.

Lower leg. Repeat on other leg.

– – – -My back has been begging for some type of twist and folding over fully too many times hurts my hip flexors.

 

Sitting in cushioned chair

Breath of Fire (Agni) x3

– – – -I felt like I needed to get rid of a ton of energy after doing the variation of 1/2 sun salutations. So I did this breath to build up heat, and to quickly rid of my anxieties.

 

Standing

Stood up by wall, side twist for side of waist. Switch to other side.

Repeat x3

 

Lying on Back

Bridge Pose 3 times with shoulders snuggled underneath self

Held for a long period of time. (about 5-7 breaths)

 

Standing

Puppy Dog held for 5-7 breaths

 

Standing Sequence: Balance + Twist

Warrior 1, Warrior 3, bring foot to calve and twist, mountain, twist to other side.

Repeat other side.

TEACHING FOCUS: Working through discomfort and staying present

savasana, awareness to mind body connection. Notice how lowback feels (arching, pulling, nothing), how neck feels (compressed, length, easy or hard to breathe).

breath work. Inhaling and exhaling for 5, 6, and 7 counts. (Set intention. Pay attention to what your body is saying throughout practice.)

knees in chest

keep R knee hugging in, extend L out. Repeat other side.

Repeat. Pause, place R foot down. Inhale, Exhale down spine out toes. This time, bring knee in as slow as you can and focus staying completely relaxed. Focus on relaxing deep within the hip joint, the hip flexor, the hip socket. Repeat other side.

Bend knees. Move hips to R. Knees into center, lower knees to L. Easy Twist. Repeat other side

Bridge Pose x 3 held for 5-7 breaths. Either reg or hands interlaced. (Breathe into the heart, the chest.)

Hug knees into chest.

Sit up.

Inhale arms up, exhale fold over. Switch crossing of legs and repeat.

Hands and knees to plank to AMS

1/2 SSA x2

SSA x2

SSA with lunges

SSB Warrior 1

SSB Warrior 1, Warrior 3 (held, asked them to focus on a point on the floor), bring foot to calve, inhale arms up, exhale twist. Lower foot down. Fold over. Half way up, fold, vinyasa. Repeat other leg. x2

Last chair pose: hold, twist to L and hold, back to center, twist to R and hold, center, fold over. (Unless there is pain, work through the heat.)

Grab onto big toes or opposite elbows.

Halfway up, fold, vinyasa, AMS, childs pose. – remember the intention you set at the beginning of class.

Bridge Pose hold for 5 breaths.

Thread the needle, hug knees into chest, low back twist, hug knees, happy baby, savasana.

 

(Concept of staying present.)

With the birth of the iPhone, it’s become difficult to stay present. To focus. While I’m driving, I want to check my phone. In class and right after class, I want to check my phone. And there usually isn’t anything interesting on it when I do check it so constantly. No new texts, no missed phone calls. Nothing crazy on instagram. It’s just habit. It’s easiest to not focus, to not listen.

I didn’t show many of the poses today, and haven’t been recently, to challenge your focus. So that you have to listen to everything I’m saying, understand, and do. I also held poses that build up heat, that are confrontational, to practice focusing and working through discomfort. To practice staying present during uncomfortable situations. Lastly, we increased our breath in the beginning of class and by holding bridge pose for an extended period of time.

When you come to a yoga class, it is expected to try and focus, listen, have respect for those in the room, and be present for the whole class. It’s a lot harder in the real world. Try and be a little more present in your everyday life. Focus on the words your teachers say in class, on the road, on what your loved one is saying. As humans, we are meant to focus, listen and understand. Because if we didn’t, there would be no love.

 

Screen Shot 2014-06-15 at 6.56.24 PM

Sciatica or Sciatic Nerve Pain

My mom has been dealing with sciatic nerve pain, a few of my students have asked me about it.

I found this BEAUTIFUL article on it, please read it here.

I played with passively opening the hips in my class tonight with these poses:

1. Start lying on your mat knees bent. Extend your right leg up, place right ankle on to left thigh, FLEX YOUR RIGHT FOOT TO PROTECT YOUR KNEE, gently press the thigh out with your right hand. Draw the legs in towards your chest for thread the needle, allow the legs to fall to the left, right foot plants on to the mat. Press your right thigh open.

2. Start in a lunge. Back knee down, toes uncurled. Heel toe your front foot to the outside edge of your mat. Turn out the foot, come to the outside edge of your foot. Press your thigh open with your hand.

2. Ardha Matsyendrasana

The most common yoga injury is twisting the musculoskeletal system farther than the organs can support. Twist from the inside out!! My class focus today was twists. To safely twist, you must inhale and create SPACE in your spine, and then engage your core as you exhale and twist from your inner body/organs. More info in my blog :) #twists #squeezeandsoak #marichyasana #yoga #yogateacher #yogaismymedicine

3. Standing form of thread the needle

My mom has been having a hard time with sciatic nerve pain, so I taught a class on sciatica tonight in her honor ❤️❤️❤️ Sciatica can be a pain, weakness, burning, tingling, or numbing that usually starts in the bum and ends up shooting down the leg. Releasing the hamstrings and passively opening the hips are key to finding relief. This is my favorite pose to gently stretch the piriformis muscle which can put pressure on the sciatic nerve if tight (I've gotten sciatica a few times -_-). It can be done with or without the support of a wall. Make sure to keep your top foot flexed to protect your knees!!! xox #sciatica #piriformis #form #lovemymom #hope #relief #yogainstructor #selftherapy

Routine for Chronic Pain

A student asked me what I do for my neck’s chronic pain.
 
The key to relieving pain in the joints is daily movement and breath work. However, many people go in to yoga with no knowledge of FORM. In my Mon/Wed night classes, I take it slow, more of an Iyengar approach, to focus on form and restorative practices so the neck can avoid strain and the body can learn to align correctly to avoid further injury and further pain in other joints.
 
I’ve designed a program for myself depending on my level of pain:
 
HIGH PAIN and HIGH JOINT STIFFNESS – Restorative Yoga, Meditation, ice, heat, peppermint oil or biofreeze, tennis ball massages
 
Cross train LEGS with bands or light weights (By strengthening another body part, it teaches the neck to not compensate for lack of strength in other areas)
 
MID PAIN and MID JOINT STIFFNESS - Iyengar Yoga, ice, heat, tennis ball massages
 
Cross train ARMS with bands/light weights but NO WEIGHT BEARING EXERCISES such as pull-ups, push-ups, or planks
***Weight bearing exercises can cause pain to the neck if the shoulders, back, and arms are weak !!! If weak in those areas, the neck will tighten and grip.
 
SUBTLE PAIN AND SUBTLE JOINT STIFFNESS – Light Vinyasa Flow Yoga
 
Crosstrain shoulders, back, and neck with light weights, bands, and pushups with knees down and assisted pull-ups. Apply 10 min ice, 10 min heat after cross training. Heat and tennis ball massage before bed.
 
I taught a more intense vinyasa flow yoga class today. It’s good to do someeee vinyasa flow because the heat from all those vinyasa’s creates more JOINT MOBILITY. However, always listen to your body. It’s better to skip the “push-up” part if your neck is flaring up or starting to grip.
 
I know many people are really against pills, but if you’re standing all day and are constantly inflamed, you need to find something that you can re-apply during the day to stop the inflammation. 
 
So if taking ibuprofen before and after work is not an option, then I’d recommend finding oils that help.
 
BIOFREEZE VERSUS PEPPERMINT OIL
Biofreeze is basically like IcyHot, except, just the Icy part and it permeates deeper into the skin. It does WONDERS if your neck starts to feel burning or heated sensations. However, it can cause muscles to tense.
 
I’ve found that the sides of my neck do best with peppermint oil, and the back of my neck loves biofreeze.
 
Peppermint oil is great throughout the day. It rids of inflammation and relaxes the muscles.
 
Honestly, just experiment with which one feels better, and take note of WHY it felt good at a certain for a specific type of pain that you felt.
 
ICE VERSUS HEAT
Think of ice like biofreeze, and heat like peppermint oil.
Ice tenses up the muscles, but takes away inflammation
Heat relaxes the muscles and provides more joint mobility.
 
Some people will tell you “always end with ice,” but those people most likely do not have chronic pain…
 
When my neck is in HIGH PAIN, ice is my best friend. When my HIGH JOINT STIFFNESS in the neck, heat is my best friend.
 
Sometimes, when i’m in HIGH PAIN, and HIGH JOINT STIFFNESS, it feels great to first put ice for 10 min, then heat for 10 min because the ice will calm the inflammation and tense up the muscles, and the sudden touch of heat relaxes them completely.
 
CREATING A ROUTINE
It’s going to take me a few days to post my routine, but I’ll post it on my blog ASAP! 
 
Yoga teachers tend to switch the focus of each class. So some classes you’ll take might be more flow when your body wants a restorative class. Or some might focus on arm balances when your neck is flared up.
 
ALWAYS TELL THE YOGA INSTRUCTOR about whatever body part is bothering you that day so they can give you a yummy class that will feel good in your body. 
 
For my body, I have a 15 min routine for the morning, 30-1 hour routine at night, and a regular yoga practice plus cross-training with weights 3-5 times a week depending on how my neck feels. On top of this, I still go to physical therapy 2 to 3 times a week. 
 
There is hope for coping with chronic pain <33333 If you have any questions just ask :)
 
P. S. 
Finding a comfortable and supported sleeping posture will also benefit your joints !!!