2 easy yoga practices for pain management
Tracy Adshead is a yoga teacher specialising in yoga for seniors. She is passionate about bringing healing and healthy ageing to the community.
Dealing with pain can put us into a state of hyper-arousal which sets off a ‘chain’ of tension throughout the body. Tensing our muscles when we are in pain or stressed is an automatic response in our bodies - our shoulders go up, tension increases in the neck and the back rounds. In fact, we can actually increase the pain we are feeling by tensing muscles in this way.
Another way we can influence pain levels is by holding or shortening the breath, the body has a natural phenomenon built into the nervous system which holds tension in the muscles when the lungs are full or pressurized. A rapid shortened breath switches on the ‘fight or flight’ reaction in the nervous system pushing up anxiety.
If any of this sounds familiar, here are two easy ways to help your mind to find a positive focus. Yogic practices for mental relaxation together with breathing techniques improve our coping skills and teach us how to recognise these harmful stress reactions before they start affecting pain levels.
1. Deepen and lengthen your breath
Sitting comfortably, focus your attention on your natural breath, try to relax the body as best you can. When ready, start to deepen and lengthen your breath especially focus on making the exhalation longer than the inhalation. After a while, you may be able to add a count, inhale for 4, exhale for 8.
This practice triggers your parasympathetic nervous system - the home of your relaxation response. Muscles relax on the exhalation so lengthen the time of the exhalation to reduce tension. This practice brings awareness to the breath helping to calm the mind, aiding relaxation and pain management.
Once you have become comfortable with the 4/8 count, you may like to expand this practice by taking the inhalation into your belly. Inhale, send the breath into the belly, feel the navel rise or make it do so. Exhale, draw the navel slowly and lightly back towards the spine, develop a rhythmic breath. Relax deeply.
This breathing practice can be done as much as needed, there are no limits.
2. Muscle relaxation (travelling your awareness slowly step-by-step through all of the body parts)
Find a comfortable place to relax, either seated or reclining. Close your eyes, move into deepening and lengthening your breath. Take 7 breaths like this.
Starting with the right-hand side of the body: feel into all five fingers, move your awareness to your palm, wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder – continue on like this slowly moving the mind throughout the whole right-side of the body. As you travel your awareness around the body, feel into each part without moving it, then relax it a bit more.
When the right-side is completed move to the left-hand side of the body and repeat this same practice, progressively moving the awareness around the body, relaxing each body part as you go.
When you have completed this, bring your awareness up to your face. Relax the jaw, then the checks, lips, eyes, forehead. Totally relax all of your facial muscles – it’s one of the best things you can do to calm the brain.
Regular daily practice of these two methods of breath control and relaxation will help the body to become calm and the mind to ease.
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