While I have read articles on relief through yoga, exercises, information and products, I thought I would ask for some specific ideas from people who have experienced back, neck and shoulder pain.

What do you need to know? What would help you most?

Answer:

I have a spodylolothesis l-5/s-1 that has caused me chronic back pain since I can remember. In 1991 I was a pedestrian hit by a car. This exacerbated by condition and left me unable to walk for a couple weeks. A number of doctors indicated surgery was my only alternative. Fortunately, I had a lawsuit that enabled me to pay for private lessons in hatha yoga with a physical therapist 3 days a week for a year. After that year we managed to align the spine and relieve much of my pain. My orthopedic surgeon could not believe his eyes when he saw the xrays. If I knew how to scan them and put them on the internet I would. The differences in the before and after xrays are amazing.

After that year, I began sampling the many schools of hatha yoga in the Los Angeles area. I tried Kundelini, Bikram, Power, Astanga and teachers from all shades in between. After a year of sampling I came to the conclusion that Iyengar certified yoga teachers are the best. They are trained in understanding physiology, and know how to modify yogic asanas for those of us with back conditions. These teachers taught me basic anatomy, body mechanics, as well as how to strengthen, tone and stretch the right muscles for the healthiest holistic results.

For the last 15 years as long as I continue a regular yoga practice, I have minimized my chronic pain. There are times when I am re-injured inadvertently doing something I know I shouldn't, but I know what to do to recover very quickly from these bouts.

My advice to anyone with back pain is after you have exhausted passive therapies like chiropractic, muscle stim, massage, acupuncture and the like, take matters into your own hands. Learn as much about the body as you can. Learn yoga from the inside out in order to fix the problem. Get really active. Do a practice every day. Make it a habit. Make your body work to change.

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