The Yoga Rx: How Yoga Can Heal Common Ailments

Stress, Arthritis & Back Pain are some ailments that plague hoards of people in society.  The physical exercise, meditation and breathing exercises that are apart of doing yoga can help reduce the problems these common ailments cause in your life.

**Yoga is in no way a substitute for a doctor** Yoga can help irritating aches and pains. If your back is broken, you should probably go to a doctor and NOT be doing yoga. 

Yoga was developed with the intention to quiet the mind. Our minds never stop. Always pondering about things like what to make for dinner, when is your next oil change due, if you are going to be able to pay your bills or that very difficult client at the office.  Chronic stress has been proven to lead to a multitude of health problems such as heart disease, stroke & digestive problems.    

Yoga can help reduce stress in two different ways. The asana (physical aspect of yoga) helps reduce the tension in your muscles while meditation and breathing exercises help reduce the tension and stress in your mind.  

When you get stressed, you may not even notice, but your brow furrows, shoulders crunch up towards your ears and back muscles tighten.  You can do yoga & reduce stress right now while you are reading this.  Take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, let your face relax and jaw drop a little bit.  I bet you are feeling a little better already! 

Another common ailment affecting many Americans is arthritis.  Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis & gout are some of the most common types of arthritic diseases whose pain can be relieved by doing yoga.  Yoga increases blood circulation to the joint and limb and also strengthens the area around the joint. 

Lastly, a chiropractor told me once that four out of five people experience back pain at least once in their lives.  It only takes a fraction of a second to injure your back by twisting, pulling, or lifting an object at home or in your garden.  Yoga can help strengthen your front body (commonly referred to as abs) so that it can adequately support your spinal column and back muscles. At the same time, yoga stretches the back muscles to alleviate stress, pain and tension. 

Ultimately the only way to find out if yoga can make your body & mind feel better is by doing it.  Take a class at a yoga studio near you.  There are many yoga studios listed right here on Patch.com ... so get searching.