This brief article from US Consumer Reports on yoga for back pain caught my attention. It reports that the American College of Physicians (ACP) is recommending non-drug options for back pain, including yoga (as well as tai chi, exercise, mindfulness and more). She also noted
“…in a new, nationally [US] representative survey from the Consumer Reports National Research Center of more than 3,500 adults, yoga (and tai chi, or the like) was helpful to almost 90 percent of the back-pain suffers who tried it.”
The article also suggested some useful tips to find and start a yoga class. If you are going to a yoga class with chronic pain or injuries, I strongly agree with the author that you should talk with your doctor or physio first, and the yoga teacher. Don’t know what to ask? See my recent article in Stuff for a few helpful questions.
If you want to just get in to the stretches (skip the ones in the article), a good place to start is my 10 minute video highlighting my 3 favourite restorative yoga poses.
