Many people begin practicing yoga for pain relief and healing…myself included. On our first day of yoga teacher training back in July last year, I was surprised by the number of us there that had come to yoga through pain and injury. To heal ourselves.
I had spent years (and a lot of money) visiting doctors, chiropractors, osteopaths, physiotherapists, myofascial release therapists, acupuncturists, and massage therapists for my pain. And they all assisted in relieving my pain when it was most acute…for a short period of time.
But it was the move to Melbourne and a session with an honest physiotherapist who told me I needed to start taking yoga classes for any type of long-term change to occur. I wasn’t entirely convinced that yoga could provide the type of relief and healing I was looking for but it wasn’t long before I started to notice positive changes in my body and mind. Not only was I taught yoga positions that could relieve and prevent the pain, I was taught the process of listening to my own body. This awareness of what my body needs on a specific day is invaluable and continues to guide my yoga practice.
Ganga White’s book ‘Yoga Beyond Belief – Insights to Awaken and Deepen Your Practice’ includes a chapter on Injury, Pain and Healing for all yoga practitioners and for those that are still unsure if yoga is suitable for them because of their injury or illness.
What if…
What if our religion was each other
If our practice was our life
If prayer, our words
What if the temple was the earth
If forests were our church
If holy water – the rivers, lakes, and oceans
What if meditation was our relationships
If the Teacher was life
If wisdom was self-knowledge
If love was the centre of our being.
– Ganga White
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