Does low back pain affect you on a daily basis?

Do you desire more out of life but pain holds you back?

Have you tried other approaches to reduce or eliminate your back pain?   

If so, this course is designed for YOU! Yoga 4 a Better Back is a complete step-by-step program to understand why your back hurts. You will address not only the physical reasons for your pain, but the emotional, social, and spiritual reasons.

Why Yoga for Back Pain?

Pain is an experience of the Brain, and it is influenced by your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs.  You may feel pain in your back, but physical and mental factors create the experience.  As a Physical Therapist, I have treated hundreds a people with back pain.  I had great success with reducing pain in most of patients, but that was it: reduce pain and teach them how to manage ongoing persistent pain.  I knew there was something missing from these treatment.  Because I too experienced this persistent back and neck pain, I kept searching.   I found Yoga after the birth of my first child because all other forms of exercise just increased my pain.  As I studied yoga and emerging pain science research, I saw what had been missing:  I had only addressed one part of the person's health, the physical.  In order to restore Whole Health I needed to address the Whole Person:  Body, Mind and Spirit.   Yoga for a Better Back addresses the Whole Person by blending Physical Therapy, Pain Science research, and Yoga. 

Yoga for a Better Back is NOT:

Just another yoga video or what someone else can do for you. It is a step-by-step program to guide you to the root cause of your back pain.

My Mission:

*Empower People to Take Control of Their Own Health with Mindfulness, Understanding, and Compassion*

Client Testimonial:

"Since taking Stephanie's yoga classes that concentrate on spine and back health, I have made great improvements over time and I am asymptomatic for the most part. I do not experience the pain, stiffness, and lack of mobility that had bothered me previously. I have referred friends to her and they were impressed with her style of teaching yoga and her very approachable personality."

Annabelle, retired Social Worker and Yoga for a Better Back student

My approach in Yoga for a Better Back:

1. Create Awareness through a practice of Mindfulness

2. Gain an Understanding for your Body, Mind, and Spirit; and how the Interaction of Body, Mind and Spirit leads to Whole Health

3. Develop Compassion, first for yourself, then for those close to you, and for your community

4. Establish an Environment in your Body, Mind, and Spirit that allows Healing to Occur

You Need This so M-U-C-H!

How do you know if this program is right for you?

• Other treatments such as medicine, injections, exercise, traction, heat/cold, electrical stimulation, and maybe even surgery have not helped to decrease your pain

• You feel frustrated when a health care provider tells you that you are getting older and you will just have to live with it

• You desire more control over your body and the fluctuations of your pain

• You desire physical activity, but your back pain limits you

• You want to get the root of your back pain problem

• Deep down you know that something more can be done about your pain

Yoga for a Better Back...

was designed by a Physical Therapist also certified to teach Yoga and a thorough review of current research on Yoga for Back Pain. This step-by-step program blends knowledge of the spine from physical therapy with the ancient practice of yoga to heal your low back.  When combined, these interventions support good pain science and research to address how pain is perceived and processed by the brain and body.  You will learn about the functional anatomy of the spine and how to exercise safely and effectively to gain core support and mobility.  But even more importantly you will practice Mindfulness in order to create awareness of what is causing your pain.

The course includes 4 modules to mindfully and physically progress you through gentle movement building into strength training for your mind, body, and spirit.

• Module 1: Awareness. Recognize and become aware of both the emotional and physical triggers of your pain.

• Module 2: Alignment. Understand how alignment of your core values and alignment of your posture can relieve pain.

• Module 3: Stability. Gain clarity and stability of thoughts and emotions that keep you in the cycle of pain. Create stability in the body by training the supportive muscles of the spine.

• Module 4: Mobility. Mobilize the spine and hips to create freedom of movement and to facilitate letting go of the beliefs that keep you from having a pain free life.

• Bonuses help you modify the yoga practice for your limitations and condition such as Modifications for Osteoporosis and Osteopenia

4 Mindfulness Lessons to help you address thoughts and emotions that keep you in pain.

4 Physical Lessons that lead you through safe and correct performance of Yoga Postures

8 yoga videos to replay over and over as you build confidence in movement and strength.  Also pictures of each yoga practice and guided audio meditations to help you create a daily practice. 

Your Instructor:  Stephanie Carter Kelley, Yoga Physical Therapist

Dr. Kelley holds bachelors (1990 Ohio State) and masters degrees (1994 U of Miami) in Physical Therapy.  Her emphasis in clinical practice is orthopaedics and she has practiced as a Board Certified Specialist since 2005.  She obtained a PhD in Education in 1999 with emphasis in College Teaching, Statistics and Biomechanics.  She worked in Physical Therapy academics for 20 years developing curriculum and teaching in graduate and residency programs.  She has also educated practicing physical therapists and yoga teachers about how the body works in order to apply effective treatments for chronic pain.  In 2010 she was certified to teach Hatha Yoga and began integrating yoga into her Physical Therapy practice.  In 2016 she left the clinical and academic settings to focus on her business as Yoga Physical Therapist to provide “spine and joint safe” yoga classes, and private and small group therapeutic yoga.  She sees her role primarily as an educator, using Mindfulness and Understanding to build Compassion and create Health.  Read more about Stephanie here.

In each Module you will have materials to keep, download, and replay over and over.  Especially the yoga videos as you will continue to gain awareness, confidence, and strength.  Each Module contains a:

1. Mindfulness Lesson.  15-30 minutes and homework to help you dive deep!

2. Guided Meditation. 10-12 minutes of audio to help you tune into your body and the interconnections between mind and spirit

3. Short Yoga Practice.  20 Minutes that you can do every day or days when you have less time to devote to the program.  As I say:  "Some yoga is better than no yoga"

4. Physical Lesson. 30-50 minutes about how the body works, such as: the role of the sympathetic nervous system in chronic pain, how to activate and empower the deep core muscles to support your low back, the importance of deep breathing, and MUCH more.  Also includes movement education for various yoga poses and time to practice.  The physical lessons are similar to a physical therapy visit where you are able to self-assess your body, get cuing on correct muscle action, and instruction on postural alignment in the yoga poses.

5. Long Yoga Practice. 40-60 minutes in length to be performed 1 time a week in the beginning and progress to 3-4 times a week as you are able. Throughout the modules, the classes will build in intensity so that by the end you will have gained core strength; spine, hip and shoulder flexibility; and muscular endurance to hold the poses for increasing lengths of time.  From these classes you will have a variety of "spine safe" yoga poses so that you can perform yoga as many times during the week as you like...without forgetting the instructions and without driving to physical therapy or a yoga studio!

Each Module has nearly 2.5 hours of content!

Client Testimonial:

"Your combination of yoga and physical therapy expertise was just what I needed. You understood the cause of my problems and WHAT exercises and postures would relieve my pain.  I'm still amazed and very grateful that I move freely now." 

Mary, College Professor and Yoga Physical Therapy student

What included in this 4 Module Online Course?

Module 1:  Practice Awareness (access immediately)

Guided Meditation:  Awareness of Breath

Mindfully you will:

• Understand that chronic pain is NOT all about where you actually feel the pain, i.e. not all physical

• Define mindfulness and learn how can it help manage chronic back pain

• Explore perceived threats that create stress

• Understand the effect of chronic stress on your body, especially your pain

• Learn the benefits and then practice Awareness of Breath

Physically you will:

• Build awareness of the physical triggers with gentle movement

• Define the purpose of Pelvic Tilts, aka Cat/Cow and perform in different positions

• Understand and perform the Hip Hinge to protect the spine

• Find comfort in Savasana

Module 2:  Align Body, Mind and Spirit

Guided Meditation for Body Scan with a focus on the Low Back and Hips

Mindfully you will:

• Determine your core values

• Explain how the values we hold play into pain processing

• Understand the benefits of the Body Scan Meditation

Physically you will:

• Understand the importance of posture and alignment

• Assess your standing posture

• Practice alignment in common yoga poses

• Find comfort and relaxation in Child’s Pose

Module 3:  Create CORE Support

Guided Meditation to lead you through Graded Motor Imagery (a method proven in research to decrease pain)

Mindfully you will:

• Address the negative thoughts, memories and/or emotions that triggers your pain

• Discover the Role of the Central Nervous System in Pain Processing

• Use Tools to “flip” the Central Nervous System

• Use the energetic system of the body as a road map to emotional processing

Physically you will:

• Breathe to activate Transversus Abdominus with forced expiration

• Learn the role of the deep core muscles of the trunk

• Compare deep vs superficial stability

• Understand how core stability/support relates to pain

• Determine the importance of gluteus maximus

Not ready to purchase or need more information about my style?  Try my sample class for FREE!