Why does Yoga combined with PT provide added benefit to healing your chronic pain? Even with 25 years of knowledge and experience in physical therapy, I didn’t have all the answers. The practice of yoga helped me understand STRESS and how it affected my nervous system to keep me in pain.
I recently taught a group of Physical Therapists my P.A.C.E.d Approach for a Better Back, and after the lesson about stress and the nervous system, one PT stated “I just got my money’s worth for this class!” She had never known about the role of chronic stress on the nervous system and how this stress was contributing to her patients’ pain. It was transformative for her practice!
So even if you have had Physical Therapy, you may NOT have addressed all the reasons why you have pain!
So let me share with you, what I shared with her. Maybe you will have that Ah Ha! moment too.
Maybe you have heard of the part of the nervous system called “Fight or Flight”. When this part of the nervous system is activated your body and mind gets ready to punch or run! Every system of the body is affected. Your heart starts beating harder and faster, your blood pressure increases, your digestion slows down, and your big muscles are turned on to hold tension and get you ready. If your “Fight or Flight” nervous system is turned on all the time, then your body is feeling the effects.
While it is normal for the “Fight or Flight” response to get activated, it is normal for it to turn OFF. “Rest and Digest” is the default state of the nervous system which means that it is supposed to be on ALL OTHER TIMES. This part of the nervous system creates Calm and Clarity.
You CAN control your nervous system. Yoga provides many methods to switch “Fight or Flight” off and to turn “Rest and Digest” on. When I lead my students through the methods, they tune into the body and feel better (not worse) after the class. And YES, that means less pain!
You may not even realize that you are living in overdrive. With each episode of stress, you just pushed on through. You have adapted to feeling tight all over. Maybe you take medication for a variety of problems that all stem from the same cause: STRESS.