As a beginner to yoga for pain relief you might have a lot of doubts about yoga and whether starting a regular practice is really going to help you or if it’s just another false promise or fad that will fade away with time. Although yoga has been around for thousands of years you might have only just started to hear about it as its popularity gains in the Western world. I can go on for days about the vast benefits that yoga offers but it all comes down to your decision to make a change in your life.
Change Your Mind
I’m guessing that if you are reading this right now, the pain has gotten pretty bad. Whether it is in your back or just your life in general, something has brought you to consider doing yoga as a means for relief.
If you are anything like me when I started doing yoga then you have a lot of doubts and concerns about whether you are physically capable of performing even the most basic of poses.
“Of course someone who has always been athletic would be able to catch on really quick,” you argue, “but what about me? There’s no way I could even begin to start doing yoga!”
Anyone Can Start A Yoga Practice
Have you ever heard the name Arthur Boorman? Maybe not, but if you’ve ever heard of DDP Yoga then you might know that he is a disabled veteran who was morbidly obese, needed to use crutches and leg braces to walk, and a wore a back brace. Today, after years of blood, sweat, and yoga, he no longer needs any assistance from braces or crutches and has lost 160 pounds.
The thing about yoga is that as long as you have the right attitude and are willing to stick with it, no matter how silly you might look or feel, the way your body is supposed to naturally feel starts to present itself.
Listen To Your Body
Your body knows exactly what it needs in order to be happy and yoga allows for you to use it as a tool that can be molded to your will. What you begin to realize is that the thing that is helping you mold your body to how you want it is in fact your body itself!
The Earth gives us everything we need with gravity to do any pose we can think of so the only other thing that is needed is for you to show up. I would recommend a few other things to make it a bit more comfortable (a yoga mat would be a good place to start) but the most important thing you need to do is show up to the mat, over and over (and over).
Oh by the way, you are more than likely going to get in the best shape of your life and you might come to a point where you look at yourself and think, “I feel good. I could totally stop doing yoga and it would have been a success,” and then you will laugh at the thought because there is no way you are stopping. In fact, you want more! You and your body are forced to be together so this is a lifelong commitment to yourself to feel better.
Make The Commitment To Yoga For Pain Relief
Making the commitment to getting rid of the pain that has been holding on to your body for too long is the first step to living a life free from pain. Starting a regular yoga routine is going to be the fastest way the you can use yoga for pain relief and the best way to get immersed into the yoga culture.
But trust me (with a capital T), it won’t be easy. You will fall down (literally and figuratively) time and time again but the only thing that matters is that you get back up because your pain isn’t going away by doing nothing.
You can choose to always get back up, or you can admit defeat and live the rest of your life in pain. It really is that simple of a decision. Write it on a sticky note and put it on your mirror so you have to look at it every day if you need to.
Are you ready to do whatever it takes to find the relief you’ve been looking for?
Stick With It!
