Yoga Cures: Simple Routines to Conquer Over 50 Common Ailments and Live Pain-Free (27 page)

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Dancer

Shift your weight onto your right leg. Bend your left knee and grab the inside of your left calf with your left hand.

Gently press your foot into your hand to open your back. Reach your right arm straight up. Stay here for five long, deep breaths. Try the other side.

Fibromyalgia

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According to the American College of Rheumatology, fibromyalgia affects 3 to 6 million Americans,

mostly women of childbearing age, but children, the elderly, and men can also be affected.

Fibromyalgia sufferers experience long-term, bodywide pain and tender points in joints, muscles,

tendons, and other soft tissues. Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headache,

depression, and anxiety.

Yet again, yoga can help. According to a study conducted by James Carson, PhD, at the Oregon

Health and Science University, yoga exercise may have the power to combat fibromyalgia. The

researchers enrolled fifty-three female study subjects who had been previously diagnosed with

fibromyalgia. The women were randomly assigned to two research groups. The first group participated

in an eight-week yoga program, which included gentle poses, meditation, breathing exercises, and

group discussions. The control group received standard medication treatments for fibromyalgia.

Following the completion of the yoga program, comparison of the groups revealed that yoga appears to

assist in combating a number of serious fibromyalgia symptoms, including pain, fatigue, stiffness, poor

sleep, depression, poor memory, anxiety, and poor balance. Pain was reduced in the yoga group by an

average of 24 percent, fatigue by 30 percent, and depression by 42 percent.

THE FIBROMYALGIA YOGA CURE

With any cure, especially when dealing with physical pain and range of motion limitations, attention, care,
and patience are not just useful, but crucial. Stay easy in your body when you practice and the yoga can have
the most impact.

This routine is designed to work through aches and pains very gently with deep breathing and relaxation of

the muscles. Go slowly and make sure to pay attention to the breath so you can release tension on your exhales
without forcing or straining the body.

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Seated One Leg Forward Bend

Sit up tall. Extend your right leg forward and flex your right foot. Bend your left foot in toward your body so your knee relaxes out toward the left side a bit. Inhale and extend your arms straight up. Exhale and fold your torso over your right leg. Grab your right toes with your left hand and press your right fingertips on the ground beside your right leg. Extend the left side of your back out so that it’s straight and long. Stay here for ten long, deep breaths.

Seated Spine Twist

Gently bring your torso to sit upright. Hug your right knee into your chest and place your right foot on the ground across and outside your left leg so your knee is pointing straight up. Inhale your left arm straight up and lengthen through your torso. As you exhale, cross your arm over your right thigh. Press your right fingertips into the ground behind your hips. As you inhale, lengthen the spine tall, as you exhale, twist further. Repeat this breathing and movement pattern three more times and slowly reverse your torso to the left side for a countertwist. Repeat the single-leg forward bend and the seated spine twist on the other side.

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Seated Wide Leg Straddle

Sit up tall and open your legs to the sides until you feel a little tension, but not so much that it is uncomfortable.

Walk your hands forward between your legs and keep your torso long. Stay here for ten long, deep breaths favoring the exhales a bit more than the inhales to encourage tension to release.

Reclining Knee Hug

Gently lie down on your back. Hug both knees into your chest. Wrap your arms around your shins and slowly rock side to side, releasing your lower back on the ground. Stay here for ten long, deep breaths.

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