Source: http://www.sonima.com/yoga/yoga-back-pain/
Because pain often stems from a variety of confounding factors not solely emerging from physical misalignment or injury, we yogis look toward methods for physical and spiritual, or psychosomatic, healing. I like to approach pain from a place of acceptance and gratitude rather than anger or fear. As the poet Rumi wrote, “The wound is place where the Light enters you.” Without pain, we have no opportunity to discover the power of healing. Our physical symptoms can be our greatest teachers, serving as a gateway into self-discovery and higher consciousness. If you allow yourself to look deeply, you can choose to not only heal completely, but actually recreate yourself into a better version of you. This process can even be inspiring and fun if you allow it.
Physically, this series focuses on spinal extensions (backbends), which alleviate the tension from excessive forward flexion (forward bending). This is helpful for those who sit or bend forward for extended periods. These poses help draw the mind and body state out of fight-or-flight mode. In modern times, stresses are much more complicated than they were for the primitive man. The survival instinct, however, is still a driving force in our daily lives. In fact, most of us live in this “do or die” state of consciousness most days without realizing it: being late for work, deadlines from a boss, constantly checking e-mails and texts, expectations from a spouse, the pressure to make more money. T…