Cheryl Thomas, RYT
www.cherylthomas.com yoga@cherylthomas.com 415-308-3377 |
Chronic Pain
I'm surprised by how many people are in pain. Try 100 million in the US per the Institute of Medicine. What about the Gallup-Healthways survey that shows 47% of US adults reported chronic pain. resulting from either neck, back, knee or leg pain? What the hell? This is seriously depressing. The researchers also found that more than a third of people who are in their mid-50s and up have some sort of ongoing neck, back, knee or leg pain.
What is chronic pain? As compared to acute pain which it triggered by the nervous system to alert you to "stop" or "be careful", chronic pain is persistent. With chronic pain, pain signals keep firing for week or months or years even after the injury or body damage has passed. The pain could have been triggered by an injury or a chronic condition like arthritis or cancer. Some people suffer from pain without any past injury or evidence of body damage.
All pain is real, however some sufferers are treated as if it's all in their heads.Chronic pain is a personal experience and cannot be measured by mainstream diagnostic tests. What's more frustrating is that chronic pain sufferers often don't even know themselves why they have pain. They end up scouring the medical and complementary health systems to find a cure and relief. According to Spine Health, "This process can lead to unnecessary evaluations and treatments, in addition to putting the patient at risk for actually being harmed or made worse by the healthcare profession."
How'd we get in so much pain, I wonder? I can surmise that much pain used to be due to injuries and trauma due to the nature of physical work--plowing and tending fields, hunting game, working manual labor and factory jobs. I bet much of today's chronic pain (besides pain from disease or trauma) comes from lifestyle. Here are a few ways that our own habits and lifestyle can lead to the most common chronic pain sites--neck, back, legs and knees: Neck pain - Poor spinal posture, especially the "head forward" position, puts an unnecessary load on the spinal column leading to strained muscles, disturbed vertebrae and pinched nerves. Chronic misalignment of the spine becomes increasing difficult to reverse.
Back pain - Long period of sitting weaken the support muscles that help us move. Sitting is rampant in our society from couches in front of Game of Thrones, hours at our desk or long car rides driving kids from piano lessons to soccer practice to Hebrew school. Knee and leg pain - One answer, Taco Bell's Volcano Nachos and a 32 oz Coke. Our joints were not meant to carry additional load, well, unless you're carrying home an antelope over your shoulder that will feed you and your entire tribe. The overweight and obese suffer more chronic pain. Most chronic pain is not well managed. However, there are some modalities that can help. You guessed it, yoga is one of them. Next week I'll share some ways that yoga and even walking and meditation can help with chronic pain.
Want to read some of my past articles?. They're archived right here. Enjoy.
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Sliding Scale based yoga is at Alive Yoga (near Starbucks) in Sebastopol. On Thursdays at 6:30 pm, Iris Lambert will offer a gentle hip opening flow for end of day relaxation with Kirtan the first Thursday of the month. $10-20 sliding scale.
Sunday, August 30, Amy Sullivan will guest teach both morning classes at Yoga On Center.
Yoga Community in Sonoma is offering yoga teacher training starting 8/14.
Pull out your calendar. 71 backbends(!) on Tony Briggs's birthday on 8/30. Visit tonybriggsyoga.com or Post Wellness by Design. AND 4-Day Yoga Intensive coming Sept 24th - 27th. Pricing and details at TonyBriggsYoga.com.
Know about Yoga in Graton? It's hopping! Find 5 classes a week ranging from Gentle to Slow Flow to All Levels, featuring me, Corina Stoicescu and Denise Hammond. Time and places at YogaInGraton.com. Viniyoga Workshops w/AVI co-founder Mirka Kraftsow Healing & Selfcare sessions for summer... Sat. June 27th Sat. Aug. 29th Sat. Sept. 26th 2-5pm $60/drop-in or $55/ WestsideYogaStudio.net I just trapped another cutie kitten from a feral Mom. Interested? He's a highly desired orange tabby. I can send photos, just ask. Restorative Yoga - You've been asking for it and here it is! See below. It's happening again in August, so sign up for the reduced price 4-week series.
My weekly schedule is below (scroll down or click here!). Or, you can always go to my website and click on the always up-to-date calendar to find where I might be.
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  Restorative Yoga is Here
We had a great group for our July Restorative Yoga Series. Join us on Wednesdays at 5:30 at Alive Yoga in Sebastopol. Drop-ins are always welcome. |
For Weight Loss - More Exercise or Less Eating?
If I gorge on a plate of fried calamari at Hop Monk can I burn it off by running 6 miles? No, sorry, no so. If you're trying to loose weight, reducing calories far overrides more exercise. Here's a bit from a recent NYT article: "One of my family's favorite shows is "The Biggest Loser." Although some viewers don't appreciate how it pushes people so hard to lose weight, the show probably inspires some overweight people to regain control of their lives. But one of the most frustrating parts of the show, at least for me, is its overwhelming emphasis on exercise. Because when it comes to reaching a healthy weight, what you don't eat is much, much more important." |
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Can't do yoga because you have really tight hamstrings. I hear it all the time. Baxter Bell gives us a 3 minute video on how to "trick" your hamstrings into giving you a bit more. It's called reciprocal inhibition and it works in other stretches also. Find it and lots more at YogaUonline.com.
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 Yoga Festival Coming to Sebastopol
Sebastopol is the center of the universe when it comes to all things yoga, or that's what we like to think. We have an amazing collection of instructors and studios and NOW, a Yoga Festival: wONEderfest.
There will be sun salutations, open studies and kirtan on Saturday, September 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00. Learn all about it at wONEderFest.com |
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Schedule of Upcoming Classes
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Class Schedule - Week of August 9, 2015
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Wednesday 5:30 - 7:00 Alive Yoga Studio, Sebastopol Restorative Yoga Thursday 8:45 - 9:45
Graton Community Club, Graton
Gentle Flow - All Levels
5:00 - 6:00
Healdsburg, Private
Saturday
9:00 - 10:30
All Levels Flow
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Schedule Week of 8/9
(clickable schedule below)
Wednesday
5:30 - 7:00
Alive Yoga Studio, Sebastopol
Restorative Yoga
Thursday
8:45 - 9:45
Graton Comm Club,
All Levels
5:00 - 6:00
Healdsburg, Private
Saturday
9:00 - 10:30
All Levels Flow
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Graton Yogis Info:
Did you know your class pass (get these from your instructor) are accepted by all yoga teachers at Yoga in Graton?
We Gratonite Yogis have a place to call our own. It's www.
yogaingraton.com. There is information about current and new yoga classes offered in Graton.
Don't live in Graton? No problem. We want you to come anyway.
Quotes I Like
You cannot be lost if you don't care where you are.
Judith Lasater
When people ask me what equipment I use, I tell them my eyes.
Ansel Adams
"Not to have what we want is stressful; to have what we do not want is stressful."
Buddha
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
Dalai Lama
"Everything will be alright in the end. And if it is not alright, it's not yet the end!" The Magnolia Hotel movie
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