Overcome Pain with Gentle Yoga, Level 1
This DVD, Overcome Pain with Gentle Yoga, Level 1, merges western scientific understanding of chronic pain with yoga techniques. It is the first of three DVD’s, Level 2&3 are expected to be available by the end of this year.
Produced by Neil Pearson, MSc, BScPT, BA-BPHE, CYT, RYT500, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia, Canada, Registered Physical Therapist, Certified Yoga Therapist, who has this to say about his production:
This video provides viewers with three thirty minute gentle yoga practices, as well as an understanding of how yoga practice can help attain less pain, better movement and improved quality of life. In the introductory track current scientific understanding of chronic pain and how this relates to yoga as an effective pain self-management strategy is reviewed. Viewers will also learn a simple and effective process for knowing how hard to push and how long to hold yoga postures in the face of pain. The three yoga practices build on each other, with focuses on calm rhythmic breath, on releasing body tension, and on maintaining calm breath and body during movement. Practising these sessions assists in expanding awareness beyond a narrow pain-focus, and in retraining the nervous system and body to respond with less hypersensitivity to movements. Enjoy the many benefits of these gentle practices developed by Neil over years of leading people with persistent pain conditions through therapeutic yoga classes.
The following review has been written by Carolyn Vandyken, BHScPT, who works as a physical therapist in Cambridge Ontario. She is Clinical Practice Leader-Pelvic Health for LifeMark Health Canada, and an Instructor of Incontinence and Pelvic Pain courses. Carolyn holds Credentials in Mechanical Diagnosis and Treatment of Spine Disorders with the McKenzie Institute and is a Member of the College of Acupuncture.
“Overcome Pain with Gentle Yoga is the next logical step in a series of educational materials created by Neil Pearson, Registered Physical Therapist and Certified Yoga Therapist. Neil has created a user-friendly and effective tool box for the Physical Therapist treating Persistent Pain conditions such as Fibromyalgia, Pelvic Pain, Complex Regional Pain Disorder, or difficult and persistent orthopaedic problems. Persistent pain has a devastating effect on patient’s lives, and their inability to successfully integrate into an exercise program often leaves them more frustrated, creating another barrier to success. In Neil’s words, when pain persists, you now have two problems: the original one that caused the initial pain and a hyper-sensitive nervous system.
In the clinic, I provide my patients with Neil’s E-book, Understand Pain, Live Well Again. I then individualize the information that each patient needs to start to make meaningful changes in their pain experience. Since deep breathing has tremendous benefits for down-regulating the nervous system, each patient then receives a copy of Neil’s Deep Breathing CD, which is broken down into easily digested 5 -minute segments of 7 different deep breathing techniques. Once patients have practised the deep breathing techniques for 2-3 weeks, and are integrating these techniques into their daily lives, I then introduce them to Body Awareness training. My patients need to learn to pay attention to their painful body parts without judgement or emotional reaction. This is the next skill or goal that needs to be achieved.
At that point, not being a Yoga instructor, I would teach my patients from my experiences in Yoga, ask them to seek out a Yoga instructor specializing in Therapeutic Yoga, enrol in Tai Chi, or enrol in Pilates depending on their particular need. Clinically, I have found Yoga to be particularly effective in healing chronic pain. With the introduction of this new DVD, however, I now have a logical progression for my patients. Overcome Pain with Gentle Yoga provides patients with three thirty- minute gentle yoga practices, incorporating deep breathing with a gentle Yoga practice in the first segment; there are three levels of difficulty for patients to follow, with good instructions and demonstrations for appropriate modifications. I will often start my patients with visualization of the Yoga practice if they can’t immediately participate in the postures. Viewers are given simple and effective instructions on how long to hold the yoga postures in the face of pain. The three segments on the DVD build on each other, with subsequent practices which focus on movement with releasing body tension, and movement with maintenance of calm breath and non-judgemental body awareness. The vast majority of my patients find success in this practice, which helps to reinforce the message that they can move well with less pain.
I am very pleased to offer my patients such professionally packaged materials; the benefit has been tremendous, and I look forward to further material that Neil will develop. I now embrace the opportunity to treat patients with persistent pain since I feel that I have the skills and the tools to provide excellent care with excellent outcomes.”
The DVD can be purchased from Neil’s website.
Related posts:
Return to top of page