Yoga and Pain
A quick tale of my yogic experience.
I have worked out a lot over the years. Like, A LOT. For a lot of different reasons. I wrestled from age 4–23 which involves not only daily (or twice a day) high-intensity practices, but additional running to maintain weight and weight-lighting to stay strong. I also ran cross-country and played football from youth through middle school. As I aged I focused more on fitness and more on wrestling. I tried newer fitness and dieting practices including IMF (intermittent fasting), meditation and CrossFit. I do not want to bash on any diet or fitness plan since many of them serve good purposes for many people. What I do want to talk about it one of my newer fitness adventures… yoga.
Yoga has been amazing for me personally and I think it can be for many. For me as a man, I was a little hesitant not to try, but to get invested in yoga. It’s not a “sport”. It’s more of a hobby or a daily routine. I did yoga for 14 days in a row (roughly 20 minutes each day). And I felt AMAZING. I felt strong (and sore on some days), stable in my core, and calm in my mind. Yogic breathing manages to introduce some meditation practices into it and I love that. I end sessions feeling calm, relaxed, and like I exercised.
So, why should you try yoga? Well, as I said, I did yoga for 14 days in a row. Then, after stopping for 3 days, I woke yesterday morning and my low back pain had returned. Shocker. Did yoga last night for 15 minutes, woke up this morning and no pain. Further, in addition to my chronic low back pain, almost every other form of exercise I have pursued actually causes pain in some way. CrossFit destroyed my shoulder in just six months, running destroys my knees, etc. etc. I’m NOT saying these exercises are bad, that I don’t do them occasionally sometimes, or that they don’t have value. What I AM saying is that they caused me pain…. And yoga does not. It removes the pain. Both physically and mentally.
So yes,
You should try yoga today!
The best part is, YOU CAN DO IT FROM HOME! Adrienne has a great series on YouTube called Home Your Yoga Journey. Click here to see it!
