Traditionally, yoga was used as a form of concentrated stretching. This form of exercise focuses on breathing and the lengthening of tight muscles to balance out the body. Now, yoga is looked at in a different light. It’s not just about stretching, but about the overall health of your body, joints, posture, and muscles.
YOGA AND RUNNING
In the yoga journal they touch on the fact that runners, use repetitive motions as they stride through their workout routine. This leads to muscle dominance which in turn creates imbalanced movement patterns. These imbalanced muscles pull the joint in unnatural pathways leading to pain, undo wear, and inflammation. Yoga aids the joints by alleviating tight overactive muscles and promoting balance throughout the muscle fiber.
YOGA AND CARPEL TUNNEL
I have noticed with various clients that when they have carpel tunnel or even tennis elbow it is closely related to tightness in their lats. So, it’s no surprise to see that yoga positions like the one above (which stretch your lats) actually help to alleviate pain associated with carpal tunnel.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1998 concluded that participants who practiced yoga over an eight-week period showed improvement in their condition compared to those who did not do yoga. The yoga poses emphasized in this study focused on opening, stretching, and strengthening the joints of the upper body. A yoga regimen including these types of poses, and avoiding those which place too much pressure on the wrists, may offer relief to CTS sufferers (source).
Keep in mind that the pose above has been modified to take pressure off the wrists. Other yoga poses should be adapted as well. Joint problems can cause huge issues in your daily life. Not to mention that surgery can be very expensive and painful. 50 minutes of yoga once or twice a week can save you a lot of pain and money!
AKA
Leave a Reply