Yoga Therapy for Back Pain
DescriptionYoga produces pain therapy back 13 routines to restore the proper functioning of the entire back. This safe and gentle exercises to increase mobility and reduce pain. This beautifully shot DVD features Five 15 minutes and five 30-minute routines of upper back pain, sciatica, bulging disk and joint pain sacroiliac. Each condition is treated separately, so you get the right care for your condition. It also runs a routine general maintenance in all three options at time of one minute (17, 32 and 44th) and a 20 minute Chair yoga routine and a short guided meditation to relax. Whatever your level of pain, or if you just want to strengthen your back, this DVD is a safe and appropriate therapy for you! If you do not know exactly what type of back pain you have, this DVD explains the different types, so you can get a better understanding of your pain. Filmed in Santa Barbara, California, in high definition.
Absolutely love this program. This is a restorative yoga practice. I love that the menu gives you options of various lengths to target specific back issues. A wonderful educational segment is included. This is the most effective progam I have found for my back thus far, I have several similiar DVDs. I’m very glad I made this purchase. I’ve found that doing yoga at home is more effective and safer than going to a chiropractor. Not to mention it is a lot cheaper.
Rating: 5 / 5
My partner and I recieved this DVD as a gift. We both have had back pain in the past and I had surgery to remove a ruptured disk nine years ago. The routines offered in this program are a great supplement to the other stretching and aerobic exercises we do. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. Having a choice of longer or shorter routines is great too.
Rating: 5 / 5
NOTE: I received a free review copy of this DVD from the web site Metapsychology Online Reviews; a longer version of my review appears on that site.
Yoga Therapy for Back Pain provides a series of gentle, therapeutic yoga practices for back care. Instructor Emily Klingerman’s training is consistent with the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya; her approach is similar to another school of yoga descended from that same yoga master, Viniyoga, in that she incorporates dynamic movement within the postures. There are a total of 12 asana practices plus a separate meditation segment on this DVD. The Main Menu of the DVD divides the practices by condition and into routines of varying length as follows:
General Back: 17min–32min–44min
Upper Back: 15 min–30 min
Bulging Disk: 17 min–31 min
Sacro-Iliac Join: 15 min–30 min
Sciatic Pain: 17 min–30 min
Chair Practice: 20 min
Meditation: 10 min
Although the option for different length practices is nice, there is actually NOT quite as much variety as there appears at first glance. All of the practices are made up of shorter sequences which are strung together, and if you try the the longest routine, the 44-Minute General Back, you have basically done everything that is available on the DVD (with the exception of the Chair and Meditation practices). All of the practices are filmed in a featureless white studio; soft music plays in the background. Klingerman teaches via voiceover (she does not mirror-cue), and she is shown practicing alongside fellow yoga therapist Arturo Peal, who displays modifications for some of the postures. Klingerman recommends the following props to use with the DVD: a strap, 2-3 blankets, 2 blocks (optional), and a bolster (can substitute blankets). All of the poses are performed on the floor, in either a reclined, seated, or kneeling position. The majority of the routines begin with a focus on breathing deeply into belly, and all end with an approximately 2 ½ minute relaxation with the knees over a bolster.
The DVD case states that these practices are designed to “increase mobility and reduce pain.” Overall, these exercises would be suitable for a wide audience, providing an excellent means for alleviating pain as well as promoting improved flexibility and range of motion.
Rating: 4 / 5
What a great DVD!! As someone who practices yoga 1-2 times a week, when I injured my back I was saddened that I couldn’t keep up with practicing. My physical therapist was giving me exercises and I was also doing a series of exercises from “Dr Root’s No More Aching Back” book. When I came across this DVD I gaveout a try since I have 2 others from the company. I have found it to be a nice compilation of the gentle stretchs that my PT wants me to do as well as some of the stretchs from the book all complemented with beautiful relaxing music. The segments are short- 15 min so as
I heal I can build onto them working up to the 30 min segments. Also they are specific for injury which is great- I have stuck to ‘General Back Care’ and ‘SI Joint’. I look forward to adding this to my morning routine, giving myself a 15 min practice before heading out the door! In my opinion this company has found the right combo to make helpful yoga DVDs- once you watch a segment I feel that you can close your eyes and just be in your own place while just listening to DVD. It really is a wonderful and helpful product!
Rating: 5 / 5
First, I do not recommend video yoga unless you have taken classes from a qualified instructor – this is because an instructor will personally make sure you understand what is meant by various instructions, and how to make the most of a pose.
I am just an amateur, but I find yoga to be very therapeutic both physically and mentally. At 58, I find that my lower back aches frequently, and I have had neck and shoulder issues for years, due to an old whiplash and being an accountant. My chiropractor always says that I am in better shape whenever I’m doing yoga consistently (which is not during tax busy season!)
What I like about this DVD is that it provides groups of routines for general back health, for the upper back, and then for three specific types of lower back issues. Each one of these provides two or more routines of increasing length, with the shortest being 17 minutes, and the longest about 45 minutes. The instructor also goes over the types and symptoms of different back issues in an overview segment, but I checked with my chiropractor to see which lower back routines she thought I should use (she suggested a combination of the routines for disk bulge and for the sacro-iliac joint)(upper back is a given).
This DVD does not provide advanced or difficult poses. I haven’t finished going through all of the longest routines, but the beginning of each seems to be exactly the same for all back issues, and it’s extremely gentle. I have no problem doing the poses as Emily Kligerman does them, which means they are not very extreme, and her video partner illustrates the same poses even more gently than she does them. Her voice is very nice and soothing and the repetitive background music is also soothing, although clearly the video has been spliced between poses because you can hear the break in the music – this is a minor grouse – it doesn’t rise to the level of an annoyance.
You should check with your doctor first, but it seems that this would be a fine DVD for someone who has pretty extreme back pain, because it’s so gentle. I also think this would be excellent for someone in injury recovery even if the injury is not in the back, because any injury involves trauma, and trauma tightens up muscles all over. I wish I’d had it last year after a bike accident and hip injury – my lower back started hurting from too much sitting around during the recovery, so I think these therapeutic routines would have been an excellent addition to my hip PT.
Rating: 4 / 5