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and physical causes of back pain.

I went and saw healers, and I used visualization and meditation. Anything at all that I thought might help I tried it. But probably the very best thing I ever did for my back was beginning a regular yoga practice. Even as a child, I had had extraordinarily tight hamstrings and back muscles, and while none of my doctors ever suggested this might have something to do with my back problems, my healing research told me otherwise and suggested yoga would help.

When I made that decision back in 2000 to heal myself, my right foot was partially numb and I couldn't lie on my right side for more than about 5 seconds without feeling pain. I also had constant sensation, and often pain, shooting down my right leg, and sitting was uncomfortable for any length of time. My life was defined by what I could, and could not do as a result of my bad back.

6 years later, I can sleep on my right side all night long and never feel a twinge. I have recovered all of the feeling in my right foot and I never have pain down my right leg. I do still very occasionally get back spasms, but I understand now how emotional and mental stress causes this, and I know how to cope with, and heal the spasms when they occur.

I have no doubt in my mind at all that it was yoga that has had such an extraordinary effect on my back. Not only have I improved my range of motion back to pre-operation levels, but I have actually improved it far beyond what it was before I ever had any trouble with my back.

Yoga is wonderful for rehabilitating old injuries because it works not just on the muscular-skelotel system, but it also works on the circulatory system, and glandular system and the nervous system. My back is strong, it is flexible, and the discs have stopped bulging, and pressing on my sciatic nerve. My foot was numb for a few years, and I was worried I had lost all feeling forever, but now the sensation has come back and the foot is no longer numb.

No matter what injury you may have suffered from, yoga can help you heal completely. It is vitally important that you work with a yoga teacher who is aware of your injury, and any limitations it might initially put on your movement. When I began yoga, it was crucial that I did all forward bends with bent knees to take the pressure off my lower back. I also sat on a folded up blanket for any seated forward bends, or hip work. Always listen to what your body is telling you, and never push into pain - ever!

Learn more about this author, Kara-Leah Grant.
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