Yoga is an age-old tradition. It’s roots lie in Ancient India where people practiced yoga along with breathing exercises. Yoga is believed to promote physical and mental health while curing numerous health ailments. It also improves flexibility, strengthens bones, improves balance, and boosts self confidence. The prominent health benefits of practicing yoga have compelled people across the globe to incorporate a regular practice into their daily lives. Certified yoga instructors and yoga studios are plenty across North America today, and yoga has become an alternative medicine of sorts for treating different kinds of illnesses, including joint pain, arthritis, back problems, breathing problems, and many chronic pain diseases (i.e., fibromyalgia).  

Although daily yoga practice gives positive health results, approaching it the right way can provide significant relief from the symptoms of joint or arthritis pain. The right approach involves many lifestyle changes, including maintaining a daily yoga practice, healthy changes in diet, improved sleep schedule, and focusing on mental health. Here’s how yoga works as natural pain relief:

1. Daily yoga practice

Yoga is a combination of different poses synced with correct breathing. When either of them is performed incorrectly, one can experience backaches, slip discs, ankle sprain, body stress, and insomnia. Therefore, learning and practicing yoga from a certified yoga professional is highly important. Some effective yoga poses for joint, lower back, and arthritis pain relief include sun salutation, cow pose, supine twisting pose, bridge pose, downward-facing dog pose, and crescent lunge.

2. Healthy diet changes

Good nutrition paired with daily yoga practice provides better results than practicing yoga alone. Most yoga practitioners follow a yogic diet, which only includes nourishing food that is easy to digest. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and herbal teas are components of a yogic diet. As it is not necessary to follow all the yogic dietary rules, one can add fish, eggs, and fortified breakfast cereals to their diet. This also indicates that it is important to exclude processed and packaged foods, caffeine, alcohol, and refined carbohydrate foods from the diet to reap maximum health benefits and pain relief.

3. Improve sleep schedule  

Maintaining a daily routine is an important factor that can contribute to experiencing permanent relief from joint, back, and arthritis pain. It also keeps your body healthy and free from diseases and illnesses. Setting a fixed sleeping schedule is an integral part of a daily routine. Ideally, it is best to sleep and wake up early for a health mind and body; it also enables one to practice yoga early in the morning.  

4. Care for mental health

Mental health has great impact on physical health. Stress, tension, anxiety, worry, and other mental stressors can lead to several unexplained illnesses and worsen an existing illness or health condition. It is, therefore, important to take plenty of measures to promote good emotional and mental wellbeing. Focusing on the present moment, constantly remembering things to be grateful for, and keeping a consistently positive attitude help in boosting mental health. Also, taking professional or friendly help for managing stress and discussing problems and ways to solve them can move one toward a happy and calm mind. There is a substantial increase in the benefits of yoga when the mind is calm.

While yoga has immense health benefits, it alone may not provide lasting effects. Therefore, it’s important to introduce yoga into one’s life along with other lifestyle changes. Daily yoga practice with right diet, sleeping pattern, and a healthy mind collectively make a person healthy and provide relief from back and joint pains.