Benefits of Yoga Therapy from the perspective of the yoga student

I had been suffering from lower back pain for a few months. My lifestyle was hectic, stuck in a busy job with some added personal stress.

Sleep had also become erratic, which made me tired during the day. I started to worry about my lack of sleep, which actually made things worse. That is why I decided to see my doctor, who prescribed me a mild muscle relaxant which at the beginning helped me with my back pain and my sleep. I also visited a physio a few times, who managed my back and gave me some exercises.

My back pain and my sleep improved for a while, but soon I became anxious at the thought of becoming dependent on the medication, so I stopped taking it, without any immediate problems.

A couple of weeks later, after a game of tennis and one intense meeting at the office, I felt the old pain crawling back. That same night, I stayed awake thinking and turning, suspecting that maybe I was becoming an insomniac. I now remember my irrational thoughts, asking myself “what’s wrong with my body?“

The day after I went out  for a drink with a friend, who told me that she had been through similar troubles, and she found the solution in practicing yoga. Listening to her story, it sounded like all I  needed in my life, was YOGA.

Yoga cures everything, she said. Every magazine, newspaper, TV program and blog in the world tell you so.. and the whole world cannot be wrong!… right?

So that same evening I searched online and I found a local yoga studio which offered many different modalities of yoga, even Flying Yoga! Since I was quite sporty, I booked Ashtanga for beginners. From the images, it looked quite challenging, which is just what I needed… or so I thought.

The rest is history. Crowded classes and impossible poses. From where I was sitting I couldn’t see the teacher properly,  so I just copied my neighbours. I felt inadequate and frustrated for most of the class, but I came out sweating and feeling that I had had a good workout, so I felt that was a positive thing.

For a few sessions I convinced myself that this was quite a cool thing to do. I was officially doing yoga!

When the teacher asked if anyone had any health issues, I didn’t put my hand up. It is true that the night before I had been woken up with a sharp pain in my back, but it passed after taking a pain killer, and in any case everyone around me looked so fit and  healthy that there was no way I was going to complain about some silly back ache!

In the next class, however, I did put my hand up to tell her about my back, and she kindly told me to listen to my body and to take it easy.

Eventually I had to stop going to yoga because I was diagnosed with a herniated disc, when the pain was radiating down my leg and it became unbearable.

I spent two months off work, taking some serious medication for pain and sleeping tablets, feeling depressed and unable to walk, sit or lie down without pain. Life was pretty miserable, but my doctor could only help me with pain killers. I tried physio and “dry needling” to which I had a bad reaction. My life just went spiralling down… and then, when it couldn’t get any lower, I came across Yoga Therapy.

I was a bit concerned about my previous yoga experience, but since it came highly recommended by a good colleague at work recovering from breast cancer, I gave it a go. I called Montserrat, who booked me for an intake and took care of my needs from day one. I can’t go through all the stuff we spoke about, but we covered everything from my physical posture, lifestyle, past experiences, family and personal life.

I was amazed at her knowledge of medical issues, she read through my diagnoses and she checked every movement I could or couldn’t do. I have to say I did not experience any pain at all and I left our sessions feeling better and better every week.

We did very specific exercises, which she took the time to teach me, I learned about the importance of breathing in my belly connected to my lower back, we laughed a lot and we did a lying down meditation which I loved, lying with lots of cushions and blankets which she took time to set.

Seeing my improvement, my own doctor told me to continue with the Yoga Therapy treatment. I now see Montserrat on a weekly basis even though my symptoms are gone, as I feel that it helps me to stay on a good path and make the right decisions about my health.

This, was exactly what I had needed from the beginning. Yoga Therapy has been an amazing experience and I wish I had started months ago!

I hope that with this testimonial I will help others to try Yoga Therapy.

Love,

Louise