If you’ve ever heard someone say, “Yoga is the best thing for back pain,” you’ve also probably met someone who ended up feeling worse from it.

Here’s the truth: yoga is a powerful practice, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all cure for back pain. And yet, that myth keeps circulating, leaving both yoga teachers and yoga students confused about what’s actually safe, effective, and sustainable for various back issues.

If you’re a yoga teacher, you’ve almost certainly had that moment when a student whispers, “My back hurts… what should I do?” 

The question hangs in the air like a test. 

Do you tell them to skip forward folds? Avoid twists? 

Or do you cross your fingers, cue the pose anyway, and hope it helps instead of harms?

If you’ve ever felt uncertain in those moments, you’re not alone. This is exactly why the Yoga Teachers Association of Hudson Valley is hosting Retrain Back Pain for Yoga on October 11th.

This workshop is about retraining how we can better manage back pain in the yoga space, so that teachers can lead with more confidence, and practitioners can move with less fear.

Why Yoga Isn’t Always the Answer (and Sometimes the Problem)

Let’s bust the myth head-on: yoga, by itself, doesn’t automatically heal back pain.

Yoga can build strength, improve flexibility, and reduce stress, all of which are important pieces of the back-pain puzzle. But if you’ve ever pushed yourself into a deep twist, a long yin hold, or an Instagram-worthy backbend only to feel your pain flare later, you already know: yoga done the wrong way can backfire.

The truth is, not all yoga poses (or breathing techniques) are back-friendly. Some can be downright provocative to an irritated spine or an already stressed nervous system. 

The “deeper is better” mindset that often sneaks into yoga culture? It’s actually the exact opposite of what back-pained bodies need.

That’s where retraining comes in.

What You’ll Learn in This Workshop

In Retrain Back Pain for Yoga, we’ll cut through the myths and focus on what actually works for both teachers and practitioners alike. Here’s a taste of what’s on the mat:

• Breathing that soothes instead of triggers. Not every pranayama technique is spine-friendly. You’ll learn which breathing methods regulate the nervous system and support healing instead of cranking up pain.
• Safer strategies for common poses. Backbends, binds, deep twists, yin, all can feel amazing or aggravating, depending on how they’re taught. You’ll learn how to adapt and cue these postures so they’re safe for every back in the room.
• The missing pieces yoga alone doesn’t cover. We’ll explore what yoga doesn’t always address—like how pain actually works in the body, why “stretching more” isn’t always the answer, and how strength, balance, nutrition, age, sex, bone health, and nervous system regulation all come into play.
• How pain really works. Pain isn’t just in your muscles, it also involves your brain and nervous system. Understanding this makes you a better teacher and a smarter practitioner.

Who This Workshop Is For

This isn’t just a workshop for “people with back pain” (although if that’s you, you’ll get a ton out of it).

Whether you’re a yoga teacher who wants to confidently support students with back pain or a yoga practitioner looking for ways to move without flaring your symptoms, this workshop will give you practical tools you can use immediately.

Yoga can be part of the solution for back pain, but only when it’s taught and practiced with nuance, safety, and rooted in a smart, anatomical context of movement and injury prevention.

Why This Matters Now

Back pain isn’t rare. It’s the #1 musculoskeletal complaint in the world, and it shows up in yoga studios everywhere. 

Which means if you’re teaching yoga, you’re already teaching back-pained populations even if your students don’t say anything.

The more we can grow beyond persistent myths in favor of smarter, safer practices, the more accessible and effective yoga becomes.

In today’s overstimulated and fast-paced world, nervous system health is more important than ever. Chronic stress, constant digital connectivity, and an unrelenting pace of life push our bodies and minds beyond their natural rhythms. Many of us are living in a state of chronic sympathetic overdrive—often referred to as “fight or flight”—without enough time or space to engage the body’s restorative systems. Fortunately, yoga offers a time-tested, scientifically supported path to rebalance the nervous system, promoting resilience, vitality, and overall well-being.

Understanding the Nervous System

The nervous system is our internal communication network. It has two main branches: the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system, which includes the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS regulates involuntary functions such as heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, and hormonal secretions. It consists of two primary branches:

• The sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which mobilizes the body for action (“fight, flight, or freeze”)
• The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which supports rest, digestion, and recovery (“rest, digest, integrate, and heal”).

Health depends on a dynamic balance between these two systems. Yoga supports this balance by promoting parasympathetic activation and increasing nervous system flexibility—our ability to shift between these states smoothly and appropriately.

Yoga as Nervous System Medicine

Yoga is more than stretching or exercise; it is a holistic system that integrates movement (asana), breath regulation (pranayama), relaxation and sense withdrawal  (pratyahara), and meditation (dhyana). Each of these components plays a powerful role in calming the nervous system and enhancing self-regulation.

1. Asana
   Physical movement helps discharge excess energy, release muscular tension, and stimulate vagal tone—a key marker of parasympathetic activity. Gentle, mindful movement also re-establishes a felt sense of safety in the body, crucial for those recovering from chronic stress or trauma and helping to reduce anxiety and depression.
   
   
2. Pranayama
   Breath is one of the most accessible and immediate tools we have to influence the nervous system. Slowing and lengthening the exhale, for instance, directly stimulates the vagus nerve, shifting us toward parasympathetic dominance. Techniques such as nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) and ujjayi (aspirated breath) have been shown to lower blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels.
   
   
3. Pratyahara
   Guided relaxation and the process of sense withdrawal brings a deep state of restfulness so we can heal. It is the combination of resting the body fully, relaxed diaphragmatic breathing, and training the mind to focus awareness in the body. Consequently, this practice can induce a hypnagogic state between wakefulness and sleep. The balance this practice has on the nervous system positively affects every organ and organ system.
   
   
4. Meditation and Mindfulness
   Meditation enhances the awareness of internal body states and as a consequence allows us to recognize signs of stress and unhealthy habits. Regular mindfulness practice has been shown to increase gray matter density in the prefrontal cortex and decrease activity in the amygdala—the brain’s alarm center. This translates to greater emotional regulation and a more responsive, less reactive nervous system.

The Role of the Vagus Nerve

A central player in nervous system health is the vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve in the body. It connects the brainstem to the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. A well-toned vagus nerve improves digestion, reduces inflammation, and supports emotional regulation. Practices that stimulate vagal tone include humming, chanting, slow breathing, social engagement, and cold exposure—all of which are naturally woven into the yogic tradition.

Polyvagal Theory and Yoga

Contemporary neuroscience, particularly Polyvagal Theory developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, provides a framework to understand how yoga affects the nervous system. According to this theory, safety, connection, and coregulation are essential to healing. Yoga fosters this through the use of community (sangha), attuned instruction, and embodied presence. Group classes, even when done in silence, generate a shared field of safety and regulation.

Conclusion: From Survival to Thriving

In a culture dominated by performance and productivity, the invitation of yoga is radical: to slow down, breathe deeply, and listen within. As we practice yoga with an understanding of the nervous system, we move from mere stress management to nervous system literacy—developing the capacity to notice, respond, and restore balance from the inside out.

A healthy nervous system doesn’t mean we’re always calm or peaceful—it means we’re adaptable, resilient, and present. With regular practice, yoga becomes a daily act of rewiring our inner circuitry for connection, vitality, and wholeness. 

I look forward to sharing space and practicing with all of you!

For more info, go to LukeKetterhagen.com.

As soon as I struck a large Tibetan singing bowl that was sitting on my chest, I thought, “I had died and gone to heaven.” It was so relaxing, strangely comforting, and magical. That was my initiation into sound healing with bronze bowls. I was hooked. From that moment on all I wanted to do was invite everyone I met to experience that feeling of a vibrating metal bowl on their chest. It’s why I do sound baths and teach anyone interested how to play the sound bowls.

My path to Tibetan/Himalayan singing bowls is a long and winding road.

It all started when my childhood bouts of eczema became worse in my adolescent years. I was given cortisone cream by my dermatologist when both my hands became very broken out. Miraculously that did the trick. The rashes were tamed as long as I used the cream regularly. Many years later, as I was battling persistent bronchitis, a friend said, “You have been getting worse and worse cases of bronchitis each year. I suspect the cortisone cream is having a harmful effect on your immune system.” I realized that since first using the cream I had become allergic to cats as well as tree and grass pollen. I felt like I was always on the verge of getting sick. I also began having breathing difficulties and was diagnosed with asthma. So the next day I totally stopped using cortisone cream. 

What happened next was a total surprise. My whole body broke out in rashes, from my head to my toes. Every morning when I awoke I had to take off my sheets, shake all the dry skin out of them, and wash them. I kept my entire body covered and wore hats so no one would see my rashes. I was a nervous wreck, itching and scratching constantly. My daily Iyengar yoga practice was the first thing that relieved my nervous system enough to allow me to get through the day. I gave up eating sugar and white flour products. I was introduced to energy medicine. Reiki helped calm my body. I continued on my healing path becoming a certified Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner, licensed massage therapist, craniosacral therapist, and auric field healer among many other things.

One day a fellow therapist said, “I’m going to study sound healing. Does anyone want to do it with me?’ I had no idea what sound healing was but I said, “I’ll do it.” And that’s how it all started. Sage Center’s first year-long sound healing class was created for our group of eight Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioners. During the class a fellow student said she was studying with a man from India who taught Tibetan singing bowls and thought I would like it. I signed up for his next certification class and, as I put that first metal bowl on my body and played it, I was smitten. I now play sound baths on a regular basis and have been certifying students as a teacher/trainer for the International Academy of Sound Healing since 2015.

Besides learning a variety of techniques and healing protocols, I learned that in order for the body to heal the subconscious mind has to be onboard with the healing to restore health. One is able to access the subconscious mind (delta and theta brainwaves) in deep meditation and deep sleep. Delta waves are linked to deep, dreamless sleep and restorative healing. Theta waves are related to deeper relaxation and inward focus. 

Playing my Tibetan singing bowls brings me to the most relaxed and healing place. This practice has calmed my nervous system and helped alleviate my eczema symptoms. These bowls were able to make sounds that restored healthy vibratory frequencies to my body, bringing body, mind, and spirit back into balance. This healing effect happens when our brain waves synchronize with the tones of the bowls. This is called entrainment. As this occurs, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated. The heart slows down, blood pressure lowers, the eye’s pupil size decreases, blood vessels dilate, digestive juices increase, muscles in the gastrointestinal tract relax, and the whole body begins to go into deep relaxation. 

Michelle’s Sound Healing World workshop will introduce you to Sound Healing with Tibetan singing bowls. 

Learn more about Michelle at sonicbowls.com.

When putting together my workshop, I, of course, had to limit what its context would be because of the time constraint. However, so many thoughts and feelings inspired by my yoga practice came through.

Looking back, my earliest connection to yoga was all about improving my physical expertise for performing in dance. It proved to be a physical resource, but it subtly became so much more. The path of my thinking and feeling also shifted without my awareness. As I matured, along with familial and work obligations and responsibilities, I noticed a difference in the way I functioned. A beloved yoga teacher’s advice was, “If you don’t know what to do, do an opposite and you’ll get a different response and directive.” 

Even though I was satisfied with this growth and consciousness, I also studied the latest western body–mind modalities: ideokinesis, polarity, bioenergetics, and continuum, to validate my deep love and respect for yoga and its benefits.

Yoga is! It cannot be categorized. It is an art, a science, a way of life, and an extensive comprehensive system able to lead one to the source of their own inner light and joy. The state of being happy is an innate part of life that is elusive most of the time because of the difficulties and challenges that this life presents. The practice of yoga offers us the way and means to connect with our own light and joy, and its philosophies show us how unhappiness is optional. Human frailties can be strengthened when we face our fears, make our own choices and decisions, and, with conscious awareness, practice appreciation and self-acceptance and recognize the importance of autonomy for our maturation. We learn from our experiences, whether they are good or bad ones, how we must adapt and adjust.

Yoga has been in existence for thousands of years, developed and refined by the practice of those who were aware of—and closely devoted to—the source of pure cosmic conscious energy. It was very long ago when the intrusions and distractions of life were minimal, and these cosmic connections led them to the direct experience of the energy of pure presence. This was their tutelage and instruction, and today we are able to employ the phenomenon of those teachings through our practice of yoga.

The age old questions “Why am I here? and “Where am I going?” often provoke deep thought when on the path to the higher energies. As a long-term teacher of dance, movement arts, and yoga, my curiosity about these questions is continually arising, leading to awareness on many levels that come from the knowledge contained within the moving body. These are but minute segments of many different aspects in the various depths within that open us to the answers we seek, even as we learn the body’s language, when the technique of communicating is in the form of sensation (pain) or unease (dis-ease). I hope to lead the practice to the deepest places within to discover the highest sources of consciousness and the rich wisdom we possess, enabling us to grow and reach for the light with trusted support from our very own being.

Doing an ongoing practice and increasing my connection to the principles and philosophies that arose as a result of this immersion has been a true blessing for me. I trust myself more, I am less fearful and I am more courageous, knowing that the tried and true wisdom is always available if you trust and seek it with your heart and soul—no ego! 

Open yourself to the delight and joy that is always present within. These experiences also added a richness to my teaching abilities, that is still evolving.

My workshop carries this intention and hopefully it will be a gift of inspiration for all.

I suppose that my path to yoga begins with my mother, before I even knew that yoga existed. As a kid, I remember sneaking into her room to look through her colorfully illustrated book about a beautiful blue man that was often depicted playing the flute. I later came to learn that the book was the Bhagavad Gita, and that the blue man was Krishna. My mother was a hippie-child in the 60s, and in addition to her revolutionary spirit she also shared lots of stories, wisdom, and insight with me from her explorations of Eastern spirituality. But it wasn’t until I moved to New York City in the mid-90s that I discovered the physical practice of yoga. 

After graduating from Gonzaga University in 1994 with a degree in theater, I spent about six months in London working as an office temp and auditioning and acting in various fringe productions. In 1995, I made the big decision to move to New York to pursue acting. While on the one hand it was amazing to be following my heart, it was also very stressful! Acting classes and headshots were expensive, and no sooner then I’d find a decent job to pay the bills I’d have to quit that job in order to take a part in a show. So it seemed as if I was always looking for work and often in fear of how I was going to pay the rent. Looking for an antidote to the stress, I started spending time in the self-help section at Barnes & Noble, where I’d sit on the floor and read the books right there because I couldn’t afford to buy them. One day, I ventured a little beyond the self-help section and discovered a super small section of books under the category of “Yoga and Tai Chi.” There were only a handful of books there at the time, but one of them changed the course of my life completely.

Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness, by Erich Schiffmann, was the first book that I ever read about yoga. The words on those pages spoke to a long dormant aspect of my inner being. I resonated with everything Erich said, and knew that I’d just discovered my new path. I started asking everyone I knew if they’d heard about yoga. Remember, this was before the age of the Internet so I couldn’t just do a simple Google search. But eventually I found someone that practiced yoga, and she recommended the Integral Yoga Institute (IYI) on West 13th Street. I started taking classes there regularly and fell in love with the practice. I became a vegetarian, gave up smoking and drinking, and did my best to live a yogic lifestyle. I attended teacher training at the IYI in the Fall of 1998, and started teaching at the IYI in January of 1999. 

After graduating from IYI’s teacher training, I was hungry to learn more about yoga from different teachers so I started exploring other practices. I took classes at the Sivananda Institute, Jivamukti, the Iyengar Institute, and at OM Yoga Studio. I really resonated with the alignment-informed, slow-paced vinyasa style at OM Yoga (Cyndi Lee), and found myself practicing there more and more. I eventually enrolled in The Road to OM teacher training with Cyndi Lee and began teaching at OM Yoga in 2000. Shortly after that I traveled to the West Coast to attend a 2-week teacher training intensive with Erich Schiffmann, and it felt amazing to finally study with the teacher whose book so radically changed my life. 

In 2002, I enrolled in the Swedish Institute of Massage Therapy. While I was initially only interested in learning more about the body in order to become a better yoga teacher, I ended up completing the entire curriculum and become a licensed massage therapist in early 2006. It was during my massage studies at the Swedish Institute that I discovered a passion for the study of functional anatomy. Believing that you teach what you want to learn, I started offering a series of anatomy courses for my yoga teacher colleagues that eventually became known as “Anatomy Studies for Yoga Teachers (ASFYT).” I taught the series using a couple of fantastic books by Joseph Muscolino, entitled Kinesiology: The Skeletal System and Muscle Function and The Muscular System Manual. Both of these books went far beyond what I’d learned at the Swedish Institute, and teaching from them took my own knowledge of human movement to new heights. 

In 2008, I trademarked my own style of yoga called Zenyasa, which is essentially a slow-flow yoga practice that incorporates elements of Zen Buddhism, functional strength and conditioning, Tai Chi, and moderately paced vinyasa yoga. I opened the Zenyasa Yoga & Wellness Studio in 2010, where I and others offered Zenyasa classes, the ASFYT Series, Zenyasa teaching training programs, and therapeutic massage services. Sadly, we recently lost the lease on our little yoga haven, but I have plans to continue offering the ASFYT Series and Zenyasa programs in the months and years to come. In the meantime, I continue to offer private yoga and therapeutic massage services in upper Manhattan, Yonkers, lower Westchester, and at my home in Riverdale. The journey continues 

Learn more at jasonraybrown.com.

My yoga journey began with a copy of Richard Hittleman’s book Yoga for Health, in 1971, the year that it was published. I was in recovery following a stroke I had sustained due to “a fatal illness” that I had miraculously survived, but barely. I knew very little about yoga, other than the fact that it sounded “exotic,” that it was developed in India, and that its name began appearing in lots of print. Directed neither by my mind (which was still quite jostled), nor by my feet (which were not yet very fleet), I took direction from a deep inner knowing that brought the book to me. I began exploring the readings and several of the poses, pictured in black and white, that were feasible for me to embody. This became a secret practice, hidden from view, that brought me newfound strength and the joy of deep accomplishment, as the rest of my life beleaguered  me. 

The same way Hittleman’s book came to me, my first Yoga teacher manifested, and I became a devoted student of hers from 1975 until her death several years later. Ever garbed in white during practice, graceful, lyrical, soft-spoken, yet deliberate, Gambi Maier, became one of my spiritual mothers. She had been a long-time student of Vishnudevenanda in India,  and had been blessed by him to bring the stamp of his yoga to America.

 A few years after Gambi’s death, I met Paula (Renuka) Heitzner,  the yoga master who grounded my practice with an elemental foundation of wisdom and experience. I once wrote to Paula that each one of her classes is “a workshop,” “a study.” I remain grateful for her important presence in my life. 

Aligning with my continuing quest into the depth and inherent potency of yoga, I trained and became certified in a variety of dance and movement arts. I was drawn, particularly, to the therapeutic potential of conscious movement work that had developed in the United States and in other parts of the globe, like Israel and Japan. I began to intuit coherent alignments between them and formulated the basis of my professional practice, which I named Vital Movement™.  More can be learned about my work on my website http://www.judithroseVM.com. 

I have been granted a wild and wide mind that continually looks for congruency within diversity, that is fascinated by the concept of the Zeitgeist, and celebrates synchronicities and other manifestations of Divine Choreography. I seek connections between things that, at first glance, do not seem similar. I love finding correspondences and “conversations” between the work of artists in totally different genres, locations, and time periods. This innate urge eventually led me to the writings, teachings, and drawings of Dr. C.G. Jung (1875-1961), whose psychological understandings spill into the worlds of science, art, music, movement, anthropology, and mysticism. I spent 10 consecutive summers in one-week immersions in Jungian work that bonded me intensely with Jung’s teachings, including his theories relating to Archetypes. Over the course of time, I sought archetypal parallels in the worlds of yoga and movement, and I began to categorize them and link them in choreographic flows that I named “Body Chants.”

In my YTA workshop,

we slipped into the body of Shakti as she peers into the mirror of creation, and thrilled to becoming Shiva as he launches his lightning bolt. We became magical moons traveling in the night sky, radiant Avatars illuminating the way home, and many other wild and wonderful embodiments.

Join us for Judith's workshop on March 8!

I was an introvert growing up and enjoyed quiet time with nothing to do. Maybe I got those genes from my father and grandfather, who were very philosophical. After college I worked in Rochester, New York, as a computer programmer. I took classes in Tae Kwon Do, then the softer styles of Tai Chi, and eventually was introduced to meditation and yoga, which I greatly resonated with. I was then exposed to Ayurveda as a natural, common-sense healing system from India, and it was then I felt drawn to everything from India. I was ready to seek out the best teachers I could find and study with them. In 1991 I quit my job and moved to Albuquerque to study Ayurveda with the renowned teacher Dr. Vasant Lad. While there, a Sanskrit teacher named Vyaas Houston came to Albuquerque and stayed at the place I was house-sitting. He was an incredible teacher, and I got to know him personally as well.

After graduating from Ayurveda school I spent the summer learning Hindi in Boston, then took a 6-week Sanskrit intensive with Vyaas, then traveled to India where my girlfriend and I spent a year trying to gain admission into a 5-year BAMS program at an Ayurvedic college. During this time I studied more Sanskrit with a very famous scholar in Varanasi (Vagish Shastri) and learned to read, write, and speak Hindi. Yet we were not able to gain college admission because we were foreigners. This experience in India, living with families, learning their language, and traveling the country, truly changed my life by pushing me to my limits and teaching me how adaptable I could be. Speaking Hindi allowed me to really relate to the people in India on a personal level.

Upon returning to America, I called Vyaas since I wanted to be around him and learn as much Sanskrit and yoga philosophy as possible from him. I became his personal assistant, office manager, and substitute Sanskrit teacher in the New York City area for 1 year, partly living at the Ashram where his Sanskrit guru resided.

I then decided to move to Santa Fe, New Mexico and get a Masters degree in Eastern Classics so I had some credentials on paper. There I met some wonderful teachers. The yoga teacher Tias Little and I became great friends and each other’s guru, learning from each other for almost 30 years now. He had a big influence on my career. I began teaching Sanskrit workshops locally and then nationally. I continued my studies of Veda and Yoga with Vamadeva Shastri (David Frawley), a wise, generous, and accomplished Vedic scholar. I also chanted the Veda-s and studied the Yoga Sutras with Sonia Nelson at the Vedic Chant Center in Santa Fe. I was so lucky to find three excellent teachers in Santa Fe and study with them for over 15 years, during which time I taught all over the country and wrote and published many audio CDs and books, as a parallel career to being a freelance computer guy. I met my wife Margo at the Vedic Chant Center as well. Sonia officiated our wedding there and we have been married for over 21 years now, with 2 children.

I followed my heart even when it seemed a very impractical thing to do. I feel lucky to have found a real passion for something—my “dharma”—that I chose to pursue no matter what. Seeking out the best teachers possible made a huge difference in my ability to understand the subtleties and complexities of yoga/vedic philosophy. When designing and writing my magnum opus (now titled the Yoga Sutras Desk Reference), I drew from everything I learned from my teachers, my own personal experience, meditations, and self-study.

Being a perpetual, eager, open-minded student has also been important. Even if I am the teacher in a class, the students are also teachers since their pool of knowledge and thoughtful questions teach me as well. My Sanskrit teacher in Varanasi shared his experience around his relationship with his guru. Once Vagish finally won a Sanskrit debate against him, his teacher shed tears of joy, knowing that his student had finally surpassed him and thus was more than capable to carry on the teachings. This taught me to support and encourage my students to be the best they can be, and to never compete with them—always cooperate and share with them as much as possible.

Join us for Nicolai's workshop on February 8!

Chronic pain is an all too familiar challenge for many individuals, impacting their daily lives and overall well-being. Whether it's persistent back or neck pain, tight hamstrings, sore knees, or inflexible hips, these ailments can create significant barriers both on and off the mat. But what causes this pain, and how can we find sustainable relief?

Statistics indicate that chronic pain costs the United States an astounding $650 billion annually. As a neuromuscular therapist with over 30 years of experience, I have witnessed firsthand that a staggering 80% of pain is linked to imbalanced muscles, often exacerbated by stress. This form of pain—known as musculoskeletal pain—can be debilitating, but there's hope. Yoga, focusing on balance and stress alleviation, has emerged as a powerful ally in the journey toward chronic pain relief.

Unfortunately, many individuals find that traditional Western medicine provides limited solutions for pain management. The usual approach involves prescribing painkillers, muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories, or anxiety medications. While these may offer temporary relief, they typically only mask the symptoms rather than addressing the underlying causes of pain.

In most cases, pain arises from imbalances within the musculoskeletal system. Often, our discomfort results from misalignment or poor posture, factors that might not be immediately obvious. Even those who consider themselves to have good posture may have subtle misalignments that the untrained eye can easily overlook.

Recognizing and understanding these common misalignments is vital for crafting a personalized approach to yoga that enhances posture and fosters muscle balance. By doing so, practitioners can choose specific yoga poses that alleviate discomfort and prevent further complications. Tailoring a yoga practice to individual needs empowers practitioners to reduce pain and boost their overall vitality.

Embracing a comprehensive approach, we elevate overall well-being beyond mere symptom relief. The structured yet flexible nature of these classes invites participants to discover the powerful synergy between body, mind, and spirit. As students deepen their awareness of their bodies, they learn to listen to their unique needs, transforming their yoga practice into a profound source of healing.

If you're grappling with chronic musculoskeletal pain, consider integrating my suggestions into your routine. This holistic practice targets the symptoms and addresses the root causes of discomfort, helping you achieve a greater sense of balance. With dedication and the proper guidance, you can reclaim your movement, diminish pain, and enhance your quality of life—both on and off the mat.

My "Yoga for Pain Relief" classes adopt a holistic perspective on pain management. Together, we explore yoga's remarkable benefits for neuromuscular issues and overall health through targeted asanas (stretches), pranayama (breathing exercises), and meditation. These ancient practices are being rediscovered in modern times, backed by scientific research that reveals their countless advantages.

In my classes, I take my participants on a journey to discover:

• the miraculous mechanics of the musculoskeletal system

• the actual cause of most aches and pains

• how to reduce pain and achieve better results from yoga practice

• how to select the correct asanas to balance muscles and relieve specific pain

• how to quickly reduce or eliminate stress and anxiety

• how to integrate yoga into everyday life

I have trained thousands of people in my workshops, including MDs, physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, and laypeople. They have all learned how easy it is to reduce or eliminate pain and how to achieve a greater sense of well-being when following my protocols. 

Come join me on Zoom on January 11, 2025, as YTA hosts my signature class, “Yoga for Pain Relief.” Nagging injuries don't fix themselves, and pain medications only temporarily relieve symptoms. Take control of your health and integrate my ideas into your everyday life. You will soon find out how good your body can feel!

For more information visit LeeAlbert.com.

Join Lee on January 11 for Yoga for Pain Relief with the YTA!

In an interview for Yoga Journal conducted by Seane Corn (guest editor), Nikki Myers discusses her journey and how yoga fit into her addiction recovery.

Nikki Myers: It has been a big journey to reintegrate all parts of myself—to accept without judgment all the various experiences that make up my whole—and come to radical self-acceptance. I’m a drug addict. I’m an alcoholic. I’m a codependent. I’m the survivor of both childhood and adult sexual trauma. I’m a love addict. I’m a recovering compulsive spender. I’m a yoga therapist. I’m a somatic experiencing practitioner. I’m the founder of Y12SR. I am the mother of two living children and one deceased child. I’m the grandmother of five. All of this is true, and I say that with gratitude and grace. I’ve discovered that if I exalt one part of myself and diminish another, I create a separation that becomes a war inside me, and that’s the antithesis of yoga. Yoga is union, integration, wholeness. Until I accepted all these experiences, I was unable to achieve wholeness.

SC: How did you find yoga?

NM: Initially, in 1987, I found a 12-step program for my addiction recovery. During my first eight years in the program, I finished my undergraduate degree, and then I completed my MBA. I went on to work for a corporation in IT [information technology]. In 1994, on a business trip to Germany, I was served orange sherbet with champagne. I made a bad decision to drink the champagne. Back in my hotel room, I ended up drinking from the minibar like Denzel Washington at the end of Flight. I got up the next day and did what I needed to for work, but within a week I found my way to Amsterdam. I had been clean for eight years, but even in a foreign country I knew exactly who to become, what to do, where to go, and how to talk to get my drug of choice: crack cocaine.

I had little experience with yoga at the time. After Amsterdam, I got back into a 12-step program in Boston. It was then that a work acquaintance reintroduced me to yoga. At first, I practiced Bikram and then Ashtanga. My Ashtanga teacher taught yoga in an urban school, and when she went to India each year, I would sub for her. The school administrators would tell me, “When you leave, we have a two-hour window when we can do our jobs because the kids have a sense of focus.” I had personally experienced a calm from yoga practice; however, I got curious about how yoga made kids respond this way. I studied yoga philosophy with book recommendations from others, and started seeing all the similarities between yoga and the 12-step program. I made a decision to let go of the 12-step program, and thought a daily Ashtanga yoga practice would be my way of dealing with my addiction issues. I stayed clean for four years. Then I relapsed again in 2000.

SC: What put you on a path toward sustainable recovery?

NM: I realized I could not put the 12-step program, which gave me a cognitive base for recovery, in a separate box from yoga, which gave me somatic tools. I independently studied neuroscience, and received training in trauma through the Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute (traumahealing.org) and in yoga therapy through the American Viniyoga Institute (viniyoga.com). In 2003, I created Y12SR (y12sr.com), which combines cognitive and somatic practices for sustainable recovery, to offer to others those things that benefitted me.

Y12SR is based on the Yoga Sutra II.16, which suggests that future suffering can be avoided. The program is designed to give us tools to help avoid the future suffering that accompanies a relapse. The first part of Y12SR includes workshops to connect the dots between neuroscience, trauma healing, the 12-step program, and yoga philosophy. The second part is leadership training to teach people how to take Y12SR meetings back into their home communities to support addicts in recovery.

*Reprinted from Yoga Journal, September 2, 2021.

Science and yoga have roots in curiosity, which drives exploration and discovery in both fields. Scientific inquiry is based on wondering about the natural world. Scientists formulate hypotheses and conduct experiments to uncover new knowledge. The questions lead the way, and answers reveal themselves. A hypothesis might prove wrong, or an idea might be revised with further exploration.

Similarly, yoga encourages practitioners to cultivate a sense of curiosity regarding their bodies, minds, and spiritual experiences. One of my earliest meditation teachers used to tell stories of how we in yoga are scientists, exploring phenomena as practitioners test an experience. For example, the blue pearl (nila bindu) is where a tiny blue dot appears in one’s inner vision during deep states of meditation. It may be a neurological perception as the brain tries to visualize sensory information. Enough practitioners “see” the blue pearl to codify the experience. 

In my current PhD work on Contemporary Human Anatomy Education, I am studying visual rhetoric, or how what we see in atlases or visual representations impacts what we understand. I started exploring anatomy from my movement background and with a desire to uncover different ways of seeing and understanding. While studying dance/movement therapy for a master’s degree in Baltimore, I explored yoga practice. It always felt like home. Soon after that, I moved with my husband to NY, and I began to explore even deeper with the Yoga Teachers Association and the wealth of yoga studios in NYC. At the same time, in the early 2000s, I was also beginning to attend anatomy dissections, as my movement therapy clients and yoga students did not look like the anatomy books but had unique variations in their bodies that I wanted to understand. I studied with several excellent teachers and soon taught as faculty in dissection labs, more recently branching out independently. I kept studying yoga throughout and teaching in teacher training programs, learning as much as sharing my knowledge. I don’t think we are ever “done” in either yoga or science explorations. As part of YTA, I was a board member from 2005 to 2014, from member at large to vice president, and then shared the co-president role with my friend and colleague Sylvia Samilton-Baker, who is on the current board. Part of the joy of belonging to this association has been the exposure to so many excellent teachers and styles of practice that continue to inform my work.

Photo courtesy Handspring Publishing, The Myofascial System in Form and Movement.

Fascial anatomy delves into the interconnected network of fascia, a specific connective tissue that envelops and supports the muscles, bones, and organs throughout the body. This fascial system forms a continuous web that links various body parts, and plays a crucial role in movement, posture, and overall function. It enlightens us about the intricate design of our bodies and fascinates us through its interconnectedness.  Myofascial anatomy originates from the myo (muscle) and fascia, which are linked together in extended connection areas. This is similar to our understanding of yoga (yuj) as the joining or yoking of separate things. 

As I work more in this area of anatomy, I enjoy serving as a communicator between scientists and all of us, as well as between our students and clients who want to feel their best to do the things they enjoy in life. The work in labs and lectures has also connected me to the far corners of the world, including Italy, Germany, Brazil, and many more. Both science and yoga are not just about learning but about continuous learning. They value observations, experimentation, and reflection to gain insights. By embracing curiosity, practitioners in both domains continually push boundaries, challenge assumptions, and strive for a more comprehensive understanding of the world around and within them, inspiring and motivating them to stay engaged in the learning process.

Photo of Lauri Nemetz, courtesy Handspring Publishing, The Myofascial System in Form and Movement.

More on Lauri and her upcoming schedules at www.wellnessbridge.com and on FB under Lauri Nemetz and Instagram under wellnessbridge, the.myofascial.system and anatomy_bridge 

Lauri will have copies of her books (including The Myofascial System in Form and Movement) available at the workshop, at Amazon.com, or locally at Hudson Valley Books for Humanity.