Yoga - Relieve back pain - Gauranga Meditation

Yoga Can Help Relieve Back Pain

Regular yoga practice will help to relieve the stress and tension that sometimes cause mild back pain, and in fact, studies have shown that yoga is the number one most effective exercise for relieving back pain. However, not all yoga poses relieve back pain, and some can in fact aggravate existing pain, so it is important to know which poses are helpful.

It is always best to do these yoga exercises under the supervision of a certified yoga instructor, and if you encounter any problems with these poses, always consult an expert.

Just a couple of sessions with a yoga instructor can help, an instructor will help you with your form and posture during poses. Here is one of the best yoga poses for relieving back pain. This pose should be done on a mat or other soft, supportive surface.


Corpse Pose: Lie flat on your back in a relaxed position, arms resting at your sides, palms down, and legs lying naturally, with knees turned out slightly. If it hurts your back to have your knees turned outward, do this pose with knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply for a few minutes while allowing any tension to leave the body. To further relax the body and the mind you could also add a Meditation to your outward breath. For instance the mantra Gauranga which is a non-material spiritually uplifting sound which brings peace to the heart and soothes the emotions. It's very simple process.

1. While in Corpse pose INHALE through the nostrils while focusing on the Gauranga meditation. As you EXHALE say outloud Gauranga for the full extention of the outward breath. Repeat for at least 5 minutes and experience it for yourself.

This practise has many physical and well as emotional and spiritual benefits making it a truly holistic practise and experience.

Yoga Benefits the Sympathetic And Parasympathetic Nervous Systems

Fight or Flight: Sympathetic Nervous System

Frequently referred to as the “fight or flight response”, the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for alertness and wakefulness, as well as the ability to respond to stress.

In response to stimulus (mental or physical), hormones including noradrenaline and adrenaline are released by the adrenal glands. While it is technically very difficult to measure these hormones in individuals, simple signs of sympathetic activation can be seen in individuals including: increased pupil dilation, sweating, increased heart rate and blood pressure (frequently used in lie detection testing).

Heart rate and blood pressure are probably the easiest and most reliable of these signs to clinically measure and are most frequently used by medical researchers to study human response to stress, as well as recovery from stress.

Recovery & Regeneration: The parasympathetic nervous system

If the sympathetic system is the accelerator of our internal stress response system or what makes us turn ON, the parasympathetic system is considered to be ‘the brake’ or the OFF button. The parasympathetic system’s main role is to conserve energy. One way of doing this is to slow heart rate and energy needs, particularly when we are resting or sleeping. Parasympathetic activation is dominant when we are truly resting or sleeping (provided we are getting uninterrupted, quality sleep).

The parasympathetic is the part of your nervous system that slows you down, it’s responsible for telling your muscles to relax, improving your digestion and assimilation, boosting immunity, and helping you sleep better.The parasympathetic nervous system counteracts many stress-related symptoms and the negative by products of life in this world. Hatha Yoga increases the flow of prana, or life force, in your body.

Scientists have declared that today’s modern life style; the junked up, wired up caffeine fuelled society, frequently experiences an imbalance between sympathetic and parasympathetic balance. This has a tendency to make us prone to mental and physical burn out, periods of decreased mental concentration, immune imbalance and many stress related diseases including cardiovascular disease. The true long term effects of the modern wired up society we live in today will probably not be fully known for decades to come.

Yoga Meditation 4221 Holistic Yoga-End of Day 4

K...nice day today, feeling good.

Some of the young ones were exhausted and had to have a break from the yoga asana's. Huge suprise, myself and friend were thinking we would be down and out for the count, but no! We were still going strong.

Bought lunch today, there's a really good group of shops in the area, nice fresh healthy meals, so a few of us shared lunch.

Woh ... we got off early today so we all decided to go to meditation. It was really, really relaxing to go sit and listen to ancient yoga wisdom and do alot of meditation. A great meal was provided also. I don't know about anyone else but I had the best time. Group meditation to music was so much fun, I thought I was tired but got my second wind while there and found a bit of energy to run around but was really tired when I got home.

*  The question is, why does yoga asanas help us feel better? How does yoga work? As you've probably heard, one reason asana leaves you feeling so good is that it activates your parasympathetic nervous system, thanks to two elements that almost all asana practices have in common—the lengthening and strengthening of musculature and calm even breathing.

Today was the last day of the workshop. Heaps of study and practical to do before the next one in a few days.