Dru Yoga - Healing Chronic Pain

It was by chance that I attended this workshop. I thought it was a marketing for back pain workshop I didn't realize it was in connection with dru yoga.

I got into the practice of Dru Yoga every Sunday morning for several years after breaking my back. I really enjoyed it as it was very different to any other style of yoga I had done. It is a gentle form of yoga that is used therapeutically to people of all fitness levels worldwide. It is a light and gentle movement orientated form of yoga that really gets the energy moving throughout the entire body. It is very effective at removing energy blockages and aids in healing.

Dru Yoga is one of the UK’s largest yoga training schools and has a large database of research-proven records stating how yoga has dramatically reduced pain and helped in the recovery of injury and disease.

The sequence we practiced at this workshop was specifically designed for people with chronic back pain. It is a very basic sequence that is designed to be practiced in the workplace. The yoga teacher demonstrated the practice in a skirt to prove it is easily done in your work outfit.

It was a simple and enjoyable class that revealed a lot of references to previous trials and research assessing yoga for various medical complaints. 

The University of York Department of Health Sciences

Bulletins November 2011:

'Yoga can provide more effective treatment for chronic lower back pain than more conventional methods, according to the UK’s largest ever study into the benefits of yoga.' 

This 12 week study consisted of 2 groups. One group was to practice yoga for 12 weeks and the other group was offered GP care alone. The participants measured their levels of pain using the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire throughout the programme and then 3, 6 and 12 months after. There was an overall improvement in the every day activities like walking, getting out of bed and putting on clothes in the group that practiced yoga even 9 months after the programme had finished.

I know the benefits of yoga are truely amazing when it comes to treating back pain from personal experience. There was a time when I thought I would never walk again. I was bed bound for several months and I found simple things like sitting up, eating and drinking very challenging. When I finally found my feet I could not climb stairs or steps and when I could, I had to take one step at a time very slowly. 

It was 12 months until I was fit enough to start practicing yoga again and I found most postures challenging. From the beginning of the class I struggled with Sukhasana (easy seated pose). Even using the wall as a prop I felt pain. This took me a good few years to develop and sit in with ease. I now enjoy this pose and if any pain does arise I can breathe through it until I feel totally relaxed.

I was elated when I discovered Dru yoga. I saw an advert in the paper for yoga classes at Gorton Monastery on a sunday morning so I thought I 'd go down and give it a go. 

To my amazement when I got there the class was far from what I expected! The warm up sequence seemed more like a gentle dance warm-up then yoga. As the class progressed the movements were very slow and gentle and throughout the practice I didn't feel pain at all. I found my new medicine. I was hooked! 

Every sunday morning I headed over to Gorton Monastery positive that this Dru yoga class was part of my healing process. I continued this class for 2 years and found it very effective at reducing my pain. 

Even though I haven't practiced Dru yoga for a few years, I would highly recommend this style of yoga to people who have disabilities and chronic pain.

xXx Namaste xXx