Evolution and Integrity for your lower back

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

(Upward-facing Dog)

For many years I suffered with chronic back pain after breaking L2 & L3 in my lower back. I was told repeatedly by specialists and doctors that I would always be in pain and that I had to learn to live with it. For so long I believed this advice but it got to the point where I decided I can and will get over this disability.

My yoga teacher helped me with a 20 minute sequence that I was to practice every day. I knew this wouldn’t be enough on its own, so I decided to design myself a 6 week detox plan and agreed to myself to do daily affirmations and meditations.

After being on this programme for a few days I started to feel less pain in my back so I continued very hopeful and in high spirits. At the end of the programme, apart from a couple of days I was virtually pain free! Going from being in pain nearly every single day for 4 years to having no pain at all was exhilarating and I felt like I was alive again. 

Back pain can leave you feeling miserable and alone and unable to do the things you want to do. I had my life back. I was so happy! :D

Being pain free didn't mean I was fully healed. I had deep rooted fear of backbends due to the pain I used to feel when I attempted them. This stayed with me for a long time. I was restricted in my movements and a lot of the time afraid to push myself too far. I was continually apprehensive. Over time and with plenty of patience I allowed myself to discover new depths to my sphinx pose and started to lift my elbows away from the ground. I was determined to experience the feeling of lifting into Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward facing dog) once again. Some days I could lift higher than others. There were days when I didn't feel up to lifting at all. I just listened to my body and allowed myself time to develop strength and mobility again in my lower spine. As you can see from the photo above, I really enjoy this pose now and it is an integral part of my practice.

I have been sharing my experience and knowledge with patients now for several years and they all have more movement and less pain in their lives.

I find it essential to continually develop my skills and knowledge in the field of back pain so it was a must for me to book on this workshop.

From the moment I entered the workshop room I felt Dr. Elena Voyce’s passion for working with patients that suffer with back pain. She expressed her knowledge clearly and gave us all enough time to explore each posture fully. It was interesting to learn some new techniques on how to release the lower back and integrate certain muscles to improve postural alignment.

I found this workshop very informative and look forward to incorporating the techniques into my patient’s programmes to add extra variety and to help speed up the healing process. 

xXx Namaste xXx