Ayurveda for back pain

Back pain quite often relates to an excess of vata (air and space) in the body so adopt your diet and consume more sweet, sour and salty foods such as rice, wheat, brown sugar, milk, cooked oats, soft cheese, yoghurt, citrus fruits, sweet fruits, sour fruits, pineapple helps the body to heal with its anti-inflammatory enzymes, sea salt and rock salt. 

Reduce bitter, astringent and pungent foods such as coffee, bitter melon, unripe bananas, pomegranates, chick peas, green beans, yellow split peas, sprouts, hot peppers, onions, garlic, mustard and fenugreek. Avoid raw cold food.

Your body is made up of roughly 70% water and it is important to consume plenty of water throughout the day. Lack of water contributes to chronic muscle spasm leading to poor healing and inflammation. Aim to have around 2 litres a day, even more if your are training hard.

Ginger and Turmeric Tea

Ginger and turmeric are both powerful anti-inflammatory's that reduces pain and aid in healing.

Ingredients:

1 cup of water
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp honey

Heat the water in a saucepan, add the ginger and turmeric and simmer for 15 minutes.
Allow the tea to cool before adding the honey and strain if you prefer no bits in your drink.

Make sure you keep warm in cold weather and use a heat pack to help relax the back muscles. The herb valerian is a muscle relaxant and will help to reduce pain.

Backbends strengthen the back and can be used to prevent back pain and also to relieve it. Backbending poses such as sphinx, cobra, upward dog, locust, cow and camel can be helpful poses depending on the type of back pain.

Twists help to release an tension in the spine relieving pain and forward bends can provide ease depending of the type of back complaint. If you suffer with any type of back complaint, it is important to learn with a trained yoga teacher to ensure you are practicing the right poses for your condition.

For more information on yoga therapy for back pain please visit: 

www.ayurvedicyogalifestyle.co.uk 

Namaste,

Sharon xx