Yoga Therapy for Back Pain

Absolutely love this program. This is a restorative yoga practice. I love that the menu gives you options of various lengths to target specific back issues. A wonderful educational segment is included. This is the most effective progam I have found for my back thus far, I have several similiar DVDs. I’m very glad I made this purchase. I’ve found that doing yoga at home is more effective and safer than going to a chiropractor. Not to mention it is a lot cheaper.
Rating: 5 / 5
Yoga Therapy for Back Pain

NOTE: I received a free review copy of this DVD from the web site Metapsychology Online Reviews; a longer version of my review appears on that site.

Yoga Therapy for Back Pain provides a series of gentle, therapeutic yoga practices for back care. Instructor Emily Klingerman’s training is consistent with the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya; her approach is similar to another school of yoga descended from that same yoga master, Viniyoga, in that she incorporates dynamic movement within the postures. There are a total of 12 asana practices plus a separate meditation segment on this DVD. The Main Menu of the DVD divides the practices by condition and into routines of varying length as follows:

General Back: 17min–32min–44min

Upper Back: 15 min–30 min

Bulging Disk: 17 min–31 min

Sacro-Iliac Join: 15 min–30 min

Sciatic Pain: 17 min–30 min

Chair Practice: 20 min

Meditation: 10 min

Although the option for different length practices is nice, there is actually NOT quite as much variety as there appears at first glance. All of the practices are made up of shorter sequences which are strung together, and if you try the the longest routine, the 44-Minute General Back, you have basically done everything that is available on the DVD (with the exception of the Chair and Meditation practices). All of the practices are filmed in a featureless white studio; soft music plays in the background. Klingerman teaches via voiceover (she does not mirror-cue), and she is shown practicing alongside fellow yoga therapist Arturo Peal, who displays modifications for some of the postures. Klingerman recommends the following props to use with the DVD: a strap, 2-3 blankets, 2 blocks (optional), and a bolster (can substitute blankets). All of the poses are performed on the floor, in either a reclined, seated, or kneeling position. The majority of the routines begin with a focus on breathing deeply into belly, and all end with an approximately 2 ½ minute relaxation with the knees over a bolster.

The DVD case states that these practices are designed to “increase mobility and reduce pain.” Overall, these exercises would be suitable for a wide audience, providing an excellent means for alleviating pain as well as promoting improved flexibility and range of motion.
Rating: 4 / 5
Yoga Therapy for Back Pain

First, I do not recommend video yoga unless you have taken classes from a qualified instructor - this is because an instructor will personally make sure you understand what is meant by various instructions, and how to make the most of a pose.

I am just an amateur, but I find yoga to be very therapeutic both physically and mentally. At 58, I find that my lower back aches frequently, and I have had neck and shoulder issues for years, due to an old whiplash and being an accountant. My chiropractor always says that I am in better shape whenever I’m doing yoga consistently (which is not during tax busy season!)

What I like about this DVD is that it provides groups of routines for general back health, for the upper back, and then for three specific types of lower back issues. Each one of these provides two or more routines of increasing length, with the shortest being 17 minutes, and the longest about 45 minutes. The instructor also goes over the types and symptoms of different back issues in an overview segment, but I checked with my chiropractor to see which lower back routines she thought I should use (she suggested a combination of the routines for disk bulge and for the sacro-iliac joint)(upper back is a given).

This DVD does not provide advanced or difficult poses. I haven’t finished going through all of the longest routines, but the beginning of each seems to be exactly the same for all back issues, and it’s extremely gentle. I have no problem doing the poses as Emily Kligerman does them, which means they are not very extreme, and her video partner illustrates the same poses even more gently than she does them. Her voice is very nice and soothing and the repetitive background music is also soothing, although clearly the video has been spliced between poses because you can hear the break in the music - this is a minor grouse - it doesn’t rise to the level of an annoyance.

You should check with your doctor first, but it seems that this would be a fine DVD for someone who has pretty extreme back pain, because it’s so gentle. I also think this would be excellent for someone in injury recovery even if the injury is not in the back, because any injury involves trauma, and trauma tightens up muscles all over. I wish I’d had it last year after a bike accident and hip injury - my lower back started hurting from too much sitting around during the recovery, so I think these therapeutic routines would have been an excellent addition to my hip PT.
Rating: 4 / 5
Yoga Therapy for Back Pain