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Improve Physical and Emotional Health with a Hatha Yoga Class

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For individuals dealing with stress, back and neck pain, and wanting to improve overall health, can trying a Hatha yoga class help?

Hatha Yoga Class

A yoga class is great for moms, athletes, or anyone interested in low-impact exercise. Today, many practice yoga for its mind and body, health and wellness benefits. Research shows that hatha yoga helps to reduce stress, relieve back and arthritis pain, support healthy habits, and improve emotional health. (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2023) Hatha classes stretch, unwind, and release tension, providing a healthy outlet for hectic lifestyles.

What Is It?

In Sanskrit, Hatha translates to force. Hatha yoga focuses on posture and breathing techniques to channel energy. Classes last 45 to 90 minutes and consist of breathing, poses, and meditation.

Benefits

Dozens of peer-reviewed studies have been analyzed, and evidence has been found to suggest that yoga may benefit the following conditions. (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2023)

Anxiety and Depression

  • Yoga can help relieve everyday anxiety and depressive symptoms.
  • However, it may not be effective for clinically diagnosed mental health conditions.
  • The reviews and published studies on yoga did not find conclusive evidence to support its effectiveness in managing anxiety disorder, depression, or PTSD.

Arthritis and Fibromyalgia

  • According to the NCCIH, there is limited evidence to support yoga’s benefits for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia.

Back Pain

  • The American College of Physicians recommends yoga as a non-pharmacological back pain treatment. (Qaseem A. et al., 2017)
  • A review of studies found that yoga improves low-back pain and function with both short-term and intermediate-term benefits, and its effects are similar to those of other types of exercise. (Skelly A. C. et al., 2020)

Balance

  • According to 11 out of 15 reviewed studies, yoga helps to improve balance in generally healthy individuals.

Emotional Health

  • Yoga has a positive impact on mental health. Ten out of 14 studies reviewed showed benefits in improving resilience or general mental well-being.

Menopause

  • Yoga can relieve physical and psychological symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, according to the review of 1,300 study participants.

Mindfulness

  • In a survey of 1,820 young adults, participants attributed increased mindfulness, motivation to participate in other forms of activity, and eating healthier. (Watts A. W. et al., 2018)

Multiple Sclerosis

  • The NCCIH reports showed that yoga had short-term benefits on mood and fatigue in individuals with multiple sclerosis.
  • However, it did not affect muscle function, cognitive function, or quality of life.

Neck Pain

  • A 2019 meta-analysis, including ten studies and a total of 686 subjects, found that yoga can reduce neck pain intensity and disability pain while also improving the range of motion. (Li Y. et al., 2019)

Sleep

  • Several studies have found yoga can improve sleep quality and duration.
  • Populations found to experience sleep benefits include cancer patients, older adults, individuals with arthritis, pregnant women, and women experiencing menopause symptoms.

Stress Management

  • Yoga improved physical or psychological stress-related measures in 12 of 17 studies reviewed.

What to Expect

There are several different styles of yoga to choose from. Classes labeled yoga are likely the Hatha variety. Hatha is a gentle style that focuses on static poses and is great for beginners. However, it can still be physically and mentally challenging. Practitioners should wear athletic clothes and sports bras for maximum comfort and ease of movement. Each class varies depending on the instructor, but most last between 45 and 90 minutes.

Class Breakdown

Classes typically start with a gentle warm-up, advance to more physical poses, and end with a short meditation.

Breathing

  • Most Hatha classes start with a period of focus on breathing.
  • As you perform the poses, the instructor will continue to remind everyone to focus on breathing and may suggest different breathing exercises.

Poses

  • Yoga poses, also called postures or asanas, are a series of movements that help improve balance, flexibility, and strength.
  • Poses range in difficulty from laying flat on the floor to physically challenging positions.
  • If, during a class, a pose is too difficult, the instructor can provide a modified posture.

Meditation

  • Most classes end with a short period of meditation.

If you go into a Hatha class and it feels too slow or inactive, there are faster-paced, more athletic yoga classes, including flow, vinyasa, or power yoga classes. See if it’s more your speed.

Injury Medical Chiropractic Clinic

At Injury Medical Chiropractic and Functional Medicine Clinic, we focus on what works for you and strive to create fitness and better the body through research methods and total wellness programs. These programs use the body’s ability to achieve health and fitness goals, and athletes can condition themselves to excel in their sport through proper fitness and nutrition. Our providers use an integrated approach to create personalized programs, often including Functional Medicine, Acupuncture, Electro-Acupuncture, and Sports Medicine principles.


Home Exercises for Pain Relief


References

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2023). Yoga: What you need to know. Retrieved from www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-what-you-need-to-know#hed11

Qaseem, A., Wilt, T. J., McLean, R. M., Forciea, M. A., Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians, Denberg, T. D., Barry, M. J., Boyd, C., Chow, R. D., Fitterman, N., Harris, R. P., Humphrey, L. L., & Vijan, S. (2017). Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians. Annals of internal medicine, 166(7), 514–530. doi.org/10.7326/M16-2367

Skelly, A. C., Chou, R., Dettori, J. R., Turner, J. A., Friedly, J. L., Rundell, S. D., Fu, R., Brodt, E. D., Wasson, N., Kantner, S., & Ferguson, A. J. R. (2020). Noninvasive Nonpharmacological Treatment for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review Update. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US).

Watts, A. W., Rydell, S. A., Eisenberg, M. E., Laska, M. N., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2018). Yoga’s potential for promoting healthy eating and physical activity behaviors among young adults: a mixed-methods study. The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 15(1), 42. doi.org/10.1186/s12966-018-0674-4

Li, Y., Li, S., Jiang, J., & Yuan, S. (2019). Effects of yoga on patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: A PRISMA systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine, 98(8), e14649. doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000014649

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Specialties: Stopping the PAIN! We Specialize in Treating Severe Sciatica, Neck-Back Pain, Whiplash, Headaches, Knee Injuries, Sports Injuries, Dizziness, Poor Sleep, Arthritis. We use advanced proven therapies focused on optimal Mobility, Posture Control, Deep Health Instruction, Integrative & Functional Medicine, Functional Fitness, Chronic Degenerative Disorder Treatment Protocols, and Structural Conditioning. We also integrate Wellness Nutrition, Wellness Detoxification Protocols and Functional Medicine for chronic musculoskeletal disorders. We use effective "Patient Focused Diet Plans", Specialized Chiropractic Techniques, Mobility-Agility Training, Cross-Fit Protocols, and the Premier "PUSH Functional Fitness System" to treat patients suffering from various injuries and health problems. Ultimately, I am here to serve my patients and community as a Chiropractor passionately restoring functional life and facilitating living through increased mobility. Purpose & Passions: I am a Doctor of Chiropractic specializing in progressive cutting-edge therapies and functional rehabilitation procedures focused on clinical physiology, total health, functional strength training, functional medicine, and complete conditioning. We focus on restoring normal body functions after neck, back, spinal and soft tissue injuries. We use Specialized Chiropractic Protocols, Wellness Programs, Functional & Integrative Nutrition, Agility & Mobility Fitness Training and Cross-Fit Rehabilitation Systems for all ages. As an extension to dynamic rehabilitation, we too offer our patients, disabled veterans, athletes, young and elder a diverse portfolio of strength equipment, high-performance exercises and advanced agility treatment options. We have teamed up with the cities' premier doctors, therapist and trainers in order to provide high-level competitive athletes the options to push themselves to their highest abilities within our facilities. We've been blessed to use our methods with thousands of El Pasoans over the last 3 decades allowing us to restore our patients' health and fitness while implementing researched non-surgical methods and functional wellness programs. Our programs are natural and use the body's ability to achieve specific measured goals, rather than introducing harmful chemicals, controversial hormone replacement, un-wanted surgeries, or addictive drugs. We want you to live a functional life that is fulfilled with more energy, a positive attitude, better sleep, and less pain. Our goal is to ultimately empower our patients to maintain the healthiest way of living. With a bit of work, we can achieve optimal health together, no matter the age, ability or disability.

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