Relieve Back Pain Without Drugs

Are you plagued with back pain? Are you the Weekend Warrior who wakes up on Monday morning with back pain or tightness? Would you rather avoid costly and sometimes dangerous prescription drugs? Try these remedies to help with your back pain courtesy:wikihow.com.



Caution: Make sure your back pain is not from a major injury like a fall or a car crash. Check with your physician to rule out spinal trauma or ruptured disc. These injuries will almost always require rehabilitation.

Start your recovery from back pain--after you are sure that there is no major trauma--with simple basic exercises. The best and most beneficial recovery exercise for any back pain is to get out of bed or off the couch and start walking. Inactivity is clinically proven to make back pain worse! Begin your recovery program (ideally) with 30 minutes of daily walking.

Learn stretching for lower back pain or learn yoga to help align the joints of your body. Incorporating a daily stretching and yoga practice may help to relieve back pain. Stretching and yoga (for people in pain) are best learned from a physical therapist or yoga therapist.

Study tai chi to learn how to protect the spine by keeping it in an neutral position while pushing, pulling and lifting.

Practice relaxation and meditation every day. Numerous medical studies have shown that much back pain is caused by tightness due to mental stress! Practicing meditation allows you to relax the mind and the body and release tension that can tighten the back--causing pain.

Develop a daily resistance training program on a machine (or weight lifting) to improve your core (back and abdominal muscles). Before you begin and unless you are an experienced athlete, seek the advice of a certified personal trainer before you begin your resistance training program. Resistance training allows you to develop weak muscles that can cause your back to be misaligned. Using resistance training is extremely beneficial for the development of a strong torso (body core) and for relieving back pain. One of the best tools in resistance training is using a core ball during your workouts.

Improve your posture ! It really helps to always have your back straight. By this, I don't mean putting your back into uncomfortable or weird positions (this only worsens your back!) but learn how to have good posture all the time--whether you're standing, sitting, or even sleeping!

Change your outlook on life. Many times depression and loneliness can cause tension and back pain. Getting out of your normal daily routine is the trick to relieving back pain. Try volunteering one day a week for your favorite charity to change your routine. Call a local senior citizens home and ask if you can visit a couple of times a month to help out. Get involved with your local community and seek out ways to help the community. Call your local hospital and ask how you can help out. Getting involved and helping other people is a great way to develop friends and get your mind off of your problems.

Get a dog! Getting a pet has two benefits for relieving back pain. First, it has been medically proven that owning a pet can lower blood pressure and relieve tension. Second, having a dog means you might need to get outside and walk Fido. Dog owners tend to spend more time outdoors and receive more exercise. So grab that leash and go for a long walk.

Swim like a fish ! Swimming is one of the best workouts you can do for a bad back. Not only does it open up stiff and sore muscles but your heart gets a great aerobic workout too. Go to your local YMCA or health club and jump in and swim. If you can’t swim sign up for lessons. You will be swimming like a fish in no time!

Get a massage --it can help--but be sure you tell the massage technician about your touchy area of back pain, and what causes it to flare up.

If you have a sedentary job that requires you to sit on the desk for long hours, take breaks through the day to stretch yourself. Raise your hands over your head and stand on your toes. Then allow yourself to fall. Sitting long hours does not allow enough fluid movement in and out of your disc (ever noticed how you are just a bit taller in the mornings than after a long day? The "water" in the discs between your vertebra oozes out by the end of the day. Allow it to be reabsorbed by stretching and extending)

Spot jogging also helps.

Another simple exercise to strengthen your back muscles would be lie on a mattress (not soft), bend your legs at the hips and knees and flatten your back. Hold for a count of 10 and release. Do this 5-8 times.

* Stop immediately if you have any numbness or unexplained weakness and go to your physical therapist or doctor.

* Get a physical therapists or doctors approval before you begin a back pain recovery program.

* Never attempt to do resistance training on your own or without the supervision of a physical therapist or certified personal trainer.

How Yoga Can Change Your Life Forever

“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured. ”

While it's true that you'll get out of your practice only as much as you're willing or able to put into it, a committed approach to your practice can help you in ways that you've never expected. Indeed practicing yoga could be the platform and motivation you need to completely transform your life.


courtesy:ezinearticles.com

The basic benefits of yoga are widely documented and have been extensively researched. Research into the more controversial benefits of yoga continue - at the time of writing, pubmed.org (a Service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of health) listed more than 900 research papers investigating the benefits of yoga. A search on the internet typically reveals benefits which include:

> Increased fitness
> Increased strength
> Fat reduction and weight loss
> Relief of back pain
> Better relaxation

Individually these benefits sound like compelling reasons to practice yoga and may be exactly what you are looking for. But yoga is an all encompassing approach to health and well-being - the word itself literally means union, and when we look at the impact practicing yoga can have on our lives, we should also take an all encompassing approach. While yoga alone cannot work miracles, it may be the foundation, along with some self belief, to help you:-

Earn more money: Practicing yoga increases your ability to relax and cope with your daily stresses. It also helps to develop a meditative ability allowing you to slow or clear your mind of constantly racing thoughts. After a hard days work, these are exactly the techniques you need so you can unwind, and recharge through longer and deeper sleep. If you can achieve that then you'll feel more refreshed, energised and motivated each day, improving your focus and concentration. You can channel this in what ever direction you want including working towards a promotion, searching for your ideal job or starting your own business.

Write a book, learn to dance: As outlined above, regular yoga practice can help you increase your energy, motivation and focus as well as improving your concentration - all of which can be used to develop your personal hobbies and interests, whatever they may be, mental activities or physical ones.

Spend more time with your friends and family: Promotion and money aren't your motivators? How about using your increased energy levels to bring greater balance between your work and personal lives, allowing you to spend more time with the people that matter.

A shot of self confidence: performing regular exercise, combined with the positive effects yoga has on metabolism and appetite, can help with weight (fat) loss. Combine that slimming with the toning effect yoga has on your muscles and you can start to develop the body you want in no time - and be feeling better about yourself just as quick. What better boost is there to your self confidence?

Depression relief: Yoga postures are designed to stretch, compress and massage your internal organs and glands. This stimulation is thought to help balance hormone levels in the body, which can help to achieve a more balanced emotional state.

Quit smoking: As well as strengthening your resolve to quit through the increased motivation, energy and focus, yoga breathing techniques (pranayama) are ideal to help you pass the cravings that at the biggest hurdle to quitting smoking.

As you can see, the benefits of yoga go far beyond simply improving your wellbeing - the benefits can be channeled to help you to make fundamental improvements to your whole life. When the rewards are so great, it's not difficult to understand why people become so enthusiastic about yoga.

Best Way to Breathe, for Better Health

If you are reading this, you already know how to breathe. But have you stopped to think about the best way to breathe? Learned breathing techniques, such as deep breathing, have been part of yoga and other practices for centuries. Breathing correctly is very important - not only to help you perform strenuous tasks, but to allow the lungs to fill up with air, aid in controlling the heart rate, and living . The benefits of proper breathing can assure you will not get pneumonia when you have a bad cough, by clearing the air passages to the lungs. Proper deep breathing also can assist you in relaxing before doing things that cause you to feel stress and nervousness. Here are instructions for a breathing exercise to help you improve your breathing.
courtesy:wikihow.com



Complete Breath Process:

>Suck in your stomach, drawing your belly button towards your spine.
>Exhale.
>Now expand your belly button outward, drawing in breath.
>Then allow your ribs to open out.
>Finally, draw back your shoulders and clavicles.
>To exhale, first allow out the air at the top of your chest.
>Next, draw in the rib cage.
>Finally, draw the belly button back towards the spine.
>Repeat for a few minutes each day to retrain yourself to normal full breathing.

Few Advantages:

> Proper breathing benefits the respiratory system by reducing tight chest muscles thus relieving chest pains and anxiety. It also aids in relieving long term respiratory difficulties like bronchitis and asthma by opening up the chest to make breathing easier.

> The circulatory system benefits from improved blood circulation and congestion relief. There is also an increase in oxygen and nutrients to the body's cells enabling the organs to function better.

> Proper breathing can enable the nervous system to calm down or become stimulated.

> When utilizing the diaphragm when breathing, the action acts as a massage to the internal organs of the digestive system.

> Diaphragmatic breathing aids the endocrine system by helping it move lymph throughout the body, which eliminates waste and strengthens the immune system.

> Proper breathing benefits the urinary system by allowing fluids to be eliminated through the breath, and therefore reducing edema. It also relieves stress put on the elimination organs due to improper breathing.

> Proper breathing also aids in relaxation, relieves muscular tension, increases flexibility and joint strength, and helps to recover faster from stress and exertion.

Overcome Your Fear of Being Shy

If you feel extremely shy and self-conscious, you might be experiencing problems with your friends, family and colleagues. Not only does excessive shyness cause a struggle to build relationships, but it also forces you to avoid situations and opportunities that you might potentially enjoy. Fortunately, there are ways to overcome shyness, even if the feelings don't subside immediately.



* Make a list of everything you like about yourself. Include personality traits, abilities, skills and hobbies you excel in. If you feel self-conscious and shy, it might be because you feel inferior to people around you. Instead of comparing yourself to your peers, think about what you are good at and write down all of your strengths. When you start to feel shy in a situation, think about your achievements and how you would like to be perceived.

* Practice meditation, relaxation or deep-breathing techniques. Although you might feel shy or uncomfortable in social situations, you must force yourself into these conversations in order to overcome your fear. Take deep breaths and relax while telling yourself that you will be okay. Visualize a positive outcome of the situation and smile before you start a conversation. Smiling will cause a natural release of endorphins that will elevate your mood and also the perceptions of those around you.

* Condense the situation. If you are at a large party or gathering, avoid trying to take in the whole atmosphere. Focus on the individual you are conversing with so that you don't feel overwhelmed and that you are under scrutiny from other people.

* Show interest in the conversation, not the individual. Take the focus off of yourself and avoid using "I" as much as you can. Try to show as much interest in the other person as you can while asking numerous questions. Listen to what they say and take note of their body language. Relax yourself if they look comfortable talking to you. If you are asked questions, don't provide long answers and stories if you are not comfortable with the situation. Even if you are just making small talk, it will help you to overcome your shyness and help you to build longer, more intense conversations and relationships.