2019-02-01_Australian_Yoga_Journal

pathways in the brain. In other words,

meditation essentially eliminates the

suffering related to pain.

BACK PAIN

One more reason to petition your boss

for yoga classes at the office? Practicing

in the workplace was shown to reduce

employee stress and ease back pain

in a study published in the Journal

Occupational Medicine. Study

participants, who were employees of the

British government, were asked to

practice yoga for 50 minutes once a

week for eight weeks. They were also

allowed to practice up to twice a week

for 20 minutes at home with a DVD.

When compared with a group that did

no yoga at all, the yoga practitioners

reported lower levels of stress and

sadness as well as less back pain.

Though the study was small, it adds to a

growing body of research that confirms

yogas’ many pain-reducing benefits.

“Though the study was small, it

adds to a growing body of

research that confirms yogas’

many pain-reducing benefits..”

“Chronic pain is frequently
associated with distress, and neck pain
specifically is related to high levels of
stress,” says Anderas Michalsen, M.D.,
one of the study researchers and a
professor at Charite University Berlin.
He hypothesises that any of a variety
of meditation forms shown to relieve
stress, including mindfulness
meditation, could offer similar
benefits for pain relief by modulating
36 neurobiological pain signals and

february/march 2019

yogajournal.com.au

PHOTO: DANNY PELLISSIER/IDTOCKSY