“Computer Vision Syndrome”

Dr. Schneider talks about Computer Vision Syndrome, which involves neck and shoulder pain, difficulty in focusing, eyestrain and fatigue. Our modern lifestyles involve lots of time staring at screens and your eyes need an occasional break from that. Here are some of the problems that can arise from staring at your computer screen, and what you can do about them:

• Your peripheral view is limited by staring at one area for long periods. One suggestion is to wave your hands occasionally out to the side, where your peripheral vision will see them.
• You tend to blink less than normal. Bring your attention to this from time to time and remember to blink.
• Your ciliary muscles are constantly contracted by focusing on something close to you (they surround your pupils), so look away in the distance once an hour or more. This lets your eyes rest from this contraction.
• Your pupils can become stiff from looking at the same amount of light for long periods. To counteract this, look out the window once an hour or so, or go out in the sun, spending some time without wearing sunglasses.

Relieve Tight Shoulders

I’ll give you a couple ways to relieve your tight shoulders when you’ve been at the computer too long. But first, you must make sure you are sitting in a healthy position. If your pelvis is tucked and you’re sitting on your tailbone or sacrum, these exercises won’t make much difference. To get started, watch my 5-minute video on pain-free sitting “in Balance” at:

http://www.sonomabodybalance.com/blog/2011/03/new-video-on-pain-free-sitting-posture/

Now that you’re sitting well, here’s a nice exercise to do periodically to increase circulation and range-of-motion in the shoulders.

• Put your right hand on your right shoulder.
• Leading with your right elbow, take your arm forward, up, back and down in a circle.
• Make sure that you don’t twist your torso to the right as you take your arm back.
• Make sure not to lift your chest as you circle your arm.
• Do 5 or 6 circles and then reverse direction for another 5-6 circles.
• Now repeat steps 1-5 with your left arm.

Take a moment to feel the sensations in your shoulders after doing this. You may feel an increase in warmth and circulation and maybe some tingling. This is an important part of the process – feeling the sensations that result from the movements you make. This brings you more body awareness, which is a major benefit in keeping your body healthy over your lifetime.

Another exercise is to drop your right arm and simply circle your shoulder forward, up, back, and down a few times in both directions. Repeat this with the left shoulder, again making sure not to twist the torso or lift the chest. That way you will get the benefits of the exercise without endangering your spine.

For more information on pain-free posture, check out my previous blog posts. For more detailed instructions on how to sit comfortably in 2 different positions at your computer, including photographs and CDs, check out my home study course “Good Posture is Bad for Your Back” at www.goodpostureisbadforyourback.com.

Remember to start with aligning your pelvis and spine in Balance, and then take some time during your day to move your shoulders and give your eyes some variation. You can set a timer to remind you to do this once an hour at least.
That will help you feel relaxed, comfortable and energized while you’re at the computer. Then when you’re done, rather than feeling sore and exhausted, you’ll be ready for whatever’s next!

© 2012 Dana K. Davis

http://www.alwaysnewyou.com/beautiful_you/hand_foot_care/how-to-prepare-your-feet-for-pampering.html

In this month’s article I’ll share with you how posture and vision are related, and give you some yogic eye exercises that you can practice.  Try them out and see if it makes a difference!

Can you see clearly?  Maybe you’re someone who has worn glasses for many years.  Maybe you’ve noticed recent changes in your vision.  Either way, you might want to consider how posture, yoga and eye exercises could improve your vision.

Years ago in my posture training with Jean Couch, of the Balance Center in Palo Alto, one of her students told me that due to using a vision improvement method, he no longer needed his glasses.  I also recently gave a talk at a health fair where a man spoke about self healing through movement and vision improvement.

His name is Meir Schneider, and he was born with cataracts and other eye problems.  He had 5 operations by the age of 7, which removed the cataracts but caused many other problems, leading to him being certified as “legally blind.”  He used Braille until age 17, when he discovered the Bates Method of vision improvement.  He practiced up to 13 hours a day and says, “My vision dramatically improved and today, I am licensed to drive a car without the help of glasses or contact lenses.” (The Natural Vision Improvement Kit by Meir Schneider, Ph.D., LMT).

Dr. Schneider believes that eye tension is the cause of physical changes that lead to poor vision.  He also states that “muscle tightness in the areas of the head, neck and shoulders causes less blood to come into the eye cells.”

I’m going to refer to some of my previous blog posts to keep this article short.  First, get a decent chair to sit on, especially if you spend a lot of time in front of a computer. My post on “What Kind of Desk Chair is Best?” from August, 2011 will give you some help with this (www.sonomabodybalance.com/blog).

Then make sure you are sitting in “Balance” – in optimal alignment. Check out my post from November, 2009 on “10 Steps to Pain-Free Sitting,” or watch this video to get you started (http://www.sonomabodybalance.com/blog/2011/03/new-video-on-pain-free-sitting-posture/). The main key is to sit on your sitz bones and relax your belly and back.

Some yoga teachers have included eye exercises as part of their teaching, for the purpose of vision improvement as well as enhanced concentration. Here are some yogic eye exercises that I learned from a Sivananda yoga class that I took years ago.  Start by sitting in a comfortable position (in Balance).  Keep your head still while you do the following movements with your eyes. Imagine a clock in front of you.

1. Look up as far as you can in your visual field to where “12 o’clock” would be. Then look down to “6 o’clock.” Look up and down at least 2 more times and then let your eyes rest.
2. Now look to the left to where “9 o’clock” would be, and then to the right to “3 o’clock.” Look left and right at least 2 more times and then let your eyes rest.
3. Look up to “12 o’clock” and then circle your eyes around clockwise, passing through where each number would be.  When you get back up to the top, relax your eyes.
4. Now do the same circle going counter-clockwise, and relax your eyes afterwards.
5. Rub your hands together until they are warm, then close your eyes and cover them with your hands.  Let your eyes rest in the warm darkness.

Dr. Schneider also encourages the use of “palming” to help the eyes relax (covering the eyes with warm, relaxed hands).  He stresses the importance of relaxation.  Avoid squinting and straining to see.  Just from using this one tip I have noticed an improvement in my vision.  I used to strain to see small print, and now I allow my eyes to relax and the print comes more into focus!

Good circulation will also help keep your eyes healthy, and doing yoga is one way to enhance circulation, especially poses like “Downward Facing Dog”, which puts you in a partial inversion so that the blood flows toward your head.  Walking is another great way to increase circulation.

Stay tuned next month for more tips on reducing tension in your neck, shoulders and eyes while at your computer.  I also have a “Yoga for Neck & Shoulders” workshop coming up on Tuesday, May 1 in Petaluma (see www.sonomabodybalance.com for details).

© 2012 Dana K. Davis

In the industrialized world, we have a blind spot regarding our posture.  About 80% of people in the US will have a severe bout of lower back pain at some point in their lives.

Unhealthy posture can lead to: back, neck, hip, knee, shoulder, and foot pain, as well as:

-         collapsed arches

-         reduced circulation

-         changes in internal organs

-         deterioration of joints

-         excess muscle tension

-         a hunched upper back

-         loss of height

When I first attended a slide show on posture taught by Jean Couch of the Balance Center in Palo Alto, I was shocked to learn that pretty much everything I had learned about what constitutes “good posture” was hurting my back!  I had no idea that the majority of Americans, including me, were leaning backwards.

Most people who attend my posture classes are also surprised to learn that they are standing in a backbend.  We grow up in a culture where all the images we see are misaligned – from models to cartoons to television to our parents.

I had learned “good posture” from so many people, from dance teachers to yoga teachers, but none of them had shared with me what Jean taught that day.  It’s easy to miss something that’s right in front of you, and we were all blind to the common misalignments in our culture.

So how do you know if you have healthy posture?  You can come to one of my introductory workshops on “The 3 Myths That are Causing Your Back Pain” to learn the difference between healthy, pain-free posture & unhealthy, painful posture.  If you ask your friends, it’s likely that they will also have the same or a similar misaligned posture.  It’s hard to get past our everyday habits of thought and perception.

Taking Stock

How do you change your posture to be healthier?  First you have to realize the current state of your posture.

Sometimes it’s not so fun to take stock of where you are.  You may realize how curvy and uncomfortable you’ve become over the years.  But until you recognize the true state of your posture, you can’t change it.  We’ve been sitting and moving in unhealthy ways, and that leads to problems.

Now, it’s not your fault.  If you’re American, or if you live in another industrialized part of the world, you’ve been surrounded by unhealthy images of posture from the time you were a child.  We all take on that posture as we grow up, but it’s unconscious.

Waking Up

Awareness is key to change here.  Your posture will probably stay the same if you don’t learn some new habits.  Maybe that would be okay with you, but I want to tell you SO MUCH MORE is possible in terms of healthy alignment and movement, such as:

-Reduced pain

-Increased relaxation

-Ease of movement

-Improved posture

-More energy

-Feeling confident in how you present yourself

-Being in harmony with gravity rather than fighting it

So, if you can see that your posture could use some tuning up, you can create a new possibility for your posture.  What do you want?

-To be pain-free?

-To be able to pick up your grandkids?

-To be able to stand all day at work without pain?

-To wake up feeling rested and refreshed each morning?

-To look healthy and vital?

-To be relaxed and comfortable sitting in any chair?

Take a minute to speculate about what you dream of for your body and your posture.  Come up with as many thoughts about this as you want.  Then pick 2-3 of them and write them somewhere where you will see them.  Are you inspired by these possibilities?  If not, do some more brainstorming.

Man in Balance in Oaxaca, Mexico

You can use this picture also to inspire you with the possibility of natural, healthy posture, and what that would make available to you in your life.

So how can you make that possibility real?  Come to an introductory Balance Method workshop (you can see the schedule and register at www.sonomabodybalance.com), read some of the articles or watch the videos on this blog (search under “sitting” or “standing”), or check out Kathleen Porter’s book “Ageless Spine, Lasting Health” (available online or at your local bookseller).

Here’s to making the possibilities you dream of real!

© 2012 Dana K. Davis

First of all I did what I know to do.  I took some Echinacea tincture.  I drank some “Throat Coat” tea.  I made a delicious healing miso soup for myself (see below for recipe).  I took extra Vitamin C.

Stress and lack of sleep often precede illness.  I had been pushing myself and not getting enough sleep in the past few weeks.  So I immediately made a commitment to get over 8 hours sleep every night this week.  The first night I slept 9 hours and I felt great the next morning.  I also recommitted to keeping up on my sleep, even when things get busy.
How Yoga Helps Your Immune System

Yoga and exercise can also help boost your immune system.  The blood and lymph are essential to protecting you from invading bacteria and viruses.  The heart pumps the blood and keep it circulating throughout the body, but the lymph has no pump.  It relies on the muscles to circulate it.  Exercise helps to pump the lymph and keep it from pooling in the lower extremities.

Some yoga poses are really helpful with this, especially inversions.  A pose called “Viparita Karani” (or “Legs up the wall pose”) is wonderful for reducing swelling in the legs, improving circulation, enhancing immunity and quieting the mind.

To do this pose:

• Place a folded wool blanket or bolster about 3-4 inches away from a wall.  The blanket can be anywhere from 1-4 inches high when folded.  The dimensions of the blanket when folded should be around 8-10 inches by around 2-3 feet.  The long end will be parallel to the wall.
• Remove your eyeglasses and watch.
• Place your pelvis on the blanket or bolster either by scooting into the wall, or by kneeling next to it facing away from the wall and rolling over to your side.
• Your tailbone should drop slightly off the back edge of the blanket (the edge next to the wall)
• Check that your back is completely comfortable. If not, lower the height under your pelvis and try again.  The blanket/bolster shouldn’t come up much past your waist.
• If your neck is uncomfortable, try a small support under your neck & head.
• Let your arms rest out to the sides or wherever they are comfortable
• Close your eyes, and if possible, cover them with a washcloth or light eye bag.
• Stay for up to 15 minutes.  Come down if you are not feeling comfortable, or if your legs become too cold or tingly.

Do not do this pose if you:

• Are menstruating
• Have spondylolisthesis or spondylolysis (you may be able to do it without elevating pelvis)
• Have a sinus infection
• Have eye problems which would be exacerbated by extra pressure in the eyes

For some great photos of this pose and more instructions, check out Judith Lasater’s book Relax & Renew.

Posture is Also Important

How does your posture affect your immunity?  When your spine is in maximum healthy alignment, your body can more effectively heal itself.  Ask a chiropractor about the effect of a misaligned spine on the nerves that exit the spine.  These nerves branch off the spine and control everything from muscle health to digestive function to endocrine glands.

A spine that is in “Balance” helps you feel better by reducing muscle tension and stress on the joints as well as helping support all those organs that are controlled by the spinal nerves.  So practice sitting and standing “in Balance” by reading my other blog posts  or watching my videos on healthy sitting and standing (on this blog).

I never caught that cold or flu that was trying to get me.  Try some of these ideas for optimum health this winter.  I wish you excellent health and maximum comfort in your body!

For my miso soup recipe, go to: http://www.sonomabodybalance.com/pdf/HealthyImmunityMisoSoup.pdf

© 2012 Dana K. Davis

The teacher mentioned in the article, Glenn Black, attracted clients with yoga injuries to his bodywork and yoga classes.  He didn’t teach any inversions (such as headstand or shoulderstand), because he felt they were dangerous.  Black says that “…the vast majority of people should give up yoga altogether.  It’s simply too likely to cause harm.”  He feels that it’s better to focus on exercises that increase range-of-motion and strengthen weak parts of the body.

What Causes These Injuries?

People come to yoga with their own physical limitations, and in Western culture, we often sit all day and then push ourselves in a strenuous workout or yoga class.  The article mentions that in India, many people do different postures throughout their day, such as squatting, which can better prepare them for yoga asanas.

There were no mentions of injuries from yoga in the early books written on yoga in the 20^th century, including “Light on Yoga” by B.K.S. Iyengar.  Since then yoga has become incredibly popular, with a 5-fold increase in yoga practitioners between 2001-2011.  There are lots of yoga studios, and not all teachers may have had sufficient training to prevent injuries.

The article also mentions ego-driven teachers who push their students to do more, more, more, which tends to encourage students to push more, and possibly go too far.  This is also common in American culture in general, where the urge to compete can be really strong, and can lead people to disregard their own inner guidance and better judgment.

In some yoga poses the head is dropped back, which can be risky.  An Oxford neurophysiologist named W. Ritchie Russell found that there was a rare danger of strokes from “excessive extensions of the neck, such as occur in whiplash.”  Taking the head and neck into extreme positions “could wound the vertebral arteries, producing clots, swelling and constriction.”

That’s a scary thought!  And yoga was supposed to be so good for you!  There has been a belief that yoga only has benefits to practitioners, and no dangers.  I myself have been injured in yoga classes.

In one teacher training I was in back in 1991 we were to sit for about 45 minutes in Virasana (a pose where your knees are bent, the pelvis is seated on the floor and the feet are on either side of the pelvis) while listening to lectures.  My legs would fall asleep repeatedly, and it was hard to get up afterwards.  The article mentions a student who did a similar pose for hours daily and developed nerve problems in his legs that made walking difficult.

I also hurt my back doing a deep backbend in another yoga class, and had 2 other injuries, all of which happened when I was being assisted by the teacher or other students in the class to go deeper into the pose.  When I was younger, I loved to attend advanced yoga classes, and I would do anything the teacher proposed.  You can get away with a lot when you’re in your 20’s that may not work so well a few decades later!

Making Yoga Safer

After I met Jean Couch in 1994, I changed my yoga practice completely.  Since Jean had studied with Noelle Perez-Christiaens from Paris, she had given up practicing and teaching advanced yoga poses.  Noelle is the author of many books (most are in French), including, “Attention! Le Yoga peut etre dangereux pour vous; pathologie du yoga.”  My best translation of this (helped by Google Translate) is “Attention!  Yoga can be dangerous to you; pathology of yoga.”

This book was published in 1980, many years before yoga hit the big time.  Noelle studied with B.K.S. Iyengar for decades before that, and feels that she ruined her body by doing extreme yoga poses that were better suited for Indians.  Urged by Iyengar, she studied posture around the world and discovered that less industrialized cultures had a different and healthier posture than Western industrialized countries.  They also had less back pain.  Noelle’s and Jean’s work is the basis of my teaching (the Balance Posture Method).

Man in Balance in Oaxaca, Mexico

When I began studying with Jean I had to let go of many poses that I practiced regularly, and I started over with doing yoga in a safe way, with a precise focus on alignment of the spine.  I have had no yoga injuries since then.

It is essential to respect the limits of your body, to know when to push and when to stop.  It can be fine to feel that burn in a muscle when you’re on a long bike ride or hike, or a deep stretch in a yoga asana/pose.  But there are also warnings to pay attention to – any sensations of ripping, popping, strain, joint pain, or just a sense that you shouldn’t go any farther.  Trust yourself!  It’s better to be safe than sorry!

Should You Do Yoga?

So, can yoga wreck your body?  If done aggressively, competitively, and without paying attention to your body’s needs – YES.  If you do poses where you drop your head back – yes.  If you come from a culture like ours where our daily posture is misaligned – yes.  But, you can also use yoga to heal from those injuries.  I teach classes focused on this and I’ve studied with other teachers who specialize in this as well.

For some tips on how to practice yoga safely, check out these previous blog posts:

http://www.sonomabodybalance.com/blog/2011/02/3-tips-for-a-safe-yoga-practice/

http://www.sonomabodybalance.com/blog/2010/03/how-to-do-yoga-without-back-pain/

Just to counterbalance all that other information, the article in the NY Times also states that “yoga can lower your blood pressure, make chemicals that act as antidepressants, even improve your sex life.”  I have experienced many benefits from doing yoga, from increased relaxation to strength and increased flexibility, especially since I’ve changed my way of practicing.

To keep yourself safe and experience the positive side of yoga, find a teacher with training in healthy alignment.  Listen to your body.  Go slowly at first.  And do it for yourself, not to compete with someone else.

By the way, the teacher in the article, Glenn Black, had to have back surgery eventually.  He had done enough damage at that point I suppose.

If you learn to have healthy posture in your daily life (see my classes at www.sonomabodybalance.com), you can support the health of your spine and other joints throughout your entire day, every day, not only in a yoga class.  And that really can help you prevent injuries, in yoga and anywhere else!

References: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?scp=1&sq=how%20yoga%20can%20wreck%20your%20body&st=cse

© Dana K. Davis, 2012

The Effects of Stress

Modern life is stressful.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, 40% of workers rate their job as very or extremely stressful.  People with heavy job stress have 50% higher health-care costs.  We also can experience stress from family conflicts, illness, unemployment and distressing events in the daily news.

According to Dr. Bruce McEwen, prolonged or severe stress weakens the immune system, strains the heart, damages the memory cells and deposits fat at the waist – a risk factor for various diseases.   Stress is also implicated in aging, depression, heart disease and diabetes, among other conditions.  Stress is worsened by the fact that we live in a world where we are “always on”, and our systems never get a chance to return to a baseline level of relaxation.  Because productivity is highly valued in this culture, relaxation can be viewed as time wasted.

Dr. Andrew Weil states, “I must say that as a practitioner, I’m more and more convinced that stress is the primary cause or the aggravating cause of the majority of illness, the majority of reasons that people consult physicians; and if that isn’t taken into account, you’re very limited in your therapeutic options.”

The Relaxation Response

When a stressful event occurs, we usually go into what’s called the “fight-or-flight response“.  This is characterized by increased heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and blood flow to muscles and brain activation.  The sympathetic nervous system controls these kinds of reactions.

In contrast to this is the “relaxation response“, a term coined by Dr. Herbert Benson, who wrote a book by this same name.  When this occurs, heart rate and blood pressure decrease, and the parasympathetic nervous system is activated.  This system is responsible for things like digestion and repair of the body, which are not top priorities when you’re faced with a stressful situation.  You want to enhance the relaxation response, and restorative yoga is designed to do exactly that.

Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga grew out of the teachings of the yoga master BKS Iyengar, and specifically the therapeutic poses he gave to those with illnesses or injuries.  It was popularized by Judith Lasater’s book, Relax & Renew.

Restorative yoga is done mostly on the floor, supported by many props, such as blankets, bolsters, yoga mats, and chairs.  The intent is not to feel stretching or do any “work” in the pose.  Rather, you relax, let the props support you, and allow the healing properties of the pose to work on your body and mind.  These poses are accessible to even the stiffest individuals or those with chronic illnesses.  Some poses are of general benefit, while others focus on stimulating specific organs.  The poses are held for several minutes, up to 30 minutes or so, because it takes time for the stress chemicals to decrease in the bloodstream.

What benefits can you expect from restorative yoga?  It enhances the relaxation response, so it can help to lower blood pressure.  It reduces anxiety, relaxes the muscles and quiets the mind.  It also can improve energy levels.  It gives you a way to return your body to a baseline state of relaxation rather than living with chronic stress.  Research has shown that relaxation training can positively influence physical problems like high blood pressure and heart disease, according to Dr. David Spiegel.  Dr. Dean Ornish has also written about the benefits of relaxation in treating heart disease.

Though stress has a profound effect on our bodies, relaxation is innate in us.  We just need to create the conditions for relaxation and allow it to unfold in time.  Restorative yoga sets up the conditions for relaxation so your body can heal itself.  So, the next time you feel your stress level rising, why not go to a restorative yoga class and give yourself the gift of renewal?

© Dana K. Davis, 2011

It showed that Iyengar style yoga was helpful for chronic lower back pain – more helpful than only conventional medical treatment.  The study was done in the UK and lasted 12 weeks.  Participants who did yoga in addition to conventional medical care experienced improved back function and more confidence in performing daily movements, compared with those who did not do yoga.

More than half of the participants in the study kept up their yoga practice after 9 months, and the benefits continued for 9 months.  It’s really important to continue to practice, because you can lose gains you’ve made if you stop moving your body in healthy ways.  As the familiar saying goes, “Use it or lose it!”

The Yoga of Daily Life

If you blend Iyengar-style yoga with the postural alignments of the Balance Method, you can have even more impact on your pain and discomfort.  If you are changing your daily posture (how you sit, stand, bend, and sleep) as well as practicing yoga with healthy alignment, you can make a powerful difference in your comfort level.  Bringing healthy postural guidelines into daily movements gives you the leverage of many more hours per day to relieve and heal your back.

Not every style of yoga may help.  Be careful which classes you attend if you have back pain.  You can see previous posts on my blog for more information.  Just go to www.sonomabodybalance.com/blog and search for “yoga” under the Categories index.  In those posts I’ve given you tips for practicing yoga without hurting your back.  Here are a few more tips.

3 Tips for a Safe Yoga Practice

1) Don’t push past your limits.  Yoga is not a competition, though in our American culture it’s easy to get competitive about everything.  One of the “yamas” or ethical disciplines in traditional yoga is called “ahimsa”, which means “non-violence.”  This can be applied to how you treat your own body.  Do you treat it like an object which you try to force into whatever position you want it to do?  Or do you treat it lovingly, and create a partnership with it, working with both its strengths and weaknesses?

2) Be very cautious with rounding of the lumbar spine.  While deep forward bends may be impossible without some rounding of the lumbar (lower) spine, people with Balanced posture keep the spine elongated even while in forward bends.  They also have a “universal curve” in the spine where the curve is evenly distributed throughout the spine rather than having a sharp apex in one spot.  Rounding of the lumbar spine, especially when lifting or twisting, is a very easy way to hurt your back!

3) Feel your stretch in the “belly” of the muscle, not in your joints.  It’s fine to feel a stretch in your thigh or calf, but if you feel pain in a joint, it’s best to come out of the pose.  Pain in your knee, in your hip joint, in your shoulder joint, or in your spine signals a potentially dangerous situation.  Back off until you feel the stretch in your muscles rather than pain or pulling at these joints.

If you don’t do yoga, you can practice some simple stretches to maintain or increase flexibility, and bending in “Balance” (at the hip joints) will help to keep your hamstrings flexible over the years.  So remember to use your body wisely, keep it moving, and include your daily movements as part of your practice.  Bringing this awareness to your body movement will really pay off for years to come.

© Dana K. Davis, 2011

What Causes Osteoarthritis?

Causes of OA include sports injuries, some types of work, genetic predisposition and unhealthy posture. When the joints are misaligned, the cartilage at the end of your bones can get worn down, so that eventually you may have bone rubbing on bone. This cartilage, when healthy, allows the bones to glide easily in the joints, cushioning your movement.

According to dictionary.com, cartilage is “a firm, elastic, flexible type of connective tissue of a translucent whitish or yellowish color.” You have cartilage in many parts of your body, including the intervertebral discs in your spine. You also have cartilage at the ends of bones, where they meet other bones to form joints (such as your knee joint).

Stress can also aggravate OA. Stress can lead to tight muscles, which then pull on the joints in an unhealthy manner. This can lead to loss of range-of-motion, and then you may begin to limit your movement more and more, so that it becomes a vicious circle.

How Yoga Can Help

Yoga can be beneficial for OA sufferers. It helps to reduce stress, increase body awareness, increase flexibility and improve range-of-motion.

Movement is essential for joint health. Synovial fluid is secreted into the joints to reduce friction. As there is no direct blood supply to cartilage, movement is required to get nutrients in and old fluid out. Healthy synovial fluid aids in ease of movement of the bones in the joint, preventing the wear and tear of bone on bone. Practicing yoga brings increased range-of-motion and circulation to the joints, which can help your cartilage stay healthy.

Timothy McCall, MD, in Yoga as Medicine, states, “Most people who aren’t actively working to maintain flexibility in their muscles and other tissues, and range of motion in their joints, become more restricted in their movements as they age.”

Of course, it’s essential to practice yoga with healthy alignment. Otherwise you could make matters worse by stressing joints or causing flare-ups. If your joints are painful and stiff, start slowly with short, gentle movements, working up to bigger movements or longer held postures.

Marian Garfinkel did a study on yoga for arthritis that was published in the Journal of Rheumatology in 1994. She found that with 25 patients, “a program of adapted Iyengar yoga and relaxation resulted in significant reductions in pain and an increase in range of motion.”

Other Components of Healing

Acupuncture can be helpful for pain relief from OA. Aerobic exercise is recommended, though you may need to start slowly if you haven’t been active recently. Yogajournal.com suggests massaging your wrists with sesame oil. Drinking enough water is important for optimum health of your joints as well.

Diet is another important component of healing OA, particularly eating foods that reduce inflammation. Click here to read nutritionist Julie Halpin’s dietary recommendations for optimum health of your muscles, joints and bones.

The Importance of Healthy Posture

One of the main things I focus on as a teacher of the Balance Method is healthy joint alignment. In my yoga classes I carefully check knee alignment in poses to ensure that students aren’t stressing their joints. In my posture classes I teach healthy joint alignment in sitting, standing, bending and other daily movements. How you hold and move your body during the course of your day has a huge impact on the health of your joints.

The Balance Method is based on studying populations of people with natural, healthy posture, like the posture of young children. In American culture, our joints are so misaligned that we have an epidemic of joint replacement. While you may not be able to completely erase the damage of decades of misalignment (I had it too!), changing your posture to align your bones with gravity can make a huge difference in your comfort and long term health.

An Exercise to Help Painful Wrists

If you have painful wrists, start with some simple movements such as wrist circles. When I was a Flamenco dancer, I learned how to do these “flores” movements with my wrists.

• To do this, relax your arms down by your sides with your palms facing your legs.
• Now bend your wrists, bringing your fingers towards your inner wrists.
• Now turn your fingers to face behind you, then out to the sides.
• When they’ve gone as far as they can in that direction, bend your wrists the opposite way, so that your inner wrists are stretched.
• Continue by bringing your fingers to point forward.
• Now you can start the cycle again, moving slowly at first, and then gradually making smooth and continuous circles with your wrists. Your left hand is moving clockwise and your right hand is moving counter-clockwise.

Try a couple first, see how you feel afterwards, and then if you feel good, you can build up to doing 5-10 circles in each direction (each wrist goes clockwise and counter-clockwise).

If you’d like some guidance in healthy joint alignment, come to my “Yoga for a Healthy Back” class or to one of my introductory Balance Method workshops. For the schedule, visit www.sonomabodybalance.com. Taking good care of your joints will really pay off as you get older, and can help you stay active and comfortable for many years to come.

© Dana K. Davis, 2011.

Sources:

McCall, Timothy, M.D., Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing, Bantam Books, New York, 2007.

Monro, Robin, M.D., Dr. R. Nagarathna, Dr. H.R. Nagendra, Yoga for Common Ailments, Fireside/Simon & Schuster, 1990.

www.yogajournal.com/for_teachers/2694

Causes of Leg Cramps

No one knows exactly the cause of leg cramps. Dr. Andrew Weil says they may be caused by “inadequate stretching and muscle fatigue” (http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA307009). Other potential causes are muscle atrophy due to aging & inactivity, dehydration, circulation problems, low iron levels, smoking, low levels of minerals (such as potassium, magnesium and calcium), pregnancy, hypothyroidism and other medical conditions. According to the Mayo Clinic, these cramps are usually harmless, but in some cases could indicate diabetes or peripheral artery disease. For information about when you should see a doctor, you can go to http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/night-leg-cramps/MY00410.

Prevention

So what can you do to prevent or relieve leg cramps? Both Dr. Weil and the Mayo Clinic suggest stretching. I’ll give you a couple stretches that could help below. You might want to stretch briefly before going to bed if you’re worried about leg cramps waking you up. It’s important to stay hydrated, so make sure you’re drinking enough water during the day (most nutritionists recommend 8 glasses per day). Remember that beverages containing caffeine and alcohol act as a diuretic, causing you to excrete more water, so don’t include these in your 8 glasses a day.

Some other suggestions from Dr. Weil include taking warm baths, massage, acupuncture, exercise, and quitting smoking. Once you’ve got a cramp, you can try flexing your toes toward your face or massaging your foot with your hands or some ice. Walking may also bring relief. Make sure you don’t tuck your sheets in too tight at the foot of your bed.

How important is diet?

Dr. Weil suggests taking a calcium/magnesium supplement, as does Julie Halpin, a Certified Nutrition Consultant (www.thefoodworks.com). She recommends one supplement to clients that also includes the herbs valerian and passion flower for their calming effect.
Julie suggests eating foods high in minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium. Some of these foods include:

dark leafy greens like kale and spinach
nuts and seeds, especially almonds and sesame seeds
whole grains
potatoes
bananas

Rather than relying on dairy for calcium, sesame seeds and leafy greens may be a better choice, as some people have allergies to dairy.

Foot Alignment Matters

The Mayo Clinic also states that flat feet may be a cause of leg cramps, and suggests wearing shoes with support. Posture is very important in keeping your feet healthy. The typical American posture with pelvis thrust forward puts too much weight toward the front of the foot, which causes the arches to collapse. In my Balance Your Body Foundations program, I teach students to stand “in Balance”, so that the weight goes mainly into the heels, which keeps your arches healthy. I also teach people how to realign the feet to help reduce bunions and other foot problems.

Stretches to Prevent Cramps

Before bed, you can try a calf stretch. Face a wall and bring your right foot to the wall, so your toes are almost touching it. Take your left foot back about 2 feet. Your right foot points straight ahead and your left foot can turn slightly out. Check that your hips are squarely facing the wall. Place your hands on the wall and bend your right knee directly over the middle of your foot (not towards your big toe). Your left calf will get a big stretch. For a deeper stretch, take your left foot farther back. Relax your back and make sure you’re not lifting your chest. Remember to breathe. Hold the pose for 30-60 seconds and then reverse.

For healthy hamstrings, bending in Balance is essential. This means to bend from your hip joints, not your waist. If you make it a habit to bend this way all the time, your hamstrings will stay much more flexible. We see people in less-industrialized countries able to easily bend down to pick up things off the ground with their backs very straight. In this country, many people have trouble putting on their shoes and socks as they get older, due to increasingly tight hamstring muscles. So relax your belly and bend from your hip joints to stay flexible, and this may also help you reduce leg cramps.

To sum up (you’ve heard most of this before), eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, stretch regularly, and learn healthy, aligned posture to prevent leg cramps.

UPDATE:
This is a response from one of the readers of this blog which you might find helpful:

“Re leg cramps: if you’re running into people who are really suffering, I do have an answer. A company called Hylands has an OTC homeopathic product called “Leg Cramps with Quinine.” I was desperate and this did the trick. I get cramps so bad I end up in tears and one pill works immediately. I only take them when I have a cramp so I don’t overuse them. They have saved me from excruciating pain.”

© 2011 Dana K. Davis