I recently had a conversation with Kelly McGonigal. Kelly is a yoga teacher, health psychologist at StanfordUniversity and the editor in chief of the International Journal of Yoga Therapy. As if that wasn't keeping her busy enough, she also recently published a book titled Yoga for Pain Relief. Kelly, a former chronic pain sufferer herself, believes in the healing powers of yoga. A yoga practitioner and former teacher myself, I am inclined to agree with her.
In her interview, she talks about the idea some people have that chronic pain is all "in your head," discusses how yoga can help with pain perception and offers advice for family members of chronic pain sufferers. An excerpt from our conversation:
Yoga starts with the breath, which is the central tool of healing in the yoga tradition. You can use simple breath awareness to develop a sense of control and safety in any moment, including acute pain. Yoga also teaches you how to befriend your body. People with pain often feel betrayed by their body. Yoga can help you restore trust and learn how to listen to your body and develop intuition about what it needs. By taking care of your body in a gentle way, yoga can help you make peace with your body and overcome the anger, sadness, and frustration that are common responses to chronic pain.
The full interview, as well as information about Kelly's book, can be found here.
