Yoga for Pain Relief: A New Approach to an Ancient Practice

220 Pages·2017·3.36 MB·English

by  Lee Albert

Copyright © 2017 by Lee Albert, NMT.
The material in this book is intended as an informative guide for those wishing to know
more about health issues. This book is not intended to replace or conflict with advice given
to the reader by his or her health practitioner. Any application of the techniques, ideas and
suggestions in this book is at the reader’s sole discretion and risk. Please consult with your
physician or health care practitioner before beginning this or any new exercise program,
especially if you are pregnant or nursing or if you are elderly or have any chronic or
recurring physical conditions.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, except
for brief excerpts used in a review, without prior written permission from the copyright
holder, which may be requested through the publisher.
Dudley Court Press PO Box 102
Sonoita, AZ 85637
www.DudleyCourtPress.com
Connect with Lee Albert at www.LeeAlbert.com
Cover and interior design by Dunn+Associates, www.Dunn-Design.com
ISBN: 978-1-940013-32-9
LCCN: 2017931869
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data Albert, Lee (Lee Michael), 1951-author. | Cappy,
Peggy, writer of foreword.
Yoga for pain relief: a new approach to an ancient practice Lee Albert: Sonoita, AZ :
Dudley Court Press, [2017] |
“Foreword by Peggy Cappy”—Cover. | Includes index.
ISBN: 978-1-940013-32-9 | LCCN: 2017931869
LCSH: Yoga—Therapeutic use. | Yoga—Study and teaching. | Pain—Treatment. |
Analgesia. |
Meditation—Therapeutic use. | Breathing exercises—Therapeutic use.
Classification: LCC: RM727.Y64 A43 2017 | DDC: 613.7/046—dc23
To my wife Marcia for her love, support and encouragement To my publisher Gail for her
expertise and dedication
To Peggy Cappy for her enthusiasm and dedication to bringing this information to as many
people as possible To all my clients and students who have taught me so much
To all the amazing people on this planet who are taking responsibility for their experiences
in life and are making the commitment to do something about it
If you always do what you’ve always done,
you will always get what you’ve always got.
If you want things that you never got,
you must do things you have never done!
—Nishan Panwar
contents
foreword
preface
introduction
Chapter 1: a balanced body is a pain-free body
Chapter 2: a quick (not too technical) course in anatomy
Chapter 3: what is yoga? ancient and modern
Chapter 4: choosing the correct postures to achieve muscle balance
Chapter 5: the dangers of overstretching
Chapter 6: achieving muscular/skeletal balance
Chapter 7: common symptoms and conditions caused by muscle
imbalances—lower body
Chapter 8: yoga sequence for the lower body
Chapter 9: common symptoms and conditions casued by muscle
imbalances—upper body
Chapter 10: yoga sequence for upper body
Chapter 11: breath is a powerful ally
Chapter 12: meditation—training the mind to heal
Chapter 13: yoga off the mat
end notes
bibliography
thank you
acknowledgments
about the author
Index
foreword
you are holding in your hands an important book.
I know this from direct experience. Years ago, I returned to the U.S.
after an extended meditation retreat in India. Prolonged hours of sitting in
Ardha Padmasana (Half Lotus Pose) resulted in an excruciating pain in
my right hip. It was so severe I thought at first I might need a hip
replacement.
When I determined that my problem was muscular rather than in the
joint, I knew where to go and who to see. Lee Albert. I found him at
Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health where I regularly teach Yoga for the
Rest of Us. Each time I am at Kripalu, I attend Lee’s one-hour sampler
called Live Pain-Free. It is astonishing and heart-warming to watch Lee
work with volunteers from the audience. You know you are in the
presence of a gifted man when you see those people leave the session
pain-free. I could hardly wait for Lee to work on me.
Two minutes. That’s what it took to fix my hip pain. I can still
remember saying, “It’s like a miracle! I simply can’t believe that the pain
is gone. It took only two minutes of your holding my leg in that gentle
yoga stretch.”
Lee’s work, Integrated Positional Therapy, comes from his own
personal experience and his search for relief from the severe pain he
suffered as a result of a horrible car accident. Though Lee’s work may at
first seem unbelievable, even miraculous, due to such immediate and
extraordinary results, I promise you his remedies are gentle and effective,
yet powerful and rapid. And lasting. My hip no longer hurts. The pain has
never returned, thanks to my learning which muscles to stretch to keep
my body in neuromuscular balance.
Having known and worked with Lee Albert for many years, I am
honored and delighted to introduce his newest book to you. While many
books on Yoga are published each year, Yoga for Pain Relief, A New
Approach to an Ancient Practice is destined to rock the Yoga world. Lee
sheds new light on how yoga solutions can be used therapeutically to
create pain-free living.
In this book Lee gives us the key to practicing Yoga safely while
achieving superior results. Lee will introduce you to the five major muscle
imbalances from which most of us suffer, and how to correct them with
common yoga poses. Most importantly, he addresses the root cause of
pain.
I encourage you to read Yoga for Pain Relief and put it into practice.
Select the yoga postures that will most benefit your current body
conditions, or those of your students if you teach Yoga. Your results will
be all the evidence you need to recognize and appreciate this new
approach to the ancient practice of Yoga.
Wishing you pain-free living and tremendous well-being, Peggy Cappy
CEO of Peggy Cappy Enterprises; author of Yoga for All of Us, A Modified Series
of Traditional Poses for Any Age and Ability; creator of Yoga for the Rest of Us
video series; popular TV host of PBS Yoga programming since 2002
preface
the book you are about to read had its origin thirty years ago. At that
time I had no idea I was going to write a book, nor did I even have the
desire to write one. I could not have possibly foreseen the events that
would bring me to this place in my life. I am now compelled to share the
knowledge I have gained since that day when my life was propelled in a
new direction. This story will be familiar to readers of my first book, Live
Pain-free without Drugs or Surgery.
I will always remember that day. The weather was beautiful and
sunny, and I was driving peacefully along the road in the gorgeous
countryside of Quebec, Canada. I gently pressed the brakes and came to
a stop at a stop sign. In my rearview mirror, I saw a car traveling at a high
speed quickly closing in on me. Before I could react, three thousand
pounds of glass and steel moving at fifty to sixty miles an hour slammed
into my car.
Looking back on that moment, I consider myself lucky. I escaped from
this horrific accident with no noticeable injuries. My car was not as
fortunate: it was a mangled mess. I was taken to a local hospital to be
examined by a doctor. My vital signs were all normal, and to tell you the
truth, I felt fine. The doctor assured me that everything was all right but
that I should check in with my doctor when I got home.
My story could have ended there, but it was unfortunately only
beginning. Three weeks after the accident, I developed a terrible
headache. This pain was different from the occasional headaches I would
sometimes experience. I would later learn that what I was experiencing
was a migraine. Little did I know that I would have these headaches quite
often for the next three years.
The doctor prescribed pain relievers. Unfortunately, they did little to
help and often made me nauseous. I did not wish to live my life with this
pain. The doctors had few other suggestions that would help me. I knew