Healing Yoga For Neck & Shoulder: Easy, Effective Practices for Releasing Tension & Relieving Pain

Description

Everyday activities like using the computer, driving home from work, and even relaxing with a good book round our bodies forward, creating pain and tension in the neck and shoulders. And given how much time we spend hunched forward in this digital age, it's no wonder that 10 to 20 percent of us have persistent or chronic neck pain. Author Carol Krucoff suffered from debilitating neck pain for years before creating a yoga-based self-care program that eliminated her problem entirely. In Healing Yoga for Neck and Shoulder Pain, she shares her revolutionary techniques for relieving this common and often disabling problem and also addresses disorders associated with neck pain, including headaches, breathing problems, and digestive issues. Readers learn how to align their bodies properly when using a computer, talking on the telephone, and doing other activities that may potentially cause neck and shoulder pain. The book features simple yoga-based neck and shoulder exercises readers can do at work or at home to release muscle tension and relax when they begin to feel pain. Readers also discover how they can create an easy daily yoga practice to increase flexibility and prevent tension.

Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT, is a yoga therapist at Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, NC; where she offers private sessions, workshops, and classes for people with health challenges. An award-winning journalist, Carol served as founding editor of The Washington Post Health section, and her articles have appeared in numerous national publications, including The New York Times, Yoga Journal, and Reader's Digest. She is author of several books, including Yoga Sparks and Healing Yoga for Neck and Shoulder Pain. She is codirector, with Kimberly Carson, of Yoga for Seniors Professional Training, and they are coauthors of the book (and DVD), Relax into Yoga for Seniors. She has served as a consultant on several yoga research studies, and coauthored articles in peer-reviewed medical journals. For more information, visit www.healingmoves.com. Foreword writer Tracy W. Gaudet, MD, is executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Duke University Health System. Author of the highly acclaimed Consciously Female, Gaudet is a practicing, board-certified OB/GYN and was the founding executive director of Dr. Andrew Weil's Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. She lives with her son Ryan in Durham, NC.

"In this wonderful, easy-to-read-and-use book, Carol Krucoff has gracefully and intelligently integrated several important healing traditions in order to bring relief to those suffering from neck and shoulder pain and the pain of stress. I recommend it enthusiastically as a friendly vehicle anyone can use to explore and experience the amazing power and healing potential of these human bodies." --Jeffrey Brantley, MD, director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at Duke Integrative Medicine, and coauthor of Five Good Minutes(R) in Your Body "Unlike modern medicine, which often does little more than suppress the symptoms of neck problems with painkillers, yoga can get at the root causes of pain. In this wonderful book, Krucoff demonstrates safe, gentle, and effective strategies to lessen neck and shoulder discomfort. Be careful, though--yoga's side effects include peace of mind, improved mood, and better sleep. You could get hooked!" --Timothy McCall, MD, medical editor of Yoga Journal and author of Yoga as Medicine "What a gift Krucoff has given us! These practices guide us in both postural and emotional healing of the neck and shoulders by allowing the energy to flow freely, uniting head to body and head to heart. This brings about a sense of balance and ease, reminding us of our joyful nature." --Nischala Joy Devi, author The Healing Path of Yoga and The Secret Power of Yoga