Relax into Yoga for Chronic Pain: A Six-Week Mindful Yoga Workbook for Finding Relief and Resilience

Description

Based on the popular Relax into Yoga program developed at Duke University, this book will help you soothe your body and calm your mind--bringing gentle relief to the physical and mental suffering caused by chronic pain. If you live with chronic pain, you need solutions now to help you feel better and get back to living your life. If you're looking for an alternative to pharmaceutical pain medication, yoga is powerful practice for managing pain and building resilience. Based on the proven-effective Relax into Yoga program developed by the authors at Duke University, this safe and easy-to-use book--accessible for all levels of fitness and mobility--has everything you need to get started today. In this workbook, you'll find an eight-step, integrative approach drawing on both modern western medicine and the ancient wisdom of the yoga tradition. The gentle poses and practices in this book are informed by a state-of-the-art understanding of physiology, and can be safely used to help alleviate pain associated with several common health problems, such as arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, and more. This is not a book about getting into pretzel positions or sitting on a yoga mat for hours. This is a book about gentle, easy, and calming yoga that will help you manage your pain and improve your overall well-being.

Jim Carson, PhD, is a former yogic monk (swami) who has taught the practices and philosophy of yoga worldwide for more than forty-five years. Jim is now a clinical health psychologist; and associate professor of anesthesiology, and of psychiatry at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland, OR. He has applied his expertise to the development and evaluation of yoga and meditation-based clinical treatments, including the first mindfulness program for couples, the first loving-kindness meditation program for medical patients, and the Mindful Yoga program. Jim also works extensively with patients suffering from persistent pain, including those with fibromyalgia, low back pain, and cancer pain. Jim codirects national professional trainings for yoga teachers and allied health professionals at OHSU, Duke Integrative Medicine, and VA Centers.

"Relax into Yoga for Chronic Pain offers valuable tools for transforming your relationship with pain. Using yoga asanas, breathing and meditation practices, and insights into the relationship between witness consciousness, the mind, and the body, this workbook provides a way to change how you perceive and navigate the experience of chronic pain. These simple yoga practices not only provide techniques for working with pain, but they also promote consciousness and deep inner acceptance." --Michael A. Singer, author of the New York Times bestsellers, The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment--Michael A. Singer "Relax into Yoga for Chronic Pain is the rare resource that combines insights from modern neuroscience and psychology, wisdom from long-practiced healing traditions, and tremendous compassion for the experience of living with chronic pain. I highly recommend this book and the practices in it." --Kelly McGonigal, PhD, author of Yoga for Pain Relief--Kelly McGonigal, PhD "Authentic, brilliant, and practical. Jim, Kimberly, and Carol have done a phenomenal job of integrating the science and art of yoga and chronic pain into a single useful book that is a real gift for patients. Relax into Yoga for Chronic Pain is an essential guide for every patient with chronic pain who wishes to convert personal suffering into an opportunity for transformation." --Amit Sood, MD, FACP, executive director of the Global Center for Resiliency and Well-Being; former professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic--Amit Sood, MD, FACP "Einstein defined genius as making the complex simple. Relax into Yoga for Chronic Pain is genius. This book is so accessible with simple, powerful practices for the reader while still conveying the depth and complexity of our best understanding of pain. The weaving together of the information, activities, and reflection exercises offers safe, comprehensive, and appropriate support for those living with persistent pain. The book would also make an outstanding student workbook for yoga teachers and therapists to offer eight-week training programs in their community. The reader will enjoy and benefit from 'riding the wave' of this masterful guidebook." --Matthew J. Taylor, PT, PhD, C-IAYT, director of SmartSafeYoga, national yoga safety expert, and author of Yoga Therapy as a Creative Response to Pain--Matthew J. Taylor, PT, PhD, C-IAYT "This book is a gem! Easily understandable in its text, illustrations, and guided meditations, this is an excellent choice that is likely to inform and help anyone living with chronic pain. The authors have many years of dedicated personal practice experience with both mindfulness and yoga. In addition, they have extensive experience teaching and training others to use these approaches in the service of better health and more effective management of serious medical conditions like chronic pain. Their expertise, dedication, and beautiful compassion shine throughout this work!" --Jeffrey Brantley, MD, founding faculty member at Duke Integrative Medicine; assistant consulting professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center; author of Calming Your Anxious Mind; and coauthor of the Five Good Minutes series--Jeffrey Brantley, MD "This book is a standout among yoga guides. It is supported by both empiric scientific data and Jim Carson's experience living in India as a monk in the yoga tradition. This truly unique guide to reclaiming yourself through mindful yoga is life-changing. Learn to 'ride the waves' and start enjoying your life again, today." --Kim Dupree Jones, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor and dean of Linfield School of Nursing; research faculty at Oregon Health and Science University; and chronic pain researcher who has produced over 400 peer-reviewed papers, presentations, and chapters, and has been supported by federal, foundation, and industry funders--Kim Dupree Jones, PhD, RN, FAAN "This book provides a timely and valuable guide to the use of yoga in pain management. The authors are all highly experienced yoga teachers. The chapters they have written not only provide compelling rationale for the use of yoga in pain management, they also are packed with patient stories, instructions/illustrations of yoga techniques, and examples of daily diaries for tracking home practices and evaluating their impact on sensations, thoughts, and emotions. This book's focus on the practical aspects of learning and practicing yoga will be appealing to both patients and health care providers. Overall, this book represents an important contribution to the self-help and clinical research literature on yoga for pain and stress management." --Francis J. Keefe, PhD, director of the pain prevention and treatment research program at Duke University Medical Center--Francis J. Keefe, PhD "This wonderful instruction manual is just what the doctor ordered! As physicians, we often tell patients suffering from chronic pain that yoga and meditation will help, but classes can be overwhelming or intimidating. Finally, here is a workbook that guides the reader through simple exercises and movements while explaining how yoga philosophy and practice can change our perception of chronic pain." --Kimberly Mauer, MD, director of the Comprehensive Pain Management Center, and clinical associate professor of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine at Oregon Health and Science University--Kimberly Mauer, MD "Well paced, Relax into Yoga for Chronic Pain expands yoga from body movements to a variety of skills for deepening awareness of how one relates to unwanted experience. This down-to-earth guide is filled with compassion and wisdom as it empowers learning and practice, reflection, and engagement to 'ride the waves' of strong sensations, challenging emotions, and constricting thoughts that tangle together with chronic pain. Through acknowledgement of the innate resource of presence, patience and love can flourish. This book has the potential to support working with pain in practical ways that support the emergence of greater peace, energy, and joy." --Florence Meleo-Meyer, MS, MA, program director for the Global Relations and Professional Education Mindfulness Center at the Brown University School of Public Health--Florence Meleo-Meyer, MS, MA "When pain persists, access to effective, evidence-based care is vital. The right guidance is equally important to finding and practicing individualized solutions. Relax into Yoga for Chronic Pain is a practical coaching tool--building understanding, a repertoire of techniques, and self-assessment expertise in an eight-week program that demonstrates our ability to influence pain, fatigue, sleep, mood, and ease of movement. This is an excellent integration of science and yoga that will provide relief to many people living in pain." --Neil Pearson, PT, MSc (RHBS), BA-BPHE, CIAYT, ERYT500, clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, physical therapist, yoga therapist, and author/coeditor of Yoga and Science in Pain Care--Neil Pearson, PT, MSc (RHBS), BA-BPHE, CIAYT, ERYT500