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Pain's a bitch. Yoga helps.
Hi Friend!! Welcome to Chronic Asana, a site dedicated to transforming life with chronic pain toward the positive through yoga, art & a sense of humor. I’ll be your guide, Stephanie, and I am happy you are here- cuz misery loves company!
Life with chronic pain is hard.
I hope the fact that you found your way to this site means you are ready to live better. To lighten the weight that chronic pain can load on your body & your heart.
Movement Heals
Living with chronic pain probably means you’ve been on a lifelong journey to find relief. There are many ways to treat symptoms and ease pain, but the best one I’ve found (and the whole backbone of this site) is movement.
I know how hard it is to consider moving your body when it’s in pain- but you need to keep moving!! And again, there are many ways to move, so here I’ll insert my biased oppinion of “the best way.” Yoga.
If you choose to read deeper into the site, you’ll learn more whats & whys- but since I’ve got you right now, here’s my elevator pitch as to why everyone in chronic pain needs to be doing yoga:
I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) ((modern terminology JIA)) at age 13. Its been a lifetime of finding ways to move around daily life more gracefully and keep my head above the waters of fear. I wont say I’ve tried it all, but I’ve tried a lot and the single most effective thing for not only my body- but mostly my mind- has been yoga.
If you’ve never tried it, I want to help you discover the magic. Or maybe you have tried it and it put you in more pain than relief. And on that same thought, you might have tried it but the class was too fast paced and lacked the understanding of a body in your condition. I have been in all of these shoes the last dozen plus years – let me help you through what I’ve learned.
Painful Insights
Over the years I’ve found some nuggets of wisdom buried in the depths of pain. Occasionally I like to write them down.
Shorter than a blog, lets call it a ‘blurb’
Sandbags
A Literal Heavyweight Yoga sandbags are a powerful tool to deepen your practice, offering a blend of grounding, support, and relaxation. As their name suggests, they are small fabric bags filled with sand, typically weighing 10lbs each. These weighted props can be...
Foam Roller
Relieve Chronic Pain with Foam Rolling Though I might not quite categorize a foam roller as a “yoga prop,” it’s definitely worth a mention as a tool for pain management & it can definitely be incorporated into your daily mindful movement practice. Foam rolling is...
Chair
Take a Load off: Use a Chair For those managing chronic pain, a chair can be a game-changer in yoga practice. It offers essential support, allowing for safe exploration of poses without overexerting sensitive areas. With the chair’s assistance, you can gently stretch...
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