BEYOND PAIN YOGA
BEYOND PAIN YOGA
Pain Science + Mindful Movement
Knowing how pain works, mindful movement and meditation all enhance our natural pain relief systems.
Beyond Pain Yoga is a 6 week-course exploring better control over pain. One hour sessions start with a short talk on aspects of pain, then our approach to yoga encompasses moving mindfully and with greater ease, while meditation aids emotional and physical stress.
This course is for those who want to reduce or manage persistent pain and improve their physical activity. Classes are modified to participants’ needs and are suitable for those who struggle with normal classes.
Pain, particularly persistent pain, is more complex than simply reflecting the state of our tissues. While muscles, joints etc. can be sources of symptoms, focusing solely on the tissues limits options for pain relief. Pain has many contributions including sensitivity in our nervous system, poor sleep, low mood, how we manage stress, how we move, etc. Looking at pain from this broad perspective, can provide greater opportunities for recovery. Beyond Pain Yoga explores different factors contributing to your problem, building your knowledge and skills to help you move beyond pain.
Course Outline
Week One
How pain works - designed to protect, but not all about the tissues.
Week Two
Pain protects, but a sensitive nervous system protects too much.
Week Three
The brain perceives the body differently when in pain - how this changes what we feel and how we move.
Week Four
Our thoughts and beliefs are nerve impulses too - the impact of what we think on the pain we feel.
Week Five
Emotional well-being and pain - tapping into the body’s natural pain-relief system.
Week Six
Integration - pain as a complex system of inputs and outputs.
Dr Niamh Moloney is a qualified yoga teacher, as well as a highly skilled and qualified physiotherapist, clinical educator and pain researcher. Having practiced yoga personally, and used it in clinical practice, she undertook her yoga teacher training so she could integrate pain science, physiotherapy and yoga in the treatment of pain.