A reader asked me if yoga, as I wrote about last week, ultimately fixed my lower back problems. Unfortunately, the short answer is no. While it’s true I’ve come up with ways to alleviate discomfort, retain mobility, and avoid surgery, I’ve been unable to permanently resolve the problem.
My Love/Hate Relationship with Yoga
On Saturday mornings, I typically head to a bakery to pick up freshly baked bread for the week. Last year, I noticed a yoga studio across the street from the bakery and thought about giving it a try to help alleviate my ever present back issues.
Now for the record, at the encouragement of my mom (who has been teaching yoga for 30+ years), I’ve tried yoga a few times before but just couldn’t get into it. Regardless of how good yoga may have been for my body, the slow pace of the classes made me too restless to enjoy myself. Further, given the overall state of my inflexibility, it was hard to imagine my woeful approximations to the poses I was instructed to do were offering any benefit.
Rethinking your running shoes
In an article I wrote four years ago, Losing Too Much to Win, I mentioned how during a five-mile run I sustained a back injury that put me out of commission for a while. I recall seeing my doctor the day it happened and telling him that I would give up running if it guaranteed I wouldn’t be in such pain again. The fine doctor responded, “They all say that!” I hobbled home that day in excruciating pain, the memory etched in my psyche. Despite all that, I only recently actually gave up running.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 85
- Next Page »
