Beginning as a spiritual discipline, yoga has grown in popularity in recent years to become an activity focused on mental and physical wellbeing. Yoga combines breathing techniques, stretches and poses to offer relaxation and peacefulness to those who practice it. So, you may be wondering, is yoga helpful to chiropractic treatment? We explore three ways in which yoga may help with chiropractic treatment below…
1. Strengthen muscles and joints
Like any sport, frequently practising yoga will eventually strengthen your overall body, including your muscles and joints. Unlike some sporting activities, like running for example, which only targets certain muscles, yoga affects your entire body. This could be seen as beneficial to chiropractic care as yoga may help strengthen muscles and make them more susceptible to chiropractic treatment.
2. Identify problems
Practising yoga may help you identify specific problem areas in your body. For example, if you have been suffering from back pain for a long time, different yoga poses may help you to pinpoint exactly where the pain is coming from. If you notice certain yoga poses are more uncomfortable than others, you can identify which muscle the poses are targeting and focus your chiropractic treatment on one particular muscle or muscle group.
3. Encourages relaxation
Just as chiropractic treatment helps joints and muscles to ‘de-stress’, individuals often credit yoga for helping them to relax both mentally and physically. Yoga allows you to focus on your own wellbeing, encouraging you to work on your posture, balance and strength, which has a direct correlation to the potential positive benefits of chiropractic treatment.
For chiropractic treatment to be effective, yoga isn’t necessary. However, the positive benefits of yoga, such as its ability to relax and build strength could be seen as complementary to chiropractic treatment. If you are suffering from back or joint pain, yoga could be an excellent way to help you identify specific problem areas, though it is always best to be examined by a professional. For more information on chiropractic care, book an appointment with an expert today!
Photo: yoga by Witches Falls Cotages licensed under Creative commons 4
