Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind and Heal Your Chronic Pain (The New Harbinger Whole-Body Healing Series) [Paperback]

Kelly McGonigal (Author), Timothy McCall (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2009 | Series: The New Harbinger Whole-Body Healing Series

It's no secret that yoga increases muscular flexibility and strength, but you may not know that yoga is a proven treatment for back pain, knee pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other chronic pain conditions. Yoga also helps to ease the stress, anxiety, and depression that can create and reinforce pain, making you feel more comfortable in both your mind and your body.

Written by a yoga instructor and former chronic pain sufferer, Yoga for Pain Relief is packed with gentle postures and practical strategies for ending pain. This complete mind-body tool kit for healing also includes deep relaxation practices drawn from the yogic tradition and psychological techniques for helping you make peace with your body and dissolve pain. As the ancient practice of yoga releases the hold that chronic pain has over your life, you will begin to feel more like yourself again.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“McGonigal explores the complex picture of chronic pain, recognizing the many dimensions that contribute to one’s suffering. In simple, easy-to-follow steps, she takes you on a journey, connecting your mind and body through the yoga experience. This book is very much in line with all that the American Chronic Pain Association teaches. I recommend that you relax, renew yourself, and enjoy your adventure through Yoga for Pain Relief.”
-Penney Cowan, executive director of the American Chronic Pain Association

“Yoga for Pain Relief provides accurate, easily understood principles of self-care in a user-friendly format. The book offers professionals immediate activities for clinical adaptation with the best, most up-to-date evidence. The person in pain can celebrate the artful bridging of ancient wisdom with the genius of the author in creating an easy-to-follow, personalized road map that is sure to sustain hope and allow him or her to remember joy!”
—Matthew J. Taylor, PT, Ph.D., RYT, president of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and founder and owner of the Dynamic Systems Rehabilitation Clinic

“Kelly McGonigal’s Yoga for Pain Relief is easily one of the best books I have ever read on yoga therapy, and includes plenty of research and practical tips for dealing with pain. This book is perfect for anyone who lives with any kind of physical or emotional pain, as well as for those working with these conditions professionally, including both conventional and alternative health care providers and yoga teachers. The book has heart and soul, is both kind and informative, and recognizes the individual experience without being reductionist or prescriptive. This book will be required reading for all of the students in my yoga therapy training program.”
—Molly Lannon Kenny, MS-CCC, founder and director of The Samarya Center, an internationally recognized training institute for yoga and yoga therapy

“Yoga for Pain Relief will help you to find your ease, courage, and ability to transform your chronic pain. Unlike many other pain treatments, McGonigal’s book illuminates a path free of adverse side effects that is synergistic with your present pain therapy. Yoga for Pain Relief is a jewel, and its brilliance and clarity will touch the heart of healing within.”
—Julie Good, MD, DABMA, clinical assistant professor of pediatric pain and symptom management at Stanford University

“Yoga for Pain Relief is an empowering toolkit for people living with pain or illness.”
—Halle Tecco, founder and executive director of Yoga Bear, a nonprofit organization that teaches yoga to cancer patients and survivors

“In this important book, McGonigal elegantly and simply empowers us, through science and ancient practices, to compassionately transform pain and suffering into ever-present joy blossoming in our hearts. A gift for us all!”

—Nischala Joy Devi, international yoga teacher and author of The Healing Path of Yoga and The Secret Power of Yoga

“Yoga for Pain Relief is an epic book for an epic condition. McGonigal is a quintessential teacher and a brilliant author. Highly recommended for healthcare providers, yoga teachers, or anyone in pain.” —Larry Payne, Ph.D., director of the Yoga Therapy Rx Program at Loyola Marymount University and coauthor of Yoga for Dummies, Yoga Rx, and The Business of Teaching Yoga

“Whether you are in pain now or you treat those who are, Yoga for Pain Relief will broaden your view of suffering and change your life. McGonigal outlines a clear, step-by-step method, evidence-based yet ancient, to reconnect with the wisdom and joy that is your birthright—the source of wellness that is so much bigger than your pain.”
—Amy Weintraub, MFA, E-RYT 500, is founder of LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute and author of Yoga for Depression

“In this book, McGonigal provides insightful pathways that can lead those with chronic pain toward a healthier life. Highly recommended for those suffering with chronic pain as well as healthcare practitioners and yoga teachers who work with people in pain.”
—Shoosh Lettick Crotzer, director of Mobility Limited and Enhancement, Inc., and author of Yoga for Fibromyalgia

From the Publisher

In Yoga for Pain Relief, Stanford psychology instructor and prominent yoga teacher Kelly McGonigal shows readers how the wisdom of yoga and the latest skills drawn from mind-body research can end the physical and emotional suffering of chronic pain.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (December 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572246898
• ISBN-13: 978-1572246898
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diseases & Physical Ailments > Pain Management

More About the Author

Kelly McGonigal, PhD, is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, and a leading expert on the mind-body relationship. She teaches for the School of Medicine's Health Improvement Program and is a senior teacher/consultant for the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. Her work demonstrates the applications of psychological science to personal health and happiness, as well as organizational success and social change.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Yoga for Pain Relief is a must have. November 23, 2009

By M. Hanson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you are interested in health, well-being or yoga this book is a must have. As a yoga instructor here are a few reasons why I loved it. 1. The practices and recommendations are accessible to everyone and benefit beginning to experienced practitioners. 2. The practices can be readily integrated into a group yoga class and into working one-on-one with people. 3. The recommendations are supported by both western medical evidence and the yogic tradition. 4. To reduce stress, lower back, neck and shoulder pain, I've integrated several of the recommendations into my personal practice, and have felt an immediate and positive difference.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful tool for helping my wife deal with her chronic pain November 19, 2009

By Kiyash Monsef

Format:Paperback

Dr. McGonigal's advice is inspiring, down-to-earth, and easy to put into action right away.
I have been doing the breathing exercises and meditations with my wife, who began suffering from chronic headaches after a concussion this past summer. She wanted to avoid heavy pain medications, and this book was a lifesaver. It helped both with the physical pain and also the depression and anxiety that she felt, having little control over her symptoms. I was happy to be able to work through the book with her -- it helped me better understand what she going through, and gave me concrete ways to help her: by doing breathing exercises together, and reading the meditations out loud to her.
It helps that the book is grounded in scientific research (psychology and physiology) as well as Dr. McGonigal's yoga practice, it makes for a well-grounded book that is both eye-opening and comforting.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Science + Practical Advice = Great Resource November 15, 2009

By Cookiemonster

Format:Paperback

I am a long time student of Dr. Kelly McGonigal. I found this book to be very helpful in explaining the science of pain, and how my own mental patterns in dealing with personal chronic pain were exacerbating or relieving my pain. The practical suggestions for poses to stretch and move while in pain have been useful for reducing the intensity of pain in my shoulder and neck. The gentle movements offered in this book were also helpful in recovering from a recent bout of the flu. I found the stories to be helpful in learning that I am not alone in dealing with pain and hearing strategies for how other people dealt with similar issues. Yoga is not a quick fix, but the ideas and suggestions in this book have made a real difference in handling day to day stress and pain.