Pain is a natural responsive to external or internal stress. There are tons of reasons associated with pain, both mental and physical in nature, and many drugs and therapies meant to help reduce all types of pain.

Yoga is one practice that aims to improve both mental and physical health, including flexibility, stability, strength, and more. Yoga is a generally safe practice for all ages, physical skill levels, and body types. In this article, we’ll discuss some various yoga postures that may help to relieve chronic pain:

1. Shoulder exercises

Adhesive capsulitis, or frozen shoulder, is a condition where the shoulders become stiff and painful. The range of motion in the shoulders also become limited. One shoulder rehabilitation exercise proven to help this condition is the shoulder pendulum stretch, to perform

• Start with relaxed shoulders and feet planted shoulder width apart.
• The arms hang loosely by swung by the sides.
• Bend at the hips approximately 75 degrees or more and let your right arm hang down toward the floor.
• Shift your weight side to side, letting your arm swing side to side.
• Shift your weight forward and backward, and let your arm swing front to back.
• Once loose, you can swing one arm at a time in a circle. Just ensure you use your arms and not your shoulder muscles to create small circles.
• Repeat on both sides to improve the range of motion of the shoulders

2. Back exercises

Sometimes, our backs, especially our lower backs, carry too much weight and become strained with repetition or overuse. However, the severity of back pain can be reduced with certain yoga postures, such as a spinal twist:

• Sit on the floor keeping the left leg straight and bending the right knee over the left planting the right foot on the floor.
• Twist your torso to the left.
• Plant your left hand on the floor behind your lower back.
• Your right hand can deepen the stretch or lend support by holding the right knee or thigh.
• Look over your left shoulder.
• Repeat on other side.

3. Low back exercises

Chronic pain in your lower back pain can cause difficulty sitting, standing up or even bending over. However, a legs up the wall yoga pose can help ease pain, fatigue, and swelling associated with fibromyalgia:

• Lie on your back with your butt up against a wall.
• Bend at the waist, putting your legs up the wall.
• Straighten the legs to urge blood flow to the lower back.
• Hold for 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Exercises for joint pain

Joint pain can be caused due to several chronic medical conditions (i.e., rheumatoid arthritis). However, yoga postures like downward dog can provide a gentle overall stretch to ease stress in the entire body and joints:

• Begin in table top, with your wrists placed directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.
• Spread your fingers wide and press up through your palms as you tuck your toes and lift your knees off the floor.
• Lift your pelvis in a V as you draw your sit bones toward the ceiling as you straighten your knees stretching through your hamstrings and calves.
• Press the floor away as you press up through your pelvis to lengthen your spine.
• Hold for 5 to 10 breaths.
• Release by coming back to hands and knees.