Osteopathic Yoga - Online Classes

The role of the mind is to think. The mind will not be emptied. But it can be filled. This is mindfulness, an ancient approach to meditation. Mindfulness means paying attention in the present moment

Yoga is a form of meditation with a particular focus on your body

Just at as you do when you're driving, or reading, or enjoying a beautiful view, yoga asks that you to pay attention to your mind and body: your movement, your breath, your thoughts and your feelings

Paying attention lets you notice how you habitually move, think and react, providing opportunities for you to respond in more conscious and healthy ways

Freeing yourself from old, outdated habits, you can move in ways that support optimal fitness, and think in ways that make you feel clearer and happier

While there is some overlap between the two it's important to appreciate some fundamental differences:

Exercise may be used to improve your structure and level of fitness. Mechanical functions, such as muscle tone, stability, mobility and alignment are essential for your overall health and wellbeing

Aerobic type exercise stimulate your heart, circulation and breathing to condition their function and improve your cardiovascular fitness. Benefits from this type of exercise include greater tolerance to exertion and positive improvements in cardiovascular heart to lower your propensity to hear disease and stroke

Though also concerned with your structure, yoga is a mindfulness-based body therapy with a focus on mind-body connectivity and stress reduction for your physical and mental wellbeing. Yoga has been found to convey most of the benefits of cardiovascular exercise, albeit via a quite different pathway

Yoga and physical therapy come together as osteopathic yoga.

Hatha yoga works with the body to access the deeper recesses of the psyche, or mind. Through postures, movement and breath yoga has a profound influence not just on musculoskeletal and vital internal functions, but also on your mental state

Osteopathic medicine seeks to achieve total physical and psychological wellbeing by providing a sound structure for your vital functions to work optimally

 Osteopathic yoga involves yoga practice informed by the anatomical and medical expertise of an osteopath. Exercises are carefully adapted to work with your structural peculiarities and your current state of fitness and health towards ever better function

The system embraces the whole mind-body spectrum to provide you with a sound base for health and happiness

The classes are suitable for any adult over the age of 18 wanting to improve their posture, body use and comfort, and looking to prevent the development of back, neck and other musculoskeletal pain

They are also an excellent choice if you've suffered back or neck pain want to to help prevent a recurrence

Please contact Manuel for advice and assessment before signing up

Yoga is effective in a wide array of musculoskeletal issues, from back and neck pain to postural tension, joint stiffness and poor balance

The classes are an excellent way to manage a number of common back and neck pain syndromes, including non-specific low back pain, tension related neck and shoulder pain, and headache associated with tension or migraine

The commonest type, non-specific or mechanical low back pain, is particularly multi-factorial, being related to poor posture, inefficient body use and psychological stress. Often recurrent, it responds extremely well to yoga

Please contact Manuel for advice and assessment before signing up

Yoga is generally safe and effective, with an extremely low documented rate of adveerse effects. However, there are times when practising yoga may not be in your best interests, especially in a group setting

Some conditions are not suited to working in groups, especially those of an acute nature, or where an underlying disease process is suspected

Any acute pain with muscle spasm or guarding, whether from injury or for no apparent reason needs prior investigation. Though most therapists recommend staying active, yoga may not initially be the best option

Sharp pain that radiates into the extremities, especially when accompanied by symptoms of nerve compression, such as tingling, numbness, weakness and muscle wasting need prior investigation.

Early morning stiffness lasting more than 30 minutes may be a sign of inflammatory arthritis and will be exacerbating by yoga in its active phase

Sometimes, working one-on-one is an option. Sometimes yoga is simply not your besat option. Contact Manuel for advice and get your free assessment before signing up

As a registered osteopath Manuel is qualified to assess your overall health and structural status and give you the go ahead to join the online yoga or offer you alternatives

The assessment follows a protocol of

• current and past medical history
• ranges of motion of all major body segments
• functional tests for primary movement patterning
• Sometimes ancillary tests are needed to complete the assessment. Where these cannot be carried out online Manuel will refer you with a letter to your GP or other suitably qualified qualified practitioner

Assessment is done live online and is free of charge

Stress is one of the top predictors for injury

Perceiving something as stressful stimulates a flight-flight cascade to up-regulate your blood pressure, inflammation, pain sensitivity and many other vital functions

A healthy response is for your body to return to a baseline of rest and repair

Persistent arousal maintains inflammation with consequences ranging from blood vessel damage to tissue injury, anxiety and fatigue

Yoga activates natural anti-stress responses via the vagus nerve and other pthways to reduce arousal, calm anxiety to let your body rest, reset and repair

If you're fit and healthy and want to stay that way, join a small group class. With x6 max participants, groups classes offer you the best in working with others while getting max. individual support

Group classes are a great way to improve you fitness and mobility, and reduce stress and stress-related issues such as elevated blood pressure.

Pain, on the other hand, requires a thorough history, assessment and diagnosis for a targeted treatment plan that respects your symptoms and supports healing and repair

Pain from injury, such as a sports' injury, fall or strain requires a careful approach to support tissue healing. While working with pain does don preclude joining a group class, it is sometimes advisable to begin one-to-one

Chronic pain is pain which persists after an initial injury has resolved, or where no obvious cause can be found. If you have been diagnosed with this type of pain, it is usually safe to practice in small groups

You can discuss your best options with Manuel during your initial assessment