Namaste: Chiropractic and Yoga

In the past 15 years, the popularity of yoga has increased dramatically. While women have long been active in the practice of yoga, its appeal has drawn many more men into the fold as well. People are discovering the amazing health benefits that this ancient practice can provide. In addition to stretching the bodies muscles, tendons, and ligaments, yoga has also been shown to lower blood pressure and stress, and increase flexibility and stamina. It can also help heal injuries and certain health ailments. This is where we can see an amazing connection to chiropractic! 

As we know from previous blogs, chiropractic is intended to align the spine and make sure that the nervous system is functioning at its utmost potential. Chiropractic also can help with neck, spine and extremity pain and stiffness. Combining yoga with chiropractic increases the effectiveness of the adjustment, as the soft tissue (muscles, ligaments, and tendons) is being stretched and made more flexible. This allows for an easier, more gentle adjustment. 

To speak on a deeper, more spiritual level, chiropractic and yoga both work to “connect the mind and the body”. They do this in different ways, but their union is perfect. Yoga focuses on strength, balance, and flexibility, which promote all those health benefits talked about earlier. The meditation aspect of yoga helps connect the mind and body and free one of stresses and physical restrictions. In chiropractic, the goal is to allow your mind to better communicate with your body by removing interference from the nervous system. By doing this, you are allowing your muscular and skeletal system to function at a higher level. The similarities are very obvious to see between the ancient practice of yoga and the more recent healthcare development of chiropractic. Incorporating these two amazing practices will greatly speed up healing time and make for a much healthier patient, both physically and mentally.