Decompression = Relief!

We all know what a terrific tool yoga is for decompression. The practice allows us to relieve stress and anxiety to reattain mental equilibrium.

bar hanging for pain relief

Hanging from a pull-up bar may just be the pain relief you are looking for!

But…

When you practice advanced asana, sometimes yoga can actually cause compression. On a physical level, that is.

Despite my strongest efforts to be incredibly mindful with my alignments, I have had to deal with shoulder and elbow pain for years. And earlier this year, I started suffering debilitating wrist and biceps pain for the first time, as well. So bad, in fact, that I honestly thought my yoga career might be over. Yes, that bad.

Finally, I told my massage therapist (best masseur ever, by the way!) and he said I was suffering from wrist compression. Something I had never even considered, but upon reflection realize that I have been working my one-handed handstand daily and intensely for many years now and, yes, that was when the pain was the worst.

Here’s what I did. And it worked miracles.

I got a pull-up bar.

This one: https://tinyurl.com/bz4ruc2s (this is NOT a paid or sponsored endorsement of any kind…promise!)

All I did to heal my arm was hang on it between OAH’s. No pull-ups, no strength maneuvers. Just simple hangs from all different handles and rotations. Internal and external arm rotations from the parallel and perpendicular grips. Just 3 – 5 breaths at a time.

Girl Scouts’ honor (even though I was never a Girl Scout, I do have honor), the result was basically immediate! From the very first hang, the pain went away from my wrist, all the way up to my shoulder. These days I feel 100% and honestly and truly stronger than ever before (did you see my 51 poses for my 51st birthday??? 🤸🏻‍♂️)!

Now, even though I no longer feel pain, I do the hangs every day between certain handstands, OAH’s, and even Natarajasanas, simply as a preventative measure. Sometimes preventative medicine is the best medicine.

Get your dose!

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