Rachel Krentzman - 19 May

YOGA

FOR A HAPPY BACK

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YOGA

FOR A HAPPY BACK

A Teachers Guide to Spinal Health through Yoga Therapy

RACHEL KRENTZMAN PT, E-RYT

FOREWORD BY AADIL PALKHIVALA

LONDON AND PHILADELPHIA

First published in 2016

by Singing Dragon

an imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publishers

73 Collier Street

London N1 9BE, UK

and

400 Market Street, Suite 400

Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

www.singingdragon.com

Copyright Rachel Krentzman 2016

Foreword copyright Aadil Palkhivala 2016

Photographs copyright Tim Hardy 2016

shotbyhardy.com

Illustrations copyright Lior Hikrey 2016

Front cover image source: Tim Hardy. The cover image is for illustrative purposes only, and any person featuring is a model.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owners written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.

Warning: The doing of an unauthorized act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Names: Krentzman, Rachel.

Title: Yoga for a happy back : a teachers guide to spinal health through

yoga therapy / Rachel Krentzman ; foreword by Aadil Palkhivala.

Description: London ; Philadelphia : Singing Dragon, 2016. | Includes

bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015041437 | ISBN 9781848192713 (alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Back--Care and hygiene--Popular works. | Back

exercises--Popular works. | Backache--Exercise therapy--Popular works. |

Backache--Alternative treatment--Popular works. | Yoga--Therapeutic

use--Popular works.

Classification: LCC RD768 .K74 2016 | DDC 613.7/046--dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015041437

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 84819 271 3

eISBN 978 0 85701 253 1

To my teachers

Of yoga and life Aadil Palkhivala, Aman Keays, and Amy Caldwell

Of persistence and faith Marc Zegans and Anne Marie Welsh

Of family and forgiveness Tova, Adeena, Daniel, and Ariella Krentzman

Of unconditional love my sons, Jake and Noam

Of sanctuary and surrender the ocean and the sea

Contents

Foreword

Dont worry; Ive got your back.

The wall needs strong backing.

When I present my case, will you back me up?

If I cannot teach tonight, will you be my backup?

In our language itself, we use the word back to mean support. We have learned to believe that our back is, indeed, that which reinforces us, that which buttresses us, that which holds us up.

Other phrasesBack in the good old days, or In the back of my mind, I believe, or Before you hire him, do a background check, or Do you have the back issues of the magazine?, or One day you will look back and be glad you did thisremind us that in our language the word back also equates with the past. Our back, therefore, must hold the joy and the sorrow, the strength and the fear, the power and the insecurity of our yesteryears.

Thus our mind believes that back represents both support and the past. So, when I sense the familiarity of being unsupported, when I feel out-of-control or perceive fear, this thought-sense with its entourage of emotions floods my defenseless subconscious mind.

Since no one can show where the mind ends and the body begins, what happens in my mind must be reflected and manifested in my body. What I feel determines how my body responds. If I feel unsupported, unstable, or burdened by the past, my back must show it to me by giving me discomfort and pain.

It is impossible to facilitate true and long-term healing in my body or the body of my students by merely doing some stretching exercises. The mind, the body, and the emotions must all be addressed. Having suffered intense back pain originating from two herniated discs and severe sacroiliac misalignment, I know from personal experience that true healing of the back must be a multi-pronged process. Using asana and specialty traction devices which I designed, I was able to ease my lower back pain, yet it would spring up unashamedly and humiliate me when I was least expecting it! Only after dealing with the entire mindbodyemotionspirit continuum did my intense lower back pain begin to fade into memory. Its the scientific magic of Purna Yoga, which includes Savitris Heartfull Meditation, Philosophy, and Lifestyle. Savitri and I have successfully treated thousands of students with lower back pain. This is why, in the work that Rachel Krentzman presents in this book, you will learn to address more than the mere symptoms in your body. After all, are we not far more than merely flesh and bones?

As a teacher of yoga it is your duty to help your students by addressing them as whole human beings, not solely as a body. As a student of yoga it is to your advantage to find a teacher who has had extensive training in our Purna Yoga system and continues ongoing study; Rachel Krentzman is such a teacher. Be willing to look into your past to understand your current condition. Of course, carefully address your body, since that is where the pain is manifesting itself now. Explore and understand the physiology of your lower back so that you can give your back precise and prudent physical amelioration. Yet, do not ignore your mind or your history. As George Eliot wrote:

Our deeds still travel with us from afar,

And what we have been makes us what we are.