The 5 R’s of yoga therapy
1. 1.Resolve.
2.Realign.
3.Restore.
4.Retrain.
5. Regenerate
1.
1. RESOLVE-
The first step is to resolve the health
crisis and take care of the immediate danger of patient suffering from tissue damage.
Resolving the crisis may require rest,
medicine, some surgical procedure, depending on the severity and nature of the disease.
If one begins yoga asanas while the crisis
is still acute, one may do more harm
than good.
e.
g. an acute muscle spasm will require rest and muscle relaxants
-an acute coronary will require hospital admission and investigation and
treatment which will be life-saving.
- an acute lumbago/ disc herniation will require rest, medication and stationary
postures.
2. REALIGN-
Once the crisis
is over, then is the time to begin gentle yoga stretches or therapy to realign the
distorted anatomy.
E. g. for the lower back or neck it would mean postures to
bring about symmetry of the spine.
-for the knees it
would mean correction of deformities like varus, or hamstring and calf muscle
releases, knee stabilisation, etc.
- for the heart and respiratory disorders it would mean
chest-expanding and restorative postures.
3. RESTORE-
-the realignment of body structure will help
to restore the function to near normal .
Pain, tingling numbness, sciatica, movement restriction in
case of arthritis will gradually reduce, making it easy for the patient to perform
his activities of daily living (ADL) to the minimum at least.
4. RETRAIN-
All through the therapy
, the brain registers and records the different
movements and positions the body experiences. Newer neural connections are
formed and there is development of a better- aligned and aware postural stance.
5. REGENERATE-
After postural correction, alignment and restoration of
function and sufficient training in body awareness, the newer muscle
fibres will be generated with the
conditioning for a better structure and function.
