This One Yoga Asana And Its Variations Can Help You Deal With Sciatica Pain

From thehealthsite.com 

Practising the Pigeon Pose and its variations using a chair can help relieve the pain and manage its symptoms. Find out what all you can do

Sciatica refers to pain, a feeling of numbness and weakness, or tingling in the leg. It is said to be a symptom of a medical problem and not a medical condition in itself. Sciatica can be caused when there is an injury or pressure on the sciatic nerve. Dr Priyank Gupta, a senior consultant joint replacement surgeon at HCG Hospitals, Ahmedabad, had previously told TheHealthsite.com that one of the primary causes of sciatica is a herniated disc -- the soft inner material of a spinal disc supposedly 'leaks out' and irritates the nearby nerve roots. Additionally, it could also be due to spinal stenosis, where there is a narrowing of the spinal canal that puts pressure on the nerves. As such, can yoga offer relief?

According to celebrity yoga and holistic wellness expert Anshuka Parwani -- who keeps sharing doable and easy yoga videos on her social media platform -- sciatica pain originates in the spine and radiates down the back of the leg, along the path of the sciatic nerve. "It affects only one side of the body and can significantly impact your daily activities and quality of life," she said.

The expert took to Instagram to share a series of asanas that can be done with a chair, in order to find relief from sciatica pain. She did mention that while 'various therapies and medications' are suggested as a 'course of treatment', yoga offers a 'holistic approach' to managing and alleviating the pain and discomfort associated with sciatica.

Pigeon Pose And Its Variations

Parwani explained that practising the Pigeon Pose and its variations using a chair can help relieve the pain and manage its symptoms. It benefits include:

• It targets hip flexors and improves the range of motion in the hips.
• It corrects the spinal alignment.
• It strengthens the muscles in the lower vertebrae and legs.
• It improves flexibility in the muscles and tissues around the sciatica nerve.
• It improves blood circulation around the compressed nerve.

The Asanas

Here's how you can do the easy asanas:

1. First take a chair and do the Elevated Pigeon pose. In this, you have to fold one of your legs and place it on the chair as demonstrated in the video. Make sure that the other one is stretched out. Stay in this position for a bit. Balance your leg on the chair. Your lower back and hip muscles are essentially in the air, and your spine is straight.
2. The second asana is a Seated Pigeon Fold pose. Sit on the chair normally and then bring one leg up. Fold it at the knee and place the foot on the other leg's thigh. Now bend forward and touch the floor with your hands to stretch your spine and lower back.
3. The third asana is a Seated Pigeon Hug pose. Sit on the chair and fold one of your legs. Place it on the other leg's thigh and bring that leg up, too, to hug them both, as demonstrated by the expert in the video (link is below).

Practise these asanas daily to notice the difference.

https://www.thehealthsite.com/yoga/this-one-yoga-asana-and-its-variations-can-help-you-deal-with-sciatica-pain-1101223/