I received the following note from Chris Mazzara wherein he describes how practicing yoga has helped him get rid of stiffness and pain in the back. He has been practicing yoga regularly for a few months now. Feel free to share your own experience with yoga practice in the comments section below.
[From Chris Mazzara]
I injured my lower back decades ago while changing a tire and thereafter continually threw my back out in various ways: by bending too long to harvest green beans in my garden, by picking up boxes from the floor, by sitting at my computer too long, even by standing at a certain angle over the bathroom sink to brush my teeth or shave. During these episodes it was excruciating to pull on a pair of underwear or socks or to tie my shoes. I briefly obtained relief, but only temporarily, from a chiropractor and a physical therapist. For years I have gotten out of bed in the morning with pain and stiffness in my lower back. Still only in my early sixties, I was all but resigned to live with pain and stiffness as my companions in retirement.
Then in February 2025 I decided to try yoga and contacted Subhash, with whom my wife had done multi-week intensives. Subhash suggested that we meet one on one a few times so he could see exactly where and how I hurt and what asanas I might attempt to relieve the pain without harming myself. He was always patient, kind, and observant, careful to correct me without making me feel self-conscious and careful also to remind me to pay attention to what my body told me whenever I tried something new. Yoga, Subhash emphasized, should not hurt. I particularly recall, among the asanas I learned at the outset, that the first time I did cat-and-cow I nearly cried, it felt so good, and that half-spinal twists opened a door to relief that I had not known of.
In March I joined Subhash’s weekly unlimited class. Typically I attend class twice a week and practice by myself on two other days. The classes, which center on one part of the body or another (knees, hips, back, etc.), depending on what the attendees say when Subhash asks what they want to focus on, are rigorous for me, but I always feel the better for having taken part in them.
One morning in early May, I got out of bed, made my way to the bathroom, and suddenly realized that, for the first time since I could remember, I felt no pain or stiffness in my back at all. It was gone. And it has stayed gone.
For me, the benefits of yoga with Subhash have been miraculous.
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