40 Relieving Chronic Pain Through Natural Means with Jennifer Houghton and Ashley James on the Learn True Health Podcast

Jennifer has helped those in chronic pain experience relief through breath work techniques!  She has even helped those who suffer from MS pain by teaching them these techniques.

Jennifer Houghton specializes in yoga for people over 50 years old. Many of her clients are coming to yoga for the first time at midlife seeking ways to deal with pain from arthritis, fibromyalgia, surgery, injury, sciatica, and degenerative conditions.

"As a yoga teacher, I specialize in helping people find relief from pain using a unique breathing technique. I put the technique to the test myself last year when I broke a rib and managed to become so relaxed that I fell asleep within minutes!"

Because of their chronic pain they are no longer able to enjoy life - they can't be active anymore, their sleep is affected, they suffer from the side-effects of pain medication, their relationships are affected, they worry about who will take care of them as they get older.

Breath work is a tool that anyone can use to take control of pain, even if their mobility is limited. Jennifer shares that she loves being able to help people take control of their lives again.

• Most people do not breathe to their full capacity and don't realize this can add to stress and pain levels. Simply learning to breathe the way we were meant to reduce stress and pain levels.

• When people suffer from chronic pain, the 'stress response' aka the fight-or-flight response persists in the body. This causes the nervous system to stay wound up. The nervous system becomes hypersensitive and creates more pain sensations than are necessary. We can take control of the fight-or-flight response by moving from doing shallow, chest breathing into deep slow breathing.

The breath is the one aspect of the fight-or-flight response we have control over. Deep slow breathing sends this message to the nervous system:

• slow the heart rate
• stop producing pain and stress hormones
• start producing relaxation hormones (which block pain hormones)
• relax the muscles
• start digesting
• divert blood and resources back to the immune system, reproductive system, internal organs

Breath work can have a powerful effect not only on stress levels but on pain levels. When chronic pain is present, the nervous system learns to detect smaller problems and send more than normal pain signals back to the brain. With persistent pain, the nerves can act as if normal sensations, like touch, are dangerous. Deep breathing counteracts these responses.

So, although it is not a cure for chronic pain, deep breathing impacts the nervous system and can take the edge off the pain and make life livable again.

Deep breathing also strengthens the diaphragm muscle. Studies have found that people with weak diaphragm muscles are at greater risk of developing back pain and may develop neck and shoulder pain too.

1) the breath is a tool we can use to reduce stress and pain levels - when we recognize the ways we are not breathing to our full capacity, e.g. shallow chest breathing, mouth breathing, fast breathing, only using limited parts of our torsos - we can re-establish our natural ability to breathe deeply

2) strengthening the diaphragm through deep breathing can help reduce back, neck, and shoulder pain

3) doing a 10-minute breathing practice daily is all it takes to make deep breathing a habit and can make a significant impact over time to stress and pain levels

Jennifer leads listeners through a 6-minute breath practice. You will become instantly relaxed and may experience less pain as a result.

Resources:
To order high-quality supplements:
http://takeyoursupplements.com/

Website: http://www.bountifulyogaandwellness.com/

Jennifer's Online Courses:
1) The Release Method: Breathe Your Way to Pain Relief - http://www.bountifulyogaandwellness.com/the-release-method-pain-relief/

2) The Posture Project: Build a Better Back - http://www.bountifulyogaandwellness.com/the-posture-project/

BOOK: The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice by T.K.V. Desikachar: http://amzn.to/24I43Q9