Is yoga good if YOU
have an herniated disc?

As a yoga teacher, this is a question I get asked many, many times...

"Is yoga good or bad for people who have herniated disc issues?"

The simple answer is...

If you do your yoga poses in the way that is right for you... the answer is "Yoga is good".

In real life, this isn't often the case.

Why?

In this page I want to give you a better, more complete and useful answer. 

In order to do that, we need to have clear and common understanding of yoga.

Let's start with "what is yoga".

What is Yoga?
And why is it important to know if you have herniated disc issues?

Yoga literally means "union".

In fact yoga is everything that brings you more awareness and contact between your body and your mind.

This is important in your life general but becomes TOTALLY important if you have herniated discs.

If you have herniation issues, it is KEY for you to be in charge of your body.

It's not a phylosophical concept, but a very practical one.

If you are aware of your body, you avoid the movements that can flare up the pain end/or make the situation worse, pushing the herniation further out.

In fact, in yoga, your focus should always be to observe yourself while you practice your poses, no matter what style you practice.

Observe what you have and what you need in order to make the poses.

And work on your shortcomings, toward a more balanced body.

A balanced body.

Some people think the goal of yoga is to become super flexible, or do stretching or taking the body to the end of its range of motion. 

But this is a total misunderstanding of yoga.

In fact, the physical goal of yoga is to balance the body. 

Balance between stretching and strengthening, stability and mobility, right and left, front and back and so on…

The yoga poses serve this goal: to help you feel when you are not balanced, or where in your body you miss something and what you miss.

Awareness. This is yoga.

Become aware of what we need and work toward it, while developing more and more control on your body.

And now that we have clarified what yoga is...

We can agree that yoga – done with the right purpose of awareness and balance –  is necessarily good for everyone.

And even more for those who suffer some imbalance or physical problem. 

But...

Most yoga classes can be harmful if you have herniated disc issues.
Here is why.

Most yoga classes are made for healthy people, without relevant issues, to maintain and improve their abilities. 

If you have an herniated disc or other physical problem, you should NOT attend a general yoga (or fitness) class.

In fact, there are some specific movements that people with herniated disc issues should absolutely avoid.

They are called the "BLT" and poses that include them are very common in yoga.

If you do these movements, you seriously risk to hurt yourself and make your lumbar disc problem worse.

And you also should avoid "yoga for back pain"!

This type of yoga is thought for people who has tight lumbar muscles. And this is not your problem with herniated disc issues.

Actually this kind of yoga will probably push the herniation even forward!

That is why you can get hurt in a regular yoga class.

And possibly even more today following online classes in your home, without the support of a teacher.

If you have have physical issues, you should know how to modify your yoga practice (or any workout) in order to avoid movements and poses that increase the damage to an herniated disc (and the pain).

But... are you able to do that?

Probably 99,9% of people aren't.

On the other hand, there are exercises that you should absolutely do.

Because they are key to help you manage your injury and pain and make life with an herniated disc much better.

But you rarely do them in normal life.

Again, it's a matter of body awareness:

• understand the things that make your herniated disc issues worse or better
• be able to control your body so you use it in the right way.

So... what is the solution?

A quick recap:

• In theory, yoga could be very useful, even precious for your herniated disc issues

• In fact, there are specific yoga poses that can make your life with an herniated disc much better

• In practice, standard yoga classes can be very harmful for you and make your problem worse

• In fact, there are specific yoga poses that make your problem and your pain worse (and avoid "yoga for back pain": it is wrong for you)

The solution is to do yoga in a way that is thought for people with herniated disc issues.

Yoga that avoids the poses and the movements that make your herniation worse.

Yoga that contains other poses and movements that help you contain your herniation and strengthen your core.

A special yoga class for people with herniated discs.

As a yoga teacher with herniated discs issues myself, this is what I have created.

But who am I and why you should listen to what I say?

A yoga teacher who modified her personal yoga to deal with her herniated disc issues

My name is Daniela Novati and I am a yoga teacher who lived, practiced and taught yoga with 4 herniated lumbar discs.

In fact, I lived for about 2 years with this problem.

My biggest herniation was so painful that I couldn't sleep more than 2 hours straight at night. And I needed a good hour in the morning to be able to walk (almost) normally.

But I was much luckier than many with the same problem. Maybe even you.

Because with my experience of teaching yoga I could understand how yoga poses worked with an herniated disc issue.

What I should avoid and what I should do.

How to modify poses and movements to get the benefits of yoga without the problems.

And not only yoga.

I studied other techniques made for people with herniated disc and back pain issues like Eldoa, McKenzie and McGills.

The result was an effective, "modified" yoga practice for people with herniated disc issues.

A yoga practice that not only avoided all the dangers of regular yoga, but also really helped me to live my life better, with my herniated disc.

I fought for one year to resolve my biggest herniation that was an 1" x 0.5" protrusion on L5-S1 without surgery.

But the protrusion was too big and I had to do the surgery.

However, being able to practice my "modified" yoga before the surgery made my life much, much better.

I could keep doing yoga. And even teaching it.

And, after the surgery, practicing my modified yoga helped me immensely to shorten the recovery.

I was able to get back to teach yoga again (and have a normal life) in about 3 months.

You know, I believe this: when you have a problem and you have or develop the skills to fix it, it's a gift.

And you have to help others with this gift.

My herniated disc was a big problem in my life.

But I had the skills to fix it. I had an understanding of the body and I had knowledge of yoga poses.

So I combined the two to create a modified yoga class for people with herniated disc problems.

A yoga practice with the right modification for your yoga poses that will 

• help you live better with your problem
• avoid to make your herniation worse

I called my special yoga class Lumbar Yoga.

This because it's focused for people (like me) with a lumbar herniated disc issue.

On the other hand, most people suffer from this type of herniation. Probably is also your problem.

I started teaching this class online during the pandemic of 2020. And it really worked for others like it worked for me.

Now the question is: will Lumbar Yoga work for you?

Try Lumbar Yoga for FREE.

Here is how (and why).

There are a few more things I would like to tell you about Lumbar Yoga...

• What the "BLT" movements are and how to avoid them in your life
• Why exercises "for back pain" are harmful for herniated disc issues
• What is Lumbar Yoga, how it works how you can do it

And a few other things that I like to share...

But I think they only way to see HOW Lumbar Yoga can help you is to do it.

That is why can do a Lumbar Yoga class totally FREE.

How can you try Lumbar Yoga?

Just write your email in the form below and press the button.

I will send you in your email all the info about YOUR FREE Lumbar Yoga class.

Plus, some info that can answer many questions you probably have.

I am looking forward to seeing you in the next Lumbar Yoga class.

You have zero risk and it can change your life, I promise.