By Barbara (Bharati) Badia

Interviewed by Matrikaa (Matrikaa) Gast, Yogaratna

As an 84-year-old retired RN, I’ve been diagnosed with extreme sciatica and spinal stenosis as well as three bulging discs.

Physical therapy helped some.  Chiropractic treatments with magnetic cell stimulation gave me more pain relief.  But after a pacemaker implant to regulate heart rhythms, I’m no longer a candidate for this treatment.

Finding Svaroopa^® yoga a decade ago, I’ve been able to manage back pain very effectively. I’ve found that Svaroopa^® yoga is so important to do when you are older! 

Yet a couple of months ago, my hamstring muscles were cramping all the way into my ankles. I couldn’t stand up straight.  Walking any distance was impossible. So I turned to Ashram offerings and have experienced a series of sweet miracles!

In late winter, I took Swami Shrutananda’s “Freedom from Pain” Sutra Studies. In this online Enlightenment Studies series, she teaches sutras explaining that it’s the mind that causes most of the problem. 

If we can look at the sensation of pain differently, we can let go of identification with it.  Letting go of identification with pain diminishes it. Using the word “sensation” instead of “my pain” shifts the severity to a tolerable feeling.

Next, I enrolled in the online Therapeutic Yoga Series.  For six weeks, I took part in a three-student group therapeutics class that met twice weekly online.  Our Svaroopa^® Yoga Therapist, Cayla (Mangala) Allen, has an exemplary knowledge and understanding of anatomy and what happens in Svaroopa^® yoga poses. As a nurse, I greatly appreciated the way she explained spinal decompression with such clarity.  

Mangala vividly delineated how Svaroopa^® yoga pose angles target spinal compression to release the deep tensions in spinal muscles.  Her knowledge of how superficial abdominal muscles affect the psoas gave me a clear mental picture.  This increases my trust in the Svaroopa^® yoga practices, which supports my consistency in doing the poses daily. 

In the class, Mangala coached us to “lean into your bones, soften and allow the release of tensions.”  Now I remind myself of this process when doing my Svaroopa^® yoga poses for pain relief. All Svaroopa^® yoga practices move us into and through this process of spinal decompression. 

As the course description promised, I’ve learned how to take care of myself in quick, yet profound ways.  My severe pain has gone away. This is truly a miracle. With confidence, I can say the Svaroopa^® yoga decompression of the spine is miraculous.  Now I know I must do these spinal release poses consistently.

I am also practicing Ujjayi Pranayama more consistently with greater focus.  Thus, I have an increased flow of prana, the energy of aliveness.  This has caused another shift: my appetite for indulging in TV news has decreased.

Instead, I chant with one of Gurudevi’s recordings or listen to one of her talks. I do this especially in the evening before going to bed, and it has made a wonderful difference.  My miracle includes reinforcement of a spiritual perspective.  Even when difficult things come, if we look closely enough, often we can find the gift in them.