My CT scan report, dated three days ago, concluded the following:
“At L4-L5 there is a broad-based posterior disc protrusion centered in the right paracentral region resulting in mild spinal canal stenosis and effacement of the right subarticular recess with probable compression of the descending right L5 nerve root. There is mild right-sided neural foraminal narrowing and minimal right facet arthropathy.”

This sounds pretty ominous. But strangely, these are common findings on spinal investigations for a guy in his early 50’s. Some people even have these findings without any pain or disability. If we summarize this paragraph, it simply states, “it looks to be a disc bulging out against a nerve”.

Generally, this is good news. Really! (more…)

Pain makes some decisions difficult. Choosing how much activity to do in the face of pain adds to the stress. It can feel impossible to predict how much we will be able to move next week or how much we will pay for completing an activity. Many of my patients have told me “pain is a moving target”, “the link between pain and movement can be unpredictable”, and “I hope for the best, and have a plan for the worst”.

Yet decisions are necessary.

Five weeks ago, my lower back pain flared up. There was no incident, no twist, and no lift that started this most recent recurrence of a 25-year-old problem. The day before the pain came back, I was feeling stronger than I had in many, many years. I felt really strong! But the next morning my lower back pain returned, and by the end of the day it took over most of my right upper leg. Besides managing the pain, my first thoughts included ‘how am I going to get this better in time to complete my first Iron Man triathlon in six weeks?’ (more…)

One of the most informative sessions, for me, at the 2012 Canadian Pain Conference was a session on acute pain care for children. A number of doctors offered research evidence and experiences about how children with acute injuries are provided pain medications. Like many people in the audience, I was shocked to hear that the average time a child in an emergency room waits before receiving pain medications is two hours. Additionally, there are questions about whether the pain medication actually provides adequate pain relief for the children. This is extremely important because:

• Receiving adequate pain relief is a human right (according to the Declaration of Montreal).
• Uncontrolled pain experiences may be predictive of future chronic pain conditions.

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This is the last event I attend at the Tadasana Festival in Santa Monica. It is called “Universal Kabbalah”, and was featured in the “Daily Love Lounge Speaker” Series. Madonna is supposedly an avid devotee of Kabbalah. Unfortunately I arrive late, so I miss the first ten minutes. (I was trying out a circular hanging bed, which was so inviting, that I kind of lost track of time. It was like lying on a suspended flying saucer). Two speakers are leading the entire room in a breathing exercise that is meant to relax and then invigorate you. Then they explain the concept of Kabbalah, but only scratch the surface. There is so much to learn. It is a religion and a belief system tied into how the number seven is connected to everything in the universe. There are seven days in the week, (more…)

Miss the Live Session? The Energy is Still Transmitting!

My own meditation and energy work teacher said to me during one of my first meditation classes, “I don’t know if you know it, but you run a LOT of Kundalini energy. It’s probably hard for a lot of people to keep up with you.” That was about six years ago. I had no idea what that meant at the time, and as goes Kundalini, I’m still a beginner at understanding this particular type of energy, even if it was organically streaming through me long before I had a name for it. So when I saw the session by Steven Sadleir, Kundalini Master, I made a beeline for it in hopes of learning more. I wasn’t disappointed.

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The whole team here at YogaHub has been consistently kept on our toes.

We began the year building the 1st Virtual World Yoga Conference in 93 days. Yes, that was quite the whirlwind. Then we had to spend time in post-production, rebalancing ourselves from all the wonderful but swift flow. (more…)

If there was a person on earth who had never before encountered the wind, what words would you use to describe it? Could any terms fully explain what it feels like to stand atop a mountain while mighty gusts try to blow you off balance? Would words do justice to galloping through a field on your horse while the wind whipped at your torso? Or sticking your hand out the window of a traveling car to feel the incredible force pushing at your arm? (more…)

Today I’m in pain – a not inconsiderable amount of pain. And I blame yoga. Possibly soccer, but mainly yoga.

This week at Sunday night yin class, our instructor felt the need to focus on the upper leg and hip region. Despite it being slow, calm yoga, I found it intense. I was shaking and twitching embarrassingly with every pose. But – and here’s the part where I quote something trite about clouds and silver linings – I learned something out of the deal: I’m not flexible. Not at all. (more…)

In one of my recent blogs, I mentioned my frustration at having a new yoga instructor who just wasn’t doing it for me.

Well, yesterday evening I dragged myself to the recreation centre for my next class with her. I really wasn’t in the mood to go as I’d been so put off the last time, but I decided to give her another try. Maybe she’d been having an “off” day – we all have them sometimes. (more…)

Remember how we recently talked about how certain churches and schools will not allow yoga to be taught in their centers because they believe that yoga has certain spiritual aspects that contradict their religious practices?

Well, that issue is causing an ongoing debate in Malaysia, where clerics are discussing whether Muslims should be allowed to practice yoga. (more…)