Jody Ryan of Stittsville is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance since 2011, a Certified Pain Care Yoga teacher, and currently a student of yoga therapy in a certified two-year program with an international association of yoga therapy (IAYT) recognized school. Jody has brought her expertise to Stittsville and wants to help you deal with chronic pain through her introduction of ‘Pain Care Yoga’.
“Nine to ten years ago when in my late-40’s, I was looking for a long-term health program” said Jody. She “enrolled as a yoga student and I have been teaching yoga regularly since 2011”. With more and more people experiencing the problem of how to manage chronic pain, many turn to medications or surgery or decreased movement. Jody realized there was a need to help these people. In 2015, she began studying chronic pain issues and enrolling in various therapeutic yoga courses. Jody wanted to learn the current pain science and how yoga and yoga therapy might help.
She enrolled in a training course with a British Columbia (B.C.) physiotherapist, yoga therapist, and assistant clinical professor at UBC. He has been a consultant with doctors of B.C. since 2013, working to develop and implement clinical pain management continuing education and was the founding Chair of the Canadian Physiotherapy Pain Science Division. Through this, her instructor works in collaboration teaching health care professionals and their patients how to better manage and provide pain care. Jody received her certification recently in Pain Care Yoga and therefore wishes to bring this to the community.
There are two important components in the management of chronic pain – Education and Movement. Most people think of yoga as a, perhaps, painful exercise regime. Pain Care Yoga does not give you pain, it decreases pain and helps you to move with more ease. In yoga, you learn to “pay attention to your body” said Jody. Her classes provide slow and gentle movements, with a chair being utilized at times. This allows the student to be aware of their movements, breathing patterns and muscle tension. With Pain Care Yoga you will gain a sense of safety and learn how to listen in to your body’s sensations and signals, before they become loud and painful. As social and psychological factors may add to the experience of pain, the evidence has shown that the calming influence of yoga can help regulate stress and its effects to the nervous system, and therefore relieve pain symptoms.
Jody is the only yoga instructor in Ottawa to deliver Pain Care Yoga. There are only a total of three in all of Ontario. If you are interested in learning more about this type of pain management, Jody is offering classes at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church at 2 Mulkins Street, Stittsville. You can attend six sessions every Tuesday or six sessions every Thursday starting on April 16 or April 18 depending on which day works for you. The sessions take place from 10:00 am – 11:00 am.
To discover more and also register for these classes you can visit Jody’s web site – https://yogatoolsforlife.com/.