Scott Anderson, Ph.D.

The old Johnnie Taylor song reminded us that where there's smoke, there's fire . In the human body, where there's pain, there's inflammation. In teaching therapeutic yoga, I rarely find pain without accompanying inflammation. Inflammation is the body's response to irritants. In some cases the irritant may be faulty biomechanics, while in other cases the cause may be mental stress. In both cases, Yoga is a powerful ally in healing. Quite often, however, yoga breathing and postures alone do not root out the cause of the inflammation. Without getting to the cause, the benefits of Yoga are often short-lived. As mentioned in Part 1, inappropriate food choices are a common cause of inflammation. Food choices that are clearly detrimental to health include too many refined foods, lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, or excess consumption of fried foods. Quite often, however, the food choices responsible for chronic inflammation are not as obvious. Frequently we'll find

In my work as a Yoga Therapist, I’m fortunate to meet many interesting people. Some of them come in search of the inner rewards that Yoga can provide, though the vast majority are drawn to Yoga as a means to relieve their body’s pain. It’s gratifying work, and I find many people find the Yogic path so interesting that they stick around long after they’ve eliminated their pain. When taking information during the intake session with new students, I’ve found a couple questions integral to a rewarding outcome: is there a history of ankle/foot injury or abdominal surgery? Both of these experiences, particularly when occurring in childhood, alter the body’s movement patterns in ways that often reveal as pain or injury in the second half of life. Depending on the student’s history, I’ll teach them a handful of techniques that will help resolve their imbalances. These techniques may focus on postural-imbalances or breathing disturbances – usually it’s a combination of the two that yields rewa