How a bit of yoga can help with a big health problem — chronic pain | Rachael West | TEDxBunbury

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Published 2017-08-21
1 in 5 Australians have persistent pain, which means it affects you or someone you love. Yoga can help, but not in the way you'd think.

Rachael left a promising engineering career due to chronic pain and ended up running away to the circus. It was there Rachael realised there had to be a better way to help people with persistent pain.

She studied a degree in Yogic Education at the University of Lille and returned to Australia to establish Finding Yoga. Rachael is now bringing her unique approach to health care to Australian communities.

Health professionals and yoga teachers nationally come to Rachael to train in Yoga for Pain. From Gippsland Victoria to Bunbury Western Australia, Finding Yoga's programs are changing the way we think about health.

Rachael also has a degree in civil engineering and in 2016 spoke at the 36th Annual Pain Scientific Meeting about the role of yoga in pain management.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

All Comments (21)
  • Ahimsa also to not hurt any sentient beings, including all animals. Your pain was probably caused by inflammation caused by something you were eating. Ahimsa, in some minds means you don't use animal products. 100% plant based diets will relieve pain and inflammation. Yoga will change your mindset to be in a much better place. This happened to me, I'm plant based and do about 6 hours of yoga and meditate every day. It's a life changer. Great presentation.
  • @anomar2815
    I am so convinced with the diagram-The Yoga Sutrars-The branches-were very clearly named!! I was so happy to hear the benifits that yoga could do for us. I understood that from her short but yet super explanation. The beauty was she is a living proof from that yoga. Thanks for sharing. Love it. I have decided to pay more respect & love for my yoga after listening to her talk👏❤️😊🙋‍♀️
  • @Blockeryoga
    Yes! Thanks sharing this useful information and creating a helpful program. Great work :)
  • Love it it has helped me with hashimoto I feel better when I practice yoga and meditation 🧘‍♂️
  • This is fantastic. In the content and the presentation what was unremarkable (and so, remarkable) was the 'ease' which which this was presented, the proposition could be accepted, and the benefits gained for all those that participate. It' like here is a multi-billion dollar national and global challenge, and personal, lived, unwanted experience for so many, and we don't need it. Rather than some grand plan, massive shift or separate or distant proposition, this talk made it seem like the possibility is already present in this moment, just needing a slight adjustment...and there's already a familiar modality (yoga) that many of us do, just need to practise more deeply and apply more a little broadly - easy! This brings to mind something someone wise responded once, when asked Q: "What do we need to know, that we didn’t hear, before we began, that we should have understood?" - A: "everything will change and and that will feel (and be) normal". How 'everything could change' and the experience be ease-y was what this presentation demonstrated and invited. If this (not my comments, but what was presented) is an idea that's here already, just not well understood, embodied or widely distributed, then a TEDx talk is the ideal way to spread it.
  • @emmajack3845
    Great talk! I'm grateful for the impact of your teachings on my chronic pain experiences Rachel! It's so wonderful to hear that access to this approach is increasing.
  • @Tauney
    I love yoga and you had me at circus! 💕🎪
  • Yoga and meditation involve long, deep, slow breaths, as well as the coordination of mental concentration with some kind of structured activity, such as yoga poses, breath patterns, chanting or even just focusing your gaze on a specific spot. Shankhpushpi and Brahmi capsules from Planet Ayurveda can be added with proper diet and exercises.
  • @Mltms1444
    Great info. Yet Dr's won't give up their profit for people
  • @yogawithsahil
    From which university did you get yoga degree in France?
  • @Paul-gz5dp
    Problem is that there are too many that think people should feel pain.
  • @Sam-ef3bj
    Hatha Yoga has 84,000 asanas, or postures. Just because something is Yoga, does not mean it is meant for your specific condition. So, you do need to check re injuries and conditions and make sure that the Yoga exercises you are doing do not aggravate a previously existing injury. For example, my chiropractor recommend the cobra for my back problems. But he said directly it was not for everyone. And he said that if I encountered pain, I should stop and not do the cobra. For me, it did not cause pain and helped. But, generally, like that, you do have to have some sense of the relationship between the posture and your very particular medical profile.