Yoga Rx: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments by Larry Payne, PhD and Richard Usatine, MD has been on my yoga bookshelf for years. I often refer to it when assisting students with injuries and/or specific health concerns. It is a wealth of useful practical information that is well-organized and easy to reference.

The introduction begins with Payne and Usatine explaining their purpose for writing the book. Yoga changed their lives and they wanted to help others learn how to restore health, relieve pan, and feel better with yoga therapy.

I think everyone who has benefited from yoga feels that way. I know I do.

The book is intended for use as a complement to medical treatment with your physician’s approval, not a substitute for medical care.

Yoga Rx is organized into three parts:

Part 1 – Introduction to Yoga Therapy
Part 2 – Putting Yoga Therapy Into Action
Part 3 – Yoga Therapy for Common Ailments

Part 1 provides useful background information about yoga, it’s benefits, how yoga therapy differs from yoga, and important components of a healthy lifestyle. It also covers “Essentials of an Effective Yoga Therapy Program” – commit to daily practice, link movement with breath, remember function over form, incorporate dynamic and static postures, focus on the spine, slow down the pace, avoid competition, and be faithful to how the poses are sequenced.

Part 2 has 3 chapters that discuss yoga breathing, relaxation and meditation, and includes 2 Core Yoga Routines designed for overall wellness. Core Routine 1 is comprised of 17 basic floor and standing poses. Core Routine 2 builds on Core Routine 2 and includes sun salutations. All poses include photographs, detailed step-by-step instructions for executing the poses, and cautions where appropriate.

Part 3 provides recommended yoga therapy for a host of common ailments organized by body system that include:

-The Musculoskeletal System: Back, Knees, and Arthritis
-The Respiratory System: Allergies, Asthma, Bronchitis, and the Common Cold
-The Circulatory System: High Blood Pressure and Heart Disease
-The Digestive System: Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Heartburn
-The Nervous System: Tension Headaches and Migraines
-For Women Only: Menstrual Cramps, PMS, Menopause
-Mental Health: Anxiety and Depression
-The Endocrine System: Diabetes, Obesity

Each body system has its own chapter and includes a brief review of how the body system works and specific poses for each given condition.

I like that Yoga Rx is designed to be user friendly. It’s written in plain English without a lot of medical jargon or Sanskrit (the ancient language of yoga).

If you are looking to improve your health with yoga this is a very useful resource to get you started.

Highly Recommended

Yoga RX: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments