“THERAPEUTIC YOGA WORKS: A Gentle Approach to Eliminating Back Pain and Improving Functional Mobility for Life.”

By Nydia Tijerina Darby, PT, DPT, CIAYT, ERYT500

I am writing this book to share the gentle approach that I have developed over the last 40 years that considers the whole person– mind, body, and spirit and to share my unique approach to wellness that is influenced by the physical therapy, fitness, and yoga practices that I have learned, led, taught, shared, and embodied over the years.

This book is the first in what I hope will be many future manuscripts that will allow me to reach out to persons who might benefit from an entry-level introduction to the gentle, breath-centered, mindful awareness practices that I have developed over the past 40 years. In that time, I developed the Therapeutic Astanga Method © , which is the approach that I have been offering my clients and students over the years to empower them towards living an independent and functional therapeutic yoga lifestyle for the long-term.

I am writing this book to introduce to the layperson, a gentle approach to this method of therapeutic yoga that is directed to those who may be suffering from low back pain, spasm and, or instability. It is not a technical book. I have developed it as more of a story with dialogue. I am sharing the experience of private therapeutic yoga sessions that were inspired by a client that I had the privilege of working with over 25 years ago. Her episodes of back spasm were so severe—she would be incapacitated for 3 months and barely functioning in that time.

In my role as an integrative physical therapist, I have worked with individuals who were experiencing acute back pain and spasm, as well as a host of other conditions that presented with the clients experience of neuro-muscular and musculo-skeletal challenges. It has always been important to me to work with the ‘whole person’ in my approach to their care. Over the years, I found that offering my services on a private one-to-one basis was the most effective way to accomplish this since the traditional western 3rd party payor system (insurance industry) did not support this approach.

When a client who had a history of these challenges but was not in an active state of pain sought my services, I have been able to offer my expertise in my role as an integrative therapeutic yoga specialist offering private Therapeutic Yoga Assessments and private or semi-private therapeutic yoga instruction. I have been able to continue to serve these clients in follow-up private sessions or direct them to one of my small group therapeutic yoga classes. Some clients continue their therapeutic yoga as a home practice.

I work with the client find the most effective method that supports their specific needs to encourage their adherence to the breath-centered therapeutic yoga fitness and lifestyle programs that we develop together. Each person comes to the practice with individual history, background and needs.

In the manuscript, I share the process of my client’s return to function and independence from pain as she embodies the therapeutic yoga practice that I have developed to meet her specific needs.

I will be sharing the practices with photos and instructions, and am creating a corresponding website that will have video representation and downloadable content of each part of the practice represented within the book so others might consider implementing them into their long-term spine care regimen.

With this book I hope to reach people who are ready to take action to learn how to help reduce their own suffering, who have tried other methods and failed to have long term success and who are eager to improve their long-term wellbeing by incorporating gentle therapeutic yoga lifestyle practices into their self-care regimen.

Many thanks, Nydia