Many folks go to their first yoga class in hopes of increasing flexibility, mindfulness, and reducing stress. What a lot of people don’t realize is that yoga is also a helpful tool to naturally relieve pain. While yoga obviously isn’t a substitute for a doctor’s care and prescribed medication for chronic pain, yoga may help alleviate the symptoms of several chronic pain conditions (i.e., low back pain, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia).

Let’s take a look at the powerful ways yoga can be used to fight pain:

1. Yoga for low back pain
Low back pain is a common problem for many, especially in a world where many of us are stuck sitting at a desk for hours a day. The good news is that yoga can help with this by strengthening your core, increasing your flexibility, and improving your posture. It should be noted that these exercises are most often used to treat common aches and pains, not pain resulting from a serious back injury. This isn’t to say that yoga can’t help with an injury situation, it’s just that it will likely be one of many options that can be used to alleviate the chronic pain of an injury due to repetitive stress or an accident.

2. Yoga for arthritis
Arthritis is a terribly debilitating condition that can make everyday tasks difficult. While there are a lots of medical treatments for this affliction, many overlook the fact that yoga can help too. This is because osteoarthritis affects the joints, and yoga by its very nature involves specific joint movement. Once again, increasing your flexibility can be a big help in alleviating the pain, but also the fact that yoga can relieve stress and tension that can play a part in the pain of arthritis. On top of this, yoga for arthritis can help to stabilize your sleep pattern as well, something else that can help reduce joint pain by allowing them to get the rest they need though a good night’s sleep.

3. Yoga for managing fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a terrible disease that can cause a wide variety of symptoms such as chronic fatigue, sleep problems, memory issues, and of course, muscles and joint pain. Yoga for managing fibromyalgia is a great way to help relieve some of this pain, and make the condition more tolerable. In fact, scientific studies have shown that yoga can produce a medium to high reduction in the pain associated with this condition in addition to helping with sleep and mood problems.

4. Yoga for knee pain
Knee injuries can be some of the most debilitating injuries around thanks to the fact that they can significantly impair your movement. Fortunately yoga is great for dealing with chronic knee pain, and helping you to prevent further injury. That said, there are certain rules to abide by when using yoga for knee pain, such as not bending certain ways that place too much weight on your knees. In any case, it is always best to check with your doctor before using yoga for knee pain, just to make sure it’s right for you.