The Opioid Crisis, Chronic Pain and Yoga with Kristine Weber
Today on the podcast, we’re talking about chronic pain and yoga with Kristine Weber, the founder of Subtle Yoga. Kristine is a leading world authority on the neuroscientific benefits of slow, mindful movement and an advocate for the use of these practices as a solution to the healthcare crisis.
Episode Details:
Recently, the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control) put out new guidelines for the medical profession about chronic pain and the use of opioids, and they mentioned yoga in their report. I talk to Kristine about how significant it is that yoga was included as a potential intervention in the pain crisis, and how she’s been involved in representing the yoga therapy field in this national discussion.
You’ll hear about chronic pain and yoga (and more):
- Kristine’s practice background and yoga training in India
- the profound benefits of a slow, mindful yoga practice (and how that might not be the same thing as “gentle” or “beginner” yoga)
- what the medical community tends to misunderstand about chronic pain
- what the Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual (BPSS) Model is and how it relates to yoga philosophy and practice
We covered a lot of ground in this fascinating conversation, including the question of whether yoga therapy will one day be covered by health insurance (in the US), and what it will take for government and healthcare institutions to embrace yoga as part of the public health strategy.
Guest Bio:
Kristine Kaoverii Weber, MA, c-IAYT, eRYT500, YACEP has been studying yoga and holistic healing for 33 years, teaching since 1995, and training yoga teachers since 2003. She is a certified yoga therapist, the director of the Subtle® Yoga Teacher Training for Behavioral Health Professionals program at MAHEC in Asheville, NC, and a board member of the Integrative Health Policy Consortium. She specializes in yoga for mental health.
Resources & Links from this episode:
- Kristine’s blog post “Pain, Yoga, and the CDC’s Pickle”
- Article “Yoga and chronic pain have opposite effects on brain gray matter” in Science Daily, including the quote mentioned in the podcast from NIH researcher M. Catherine Bushnell PhD
- Subtle Yoga Community on Facebook
- Subtle Yoga YouTube Channel
To connect further with Kristine, visit her website at https://subtleyoga.com/ or follow her on Instagram at @subtleyoga.
You can also practice pain-friendly mindful movement and meditation classes with me (Addie) in the Moved To Meditate Class Library.
And, I’m on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitty, Mustache).