I'm sure if I wrote that yoga will cure whatever ails you, some medical association would come and shut down my blog (and, as much as I love yoga and believe in its healing power, this just ain't so). SO, while I won't tell you that yoga is a panacea for all physical and emotional conditions, but I will tell you that it's an excellent complementary therapy. The days of seeing yoga as a simple stress reliever are over. Yoga can help with pain relief for a variety of physical conditions; it can keep a diseased body moving and flexible; it can quell emotional and psychological disorders. The list goes on an on.

Here's a handy yoga as medicine bookshelf (which is by no means all-inclusive -- I'm just hitting on the highlights and some of my favorite resources) to guide you through employing yoga as a complementary therapy:

General Wellness

These books cover a variety of issues/ailments including insomnia, infertility, MS, back pain, and chronic fatigue. These books cover the gamut of emotional, physical, and psychological afflictions.

• Yoga for Wellness
• Yoga Therapies: 45 Sequences to Relieve Stress, Depression, Repetitive Strain, Sports Injuries and More
• Yoga RX: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments
• Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing
• Healing Mantras: Using Sound Affirmations for Personal Power, Creativity, and Healing

Emotional/Psychological

• Emotional Yoga
• Kundalini Yoga Meditation: Techniques Specific for Psychiatric Disorders, Couples Therapy, and Personal Growth
• Kundalini Yoga Meditation for Complex Psychiatric Disorders: Techniques Specific for Treating the Psychoses, Personality, and Pervasive Developmental Disorders 
• Healing Depression the Mind-Body Way: Creating Happiness with Meditation, Yoga, and Ayurveda

Addiction

• Healing Addiction with Yoga: A Yoga Program for People in 12-Step Recovery

Neurological Disorders/Movement Disorders

• Yoga for Movement Disorders: Rebuilding Strength, Balance and Flexibility for Parkinson's Disease and Dystonia

Arthritis

• Yoga for Arthritis: The Complete Guide

Anti-Aging/Beauty

• The Yoga Face: Eliminate Wrinkles with the Ultimate Natural Facelift
• Yoga for the Three Stages of Life: Developing Your Practice As an Art Form, a Physical Therapy, and a Guiding Philosophy

Chronic Pain

• Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind & Heal Your Chronic Pain

Cancer

• Healing Yoga for People Living with Cancer

Eyesight

• Yoga of Perfect Sight

Carpal Tunnel/Repetitive Stress Injuries

• Yoga for Computer Users: Healthy Necks, Shoulders, Wrists, and Hands in the Postmodern Age

I'll leave you with a little metta-esque (if you're feeling so inclined to do a little metta bhavana on your own, click here) wish -- May you be healthy and free from suffering. And if you are suffering, may the practice of yoga lessen it.

Namaste!

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