BHUBANESWAR: Shakti Prasad Mohapatra had lost all hopes of getting relief from pain arising out of slip disc till he came across yoga.
A teacher by profession, he was returning home in 2008 when he experienced sudden and acute back pain and was unable to walk.
Limping, he reached his house but 51-year-old Mohapatra could not climb the stairs. He thought it was a sprain in his back.
But six days of pain relief medicines did not help. He sought medical help from SCB Medical College and Hospital where doctors detected slip disc in L4 and L5.
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He underwent medical procedures like electric traction, hot pad therapy, electrical stimulation and infra-red light therapy but relief was elusive.
“My family took me to private hospitals in Delhi and Mumbai where most of the experts advised me to opt for surgery but I refused. I came back to Cuttack and consulted orthopaedic specialist Dr P Tejeswar Rao who advised me to stop riding a two-wheeler, restrict movement and not to sit on floor or lift any heavy object,” recalls Mohapatra.
Although Dr Rao’s medicines helped reduce pain, Mohapatra could not walk or sit properly. However, he could not do exercises that were recommended by a physiotherapist.
“Mentally, I accepted that I have to bear with the pain for the rest of my life. It often led to depression,” he says.
Three years later, he came across yoga mudras and asanas while reading some health magazines. He decided to seek help from priests and saints in Cuttack to learn mudras, pressure points and breathing techniques.
“There was no yoga trainer or guru then. Priests and saints are traditionally well versed with mudras and meditation so I decided to learn the techniques from them,” he says.
With the first few sessions of mudras and Pranayam, Mohapatra started feeling active.
Slowly his body began responding to the practice and he started studying magazines for asanas on managing pain due to slip disc.
He consulted yoga teachers and practised simple asanas and Surya Namaskar on a daily basis under their guidance.
“As on today, I am able to do four sets of Surya Namaskar and several other asanas in Sukhasana comfortably. I give importance to correct breathing technique which is important for the effectiveness of every yoga asana,” Mohapatra says.
His day begins at 5.30 am and he practises asanas like Tara Mandal, Surya Namaskar, Vrikshasana, Trikonaasana and Eka Pada Virabhadra asana regularly.
As far as mudras are concerned, he practises Gyana mudra, Svadhisthana, Manipuru, Prithivi, Akasha, Varuna mudra, Shunya mudra, Shurya mudra, Apana mudra and Prana mudra every day.
Today, he is off the medications and is able to sit on the floor which was impossible on his part a few years back.
“The application of static load of the body and limbs while doing asanas strengthens peripheral areas of the joints. In my case, yoga asanas have been extremely therapeutic in reducing the pain related to slip disc,” he says.