Why Yoga?
Because Your Body Remembers What Your Mind Has Forgotten
There's a question I hear often: "Why yoga? Why not just physical therapy or strength training?"
It's a fair question. And the answer lies in something most people don't realize about chronic pain: it lives as much in your nervous system as it does in your spine.
Your body doesn't just remember injuries—it remembers the fear, the guarding, the bracing, the anticipation of pain. Even after the initial injury heals, your nervous system stays on high alert, creating protective patterns that eventually become walls.
I know this intimately—not just as a teacher, but as someone who lived it.
When My Body Stopped Listening (Or When I Stopped Listening to My Body)
In my late twenties, I developed a repetitive-stress injury that left me with persistent low back pain. My father, Dr. Jeff Saal—one of the world's leading spine experts—gave me clear guidance: take it easy in my yoga practice, stop all forward folds and twisting, and be kinder to my body.
I nodded. I said I understood. But I didn't listen.
My daily yoga routine was my identity, my anchor. Every morning, rain or shine, I practiced the same sequence. Forward folds made me feel good, and I convinced myself that if yoga always made me feel better, I must be okay. I ignored every warning sign my body was sending.
Until one morning, as I melted into my favorite standing forward fold, my spine erupted with pain—a searing, internal scream I could no longer ignore.
That moment changed everything.
The Pattern Your Body Learns
Think about the last time you felt a sharp pain in your back. What did your body do?
You probably:
Held your breath
Tightened your shoulders
Braced your core
Moved differently—more carefully, more rigidly
Your nervous system learned: Movement = danger. Protect at all costs.
And then, even when the acute pain subsided, that protective pattern stayed. Your body kept bracing, kept guarding, kept moving as if the injury were still fresh. This chronic tension creates its own pain cycle—what started as protection becomes the problem itself.
That's exactly what happened to me. My body was protecting me from movements I kept forcing it to do. And that protection—that constant bracing—became more painful than the original injury.
Why Exercise Alone Isn't Enough
Traditional exercise focuses on building strength, which is important. But if your nervous system is locked in a fear pattern, adding strength on top of dysfunction just reinforces the problem.
You can strengthen a body that's compensating, but you're just making the compensation stronger.
Physical therapy addresses specific injuries and teaches proper movement mechanics—and it's invaluable. But once you leave the clinic, most people return to the same unconscious patterns that created problems in the first place.
What's missing is the repatterning of your nervous system itself.
Why Yoga Changes Everything
Yoga—when practiced with medical precision and mindful awareness—does something unique: it teaches your nervous system that it's safe to move again.
Through the integration of:
Breath work that calms the nervous system and signals safety
Mindful movement that rebuilds trust between your mind and body
Progressive practice that teaches your spine to handle stress without fear
Intentional rest that allows your body to integrate and heal
SAAL Yoga creates new neural pathways. Your body begins to remember that movement doesn't have to equal pain. That breathing can be full and easy. That you can bend, reach, and twist—when it's right for your body—without catastrophe.
The Memory Your Body Needs
Here's what most people don't realize: your body already knows how to move well. You did it for years before injury or chronic pain changed everything.
Yoga isn't teaching your body something new—it's helping your body remember what it forgot.
When I finally let go of my old practice—the one that was hurting me—and began applying the medically-informed approach my father and I developed together, everything changed. For the first time in a very long time, I experienced what it felt like to move without pain.
It wasn't about doing more yoga. It was about doing the right yoga for my spine.
My body didn't need to be pushed harder. It needed to be heard.
Beyond Pain Relief: The Deeper Why
So why yoga?
Because you're not just treating an injury—you're healing a relationship. The relationship between your mind and body. Between movement and safety. Between who you were before pain and who you're becoming now.
You're not just getting stronger. You're learning to trust your body again. You're reclaiming the ease and confidence that pain stole from you.
What This Looks Like in Practice
In SAAL Yoga Fundamentals, we guide you through this repatterning process systematically:
Week 1 builds the foundation of safety—teaching your body it can be grounded and stable
Week 2 strengthens your core with precision—not just for strength, but for confidence
Week 3 opens restricted areas—not by forcing, but by creating spaciousness
Week 4 integrates everything—so your body remembers this new, safe way of moving
Each breath, each pose, each moment of stillness is teaching your nervous system: You're safe. You can trust this. Movement is your friend again.
Your Body Is Waiting
Your body wants to heal. It wants to move freely. It wants to remember ease. But it can't do that while your nervous system is stuck in protection mode.
That's why yoga. Not just any yoga—but yoga that understands the science of nervous system regulation, the precision of spinal biomechanics, and the compassion required to guide someone back to trusting their own body.
Your mind may have forgotten what it feels like to move with confidence. But your body remembers. And yoga is the bridge that brings you back.
The journey from pain to freedom isn't always linear. But with patience, self-compassion, and the right support, healing is not only possible—it's deeply personal and profoundly rewarding.