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By Jessica Smith Soto Chronic back pain affects millions of Americans; it is not only a painful condition, it also limits many areas of daily life and mobility. Low back pain sufferers may soon find a new source of relief: yoga. A 2011 study on ‘Yoga for Chronic Low Back Pain’ published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that yoga provides not just more effective low back pain than usual care, but also provides it faster. The study used 313 adults with recurrent low back pain, and half of the group underwent a 12 week yoga program while the other half used usual low back pain care for 12 months.  According to the authors of the study, “The benefits of yoga may be greater than those of exercise alone because yoga offers a combination of physical exercise with mental focus, and patients are taught good posture, self-awareness, and self-care along with relaxation.” The 12 week yoga programs created improvements not only in back pain, but also in back function. The poses in class focused on improving mobility, strength, posture and reducing pain through poses that targeted stiff and weak areas of the body. Class would gradually built on strength to increase confidence in performing daily activities. This study indicates that yoga for back pain is helpful on several different levels and quicker than usual care. See full study: http://www.annals.org/content/155/9/569.full.pdf+html.Another recent study looked at the effects of yoga in a population of veterans, who are particularly susceptible to low back pain. The San Diego Health Services Research and Development conducted a specialized study in 2008 on the effects of yoga in veterans suffering from chronic low back pain. Significant improvements