Page 104 - Adhiyoga Purana

A Quiet Revolution in the Spine:
Han Juan’s Healing Journey Through Yoga
In the summer of 2011, a dedicated schoolteacher named Han Juan from San Francisco embarked on a profound journey to India. His goal was twofold: to deepen his meditation practice and to study Sanskrit in its authentic cultural context. Living in an urban temple back home, Han Juan practiced daily meditation, yet there was one persistent challenge he could not overcome—chronic lower back pain.
For years, he had struggled with this discomfort, believing it stemmed from poor posture during long meditation sessions. Though he had explored yoga classes in America, none seemed to address his specific needs. He found most teachers lacked the anatomical understanding required to guide him to real relief. Chiropractors helped somewhat, but the problem always returned.
While attending Sanskrit lessons in Pune, India, Han Juan was introduced by his teacher to a quiet, deeply knowledgeable yogi named Adhiyogi—a master whose approach blended ancient yogic wisdom with a scientific understanding of the body.
When Han Juan described his condition, Adhiyogi listened with calm focus. After assessing the situation, he proposed something surprising: just three simple yoga exercises, to be practiced for one hour a day over three months. These weren’t back exercises in the traditional sense— they seemed almost unrelated to the spine itself. Yet Adhiyogi assured him, with serene confidence: “If you do these, your pain will disappear.”
Han Juan was skeptical. In the West, chronic back pain was often seen as a lifelong sentence. But he was intrigued by the certainty in Adhiyogi’s voice. Still, despite receiving the guidance in India, he didn’t start the practice right away. Only after returning to San Francisco—and feeling the pain return—did he decide to follow the plan.
To his astonishment, the results came quickly.
Within a few weeks, the relentless lower back pain that had burdened him for years began to ease. Before long, it vanished entirely. “My back hasn’t felt this good in years,” Han Juan marveled. “And the only person I have to thank is Adhiyogi.”
Since that experience, Han Juan has become a devoted student—not only in yoga but also in Sanskrit under Adhiyogi’s guidance. He eagerly looked forward to returning to India in the summer of 2012 to continue learning from the teacher who, in his words, "saved my life."
OM Shantiḥ.
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