Physio Coolalinga? How Stuart’s Frozen Shoulder Came Back Through Yoga

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist, and Dr Stuart McGill, Yoga Teacher, Flametree Yoga Darwin

Physio Coolalinga or yoga: the short answer

Searching for a physio in Coolalinga for a stiff shoulder, neck or back? Think about yoga as well, or instead. Physio alternatives are worth a look when the appointments add up and the home exercises do not get done. In a trial of 320 adults with long-term back pain, 12 weekly yoga classes did as well as 15 physio visits. Our Coolalinga studio runs a beginner class every day, and 12 classes cost $59.50.

The page in short:

• Stuart got his frozen shoulder working again through yoga.
• R, at Coolalinga, found her back pain “just disappeared”.
• 12 yoga classes did as well as 15 physio visits (320 people).
• Yoga builds strength and flexibility together.
• 12 hours of yoga cost less than one typical appointment.
• A teacher and a group make it easier to keep going.

Months of appointments, then a return to yoga

Dr Stuart McGill, one of the two of us who wrote this page, teaches most of the Coolalinga classes. He once had a frozen shoulder (in fact two, one after the other, as he tells in Considering Physio? Try Yoga First). It came on with stress, at a time when he was doing no yoga at all, and it was a major problem.

He went to an osteopath and a physio. Over many months they worked on the shoulder and gave him exercises, and the bills added up. What worked best in the end was going back to yoga and getting into it.

Quite quickly he got back the full range of movement and strength in the shoulder. His reason is simple. The yoga was engaging, so he actually did it. And it cost so little that he could do a lot of it.

That is one person’s experience, not a trial. We teach yoga, so we have an interest here, and we would rather say so.

The same pattern with Dr Stuart McGill’s knee

It was not only the shoulders. Dr Stuart McGill had knee surgery that removed part of a cartilage. Physiotherapy was prescribed, but he found the exercises very boring, largely didn’t do them, and the knee didn’t improve much.

When he restarted yoga he found the poses engaging, and did far more of them than he ever did of the physio. His knee came back to fairly close to normal and has stayed that way through about 25 years of yoga. He has a small scar, and otherwise the knee works well, even though a significant part of the cartilage is gone and his doctor found a small amount of arthritis during the operation. He thinks yoga built strength in the muscles above and below the knee, so the joint is well supported. This is his own experience only.

A Coolalinga story: R

R came to our Coolalinga classes with back pain. She did the regular beginner classes, once or twice a week: easy, doable forward bends to a wall or a chair, standing poses, and poses that broaden the back, much like those in our Yoga For Backs class in Darwin. After the first month, she told Stuart, her back pain “just disappeared”.

What we find, in Coolalinga and elsewhere: many people hold a lot of tension in the lower back, which is often more compacted than it should be. Easy forward bending gives it length. And the steady attention and yogic breathing in class release stress, which lets go of tension in the lower back, the shoulders and the neck. So aches people might take to a physio often ease.

We teach Iyengar yoga. Mr BKS Iyengar was the 20th-century teacher who did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered props such as chairs, blocks and belts. His style is sometimes called modern classical yoga.

Physio Coolalinga alternative: shoulders working with props

What does the research say about physio and yoga?

In a 2017 US trial of 320 adults with long-term low back pain, 12 weekly yoga classes did as well as 15 physiotherapy visits for pain and daily function, and the gains held at one year. That was yoga in general, not Iyengar yoga. More trials, including Iyengar ones, are on our yoga for back pain page and our Chiro Darwin? page.

Why does yoga help stiff shoulders and backs?

Whatever a physio does for you, yoga is likely to do some of it, sometimes more, and it can sit alongside it. Yoga builds strength and flexibility at the same time, and you need both. Your own body is the weight, so muscles and bones work together.

What we find in class: flexibility comes from extending your range of motion (how far a joint can move). That happens when you learn to straighten your limbs. Straight arms overhead are what a stiff shoulder slowly wins back.

We use standing poses, twists, forward bends, supported backbends, restorative poses with props, and pranayama (yogic breathing). Yoga also builds balance, calm and better sleep: see our benefits of yoga page, with Dr Timothy McCall’s list.

Physio Coolalinga or yoga: straight arms, open shoulders

What does it cost, and will you actually do it?

In our experience an hour with a physio often costs $100 or more, sometimes a little less with a rebate, and a course means several visits. At Flametree a newcomer gets 12 classes for $59.50. That is about 12 hours of yoga for less than one hour of physio.

Then there are the home exercises. Stuart found his boring, and he is not alone. A review of 20 studies in physiotherapy clinics notes that not doing the treatment and exercises may run as high as 70 percent.

In a class, a teacher takes you through the work, so it gets done. And there is the group effect: it is easier to keep going when you feel part of the group. In a trial of 627 older adults in exercise classes, groups set up to help people feel connected attended more.

Classes are also a place to make friends. In 148 studies with 308,849 people, those with stronger social ties had a 50 percent higher chance of survival. That is a link, not proof, but a weekly class is an easy way to stay connected and lift your spirits.

Yoga at Coolalinga, close to the rural area and Palmerston

Our Coolalinga studio runs seven Beginner 1 classes a week, one every day, at Shop T31, Coolalinga Central, 425 Stuart Highway, opposite Coles. Most are in the morning, and there are evening classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. No need to book: just come along. Times are on our Yoga Coolalinga page.

Coolalinga is about 40 km from Darwin, and people use what is close to home. You should not have to drive into town to look after a stiff shoulder or back. The studio is on the Stuart Highway, an easy drive from Humpty Doo, Howard Springs, Virginia and Girraween, and about 10 minutes from Palmerston. Cannot get in? Join a live online class from home. Yoga as well as physio, or instead: that is your choice.

Play sport? See Yoga For Sport, with pages for golf, running, swimming and footy.

Standing poses build strong legs and shoulders

How do I start?

2 free classes, plus 2 free ebooks. New to Flametree? Choose 2 free ebooks and get 2 free classes, at Coolalinga, Woolner or live online.

Or just come along, at the studio or online, and your first class is free. That is one free class. Register first and you get two free classes and two free ebooks, plus a few short reminders and tips to help you get started. So registering gets you more, and walking in is always welcome. See class times.

Want more classes? The beginner deal gives you 12 classes for $59.50, studio or online, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Physio Coolalinga and yoga: questions people ask

Is there a physio alternative in Coolalinga?

Many people try yoga as well as physio, or instead. Flametree runs seven beginner yoga classes a week at Shop T31, Coolalinga Central, 425 Stuart Highway, plus live online classes.

Is yoga as good as physio for back pain?

In a trial of 320 adults with long-term low back pain, 12 weekly yoga classes did as well as 15 physiotherapy visits for pain and daily function.

Can yoga help a frozen shoulder?

Dr Stuart McGill got back the full movement and strength in his frozen shoulder by going back to yoga, after months of appointments. That is his experience, not a trial, and it is why he thinks yoga is worth a try.

How much does yoga cost at Coolalinga?

Your first class is free if you are new. The beginner deal is 12 classes for $59.50, at Coolalinga, Woolner or live online.

Do I need to book a class at Coolalinga?

No. Just come along to any of the seven Beginner 1 classes. Mats and props are provided.

Sources

• Saper RB and colleagues. Yoga, physical therapy, or education for chronic low back pain: a randomized noninferiority trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2017 (320 people).
• Jack K and colleagues. Barriers to treatment adherence in physiotherapy outpatient clinics: a systematic review. Manual Therapy, 2010.
• Beauchamp MR and colleagues. Group-based physical activity for older adults (GOAL) randomized controlled trial: exercise adherence outcomes. Health Psychology, 2018 (627 people).
• Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 2010 (148 studies, 308,849 people).
• Dr Stuart McGill, own account, 13 November 2026, and Considering Physio? Try Yoga First.

Flametree Yoga Studio, Coolalinga, Darwin and live online. General information only, not personal health advice.