Dear Yoga Student,
It’d be great if your back NEVER hurt, if your
knees never had twinges, and your shoulders
never ached…
… but if you’re actually using your body for yoga
or other activities, chances are that sometimes
you’ll get sore.
And sometimes, you’ll get injured.
Yoga teachers often blame injuries on bad alignment
or “pushing too hard,” but since you’ll never meet
any serious yoga student who hasn’t had a least a
couple injuries, I just call it “part of life…” to be
avoided, whenever possible.
Don’t get me wrong, you should always practice
safely, but it’s gotten to the point where some teachers
won’t even let you lie on the floor without perfectly
supporting your neck and putting fluffy pillows under
your legs.
That’s not yoga. That’s therapy. It has its place, but
it’s overkill for most able-bodied people the same way
it’s overkill to wear a helmet while walking down the
street.
A perfect yoga practice doesn’t exist, perfect alignment
is a myth (our bodies are naturally imbalanced) and
it’s all a process.
So your lower back hurts after yoga class. Maybe
you did something wrong. Probably, it was just
something that needed to happen for you to better
understand your body and become aware.
So what do you do now?
Here are some questions and answers that might
help…
Q: How do I know if I’m really injured or just sore?
A: Soreness will go away quickly (in days), injuries
will take weeks or months to heal.
NOTE: a solid 80% of true injuries start out as just
sore areas that are not looked after properly.
Q: How do I know if I’m too sore to practice?
A: If 15 minutes into class, your sore area is still very
painful, you need to take rest, at least with any poses
targeting that area for 2-3 days and then try again.
Q: Is Hot Yoga OK if I’m injured?
A: Sometimes. The heat can be very therapeutic, but
the flipside is it can mask pain. You might feel awesome
in class, then you’ll get home and 1 hour later you’re walking
like Quasimodo. If that happens, skip the heat until you’re
back to 100%.
Q: My doctor told me to STOP doing yoga until I’m pain-
free… should I?
A: Your doctor’s goal is to stop pain. That’s his job.
So yes, if you do nothing, lie flat on a bed, and chill out,
the pain will go away the fastest—problem is that when
you try to use your body again, you’ll reinjure yourself
so quickly it’ll take your breath away.
To heal strong, you’ve got to continue practice, just very
slowly and carefully. Hope that helps…
Stay bendy,
Lucas
YOGABODY Naturals LLC
The Ultimate Yoga Swing
p.s. If you’ve got a specific injury you need some
advice on, please post it below and I’ll see if
myself or someone I know can be of help
at 8:46 am - 5th March 2010 Permalink
lucas..ur c0Mmentary is s00 valuable because it’s s000 tru….i appreciate ur contribution 2 the wonder?FULL & s0Metimes wacky world of yoga practices’…
at 9:10 am - 5th March 2010 Permalink
I need advice on a knee injury? I have a small tear in my medial meniscus. It’s now going on 2 years and I try my best to not push it during practice. I only feel it during practice. I tried a few weeks of therapy. I am thinking about doing the laproscopic surgery and move on. What’s your thoughts? My practice has been stagnant for last two years.
David
at 5:37 pm - 5th March 2010 Permalink
I have a problem (pain) with my sacroilliac on the right side. Sometimes causes me more grief than others, and I’m always very careful in class. Any ideas?
at 2:14 pm - 6th March 2010 Permalink
I have had a ‘nerve pinch’ in my right glut/upper trocanter area since September. It has gotten progressively better but still there. I have an MRI which states…moderate to severe spinal stenosis along with a bunch of other stuff that could sound scary at times. I have had PT, chiro work, and continue to do yoga stretches at home mostly but have started going to classes again. I am also a dancer and stay physically active as much as possible. Extensions trigger the pain the most. The physical therapist is against yoga…particularly upper body extensions. What are your views on this type of ‘injury’ and the use of yoga?
at 2:33 pm - 6th March 2010 Permalink
Thanks for all the posts! Quick disclaimer: I’m not a medical doctor and none of this should be mistaken for anything other than yoga stretching and nutrition advice for ASSISTING with recovery. Everyone’s bodies and injures are unique and different. Listen to your intuition and seek professional help when it feels right.
@David – Knees are really tricky. I’m blessed with strong/stables ones. Knee surgeries are performed WAY too often by anyone estimation BUT I know at least 4 people personally, all yoga teachers, who have had knee surgery after avoiding it for years and were very happy with the results and wished they had done it sooner. Do with that what you will…
@Louise – SI join is a doozy. I see most injuries there happening with spinal compression OR extension combined with some type of lateral twist. So kurmasa in Ashtanga, for example, is notorious for cranking down there on the SI joint. Also, lopsided dropbacks or funky backbend variations that are asymmetrical can aggravate it. If you’re feeling pain, my biggest advice is to stay symmetrical at least for the time being, meaning if you’re bending forward or backward deeply, don’t add in any lateral twisting (or nothing major anyway) until you start to feel strong and stable again).
@Nada – that sounds serious. Sounds like you’ve got some professionals working on, which is smart. I’d be very careful. Might be time to back way off and give the ‘ole back a rest.
Hope that’s helpful!
at 10:31 am - 8th March 2010 Permalink
Hi Lucas, still loving your updates on Yoga, I would like to know how i can use Yoga to unfreeze a frozen shoulder which has been so painful for a long while i tend not to use it as much as i like in some of the poses, hope you can help any advice would be welcome, take care, mary
at 3:35 pm - 8th March 2010 Permalink
can ANY offer s0Mething concerning yoga ,,,besides their injuries…. ???
at 7:19 pm - 9th March 2010 Permalink
i have injured my shoulders during the school wrestling season. they are doing better now but are there any yoga poses i can do to increase thier strentgh and flexibility?
at 10:16 pm - 15th June 2010 Permalink
Hi Lucas, a month ago i felt down and got my coccyx hurt, even i went to doctor but still have it now, therefore I cant do some yoga poses in class, do you have any idea what pose is good to help me recovery soon ? many thanks in advance
at 12:33 am - 16th June 2010 Permalink
@Paulina – you have an impact injury so that is quite different from a stretching or overuse injury. In this case, you’ll really just want to avoid irritating it more than anything else so the bruised area heals. Hope that helps!
- Lucas
at 10:57 pm - 23rd July 2010 Permalink
Great post as usual! I have had back problems sinco college graduation and have been really pretty whiny about it ever since. Would this be a problem during practice, plus my balance sucks too.
at 10:43 pm - 7th August 2010 Permalink
I’m newbie with yoga classes. I ‘m really serious in pursuing it. But I have scoliosis . I haven’t consulted my doctor regrading my yoga classes. Could yoga help me or worsen my condition?
at 6:47 am - 12th August 2010 Permalink
I usually got body pains after my yoga practice because I push it really hard, is it advisable for me to take pain relievers?
at 1:27 am - 25th November 2010 Permalink
whenever i do a sitting stretch with legs separated which is supposed to be stretching inner thighs it absolutely kills my lower back anyone any suggestions
at 9:33 pm - 31st July 2011 Permalink
I am going in for a biopsy from my breast this week and am wondering if I can practice yoga. I think I can do my hot yoga practices and cut out any of the obvious chest openers and poses that require externally rotating my shoulders. Amy advice for me?
at 5:52 pm - 27th August 2011 Permalink
Hi Lucas
I’ve suffered a weight bearing injury to my back while I was at work, the whole left side of my back went into a nasty rock hard spasm from my hips to my shoulder twisting the left side forward as if twisting me , it involves the piriformus. Quadratus lumborum, spinal erextus, multifdus muscle, have you any help ?
Beryl