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
