There’s no way around it … having an injury when you’re on a roll in yoga is such a bummer.
You might be one of those yogis who rationally knows yoga is good for your injury and can help you rehab the situation, but when it comes down to putting that rational thought into practice, you get scared.
Or unsure.
Then unmotivated.
And then you stop all together.
NOOOO!!!!
Gaaah. As a yoga teacher, I want yoga students everywhere to know that their yoga practice can actually be something that heals their injury, not something they have to stop when they get injured.
Life happens. Inuries happen. Flare ups occur. When you have a set back, you shouldn’t stop coming to yoga; rather, you just need to tweak your approach.
Read on to learn what I mean…
1. Speak up!
This is arguably the most important point. If you have something going on, tell your yoga teacher.
For real.
We got into this business because we love helping people feel their best (sounds all rainbows and unicorns but it’s true!).
Seriously … when a student comes out of class and says, “I feel great!” it makes our whole week.
If we learn that a student is suffering in silence, it breaks our hearts! WE CAN HELP YOU. If you let your teacher know what injury you’re dealing with, or even if you just slept funny and your neck feels tight, we can give you tips and info on how to NOT aggravate the tender area.
2. Practice in the back row (or a “low pressure” spot)
When you practice right up front, sometimes there’s this subconscience pressure to work super hard and never take a break and go to your max even when you’re not feeling up to it. Even when the teacher says, “take care of yourself.” Take that pressure completely off by going somewhere in the yoga room where you feel like you don’t have to be “on.” Think this sounds a little out-there? Give it a try. It might surprise you.
3. Move slowly
While you’re in the back row, take this opportunity to move super slowly into and out of the postuers. You might find you can’t go as deep (no problem) and you might uncover a movement that’s aggravating the injury. Moving slowly and intentionally helps you to tune in with evey creak and tightness your body is holding, and when you get to that place where you know the injury is living, you can breathe into and not force your way beyond.
4. Use your strength
This takes a tremendous amount of concentration and self-control. Tell yourself before the class begins that you’re not going to be working to build flexibility, but to use your body’s strength to hold the postures. This will help keep you from collapsing into a pose as well as building strength around the injury.
5. Adjust your expectations
Tell yourself right out of the gate that you’re not going to do too much, but what you are going to do will be so incredibly therapeutic. This is a classic case of “a little bit goes a long way” as well as “too much is no good.” When you have an injury, shift your expectation or goal away from yoga being your workout to yoga being your physical therapy.
6. Book a private lesson
There’s nothing more vauable than one-on-one yoga instruction. You’ll uncover a wealth of information and knowledge by working directly with your teacher, focusing on just you, your body, what’s hurting, and how to best try the postures. I think every yogi should do a private lesson twice a year anyway regardless of injury. You’re body is constantly changing, and it’s wise to stay familiar with yourself.
When you’re not feeling your best, especially when you can tell your yoga teacher the specifics about your injury or ailment (e.g. a herniated disc, recent surgery, etc.) together you will figure out how the postures feel the best and how practicing them will aid in your healing and recovery.
7. No pain = ALL GAIN!
You know the saying, “no pain, no gain?” Well not in yoga. Yoga has the potential to create such healing throughout all the systems of the body, so understand that if you experience pain in a posture, something’s not right. And it must be changed to get you back into that yoga-therapy zone. This circles back to point #1 about speaking up, so if at anytime you create pain, please please please let your yoga teacher know! He or she will be able to help you adjust your postures so the alignment is more correct, and so the posture feels better right away. Remember: thou shalth create no pain!
So there you have it: 7 super simple hacks to feel amazing in yoga even when you have an injury! Remember that it’s often about doing less, keeping your teachers informed, and being gentle with both your body and your expectations that helps to create the therapeutic effect.
Have an injury and aren’t sure if you should keep practicing yoga? Read this!
