Tag: injury
-
Injury Troubleshooting
Several months ago, Terry, a yoga student, felt pain in her left hip flexors. She saw a physical therapist who recommended several exercises. When that seemed ineffective, she tried forced rest for two weeks. Then she did two or three private sessions with her longtime fitness trainer. Still in pain,…
-
Is Headstand Risky for You?
One of my students, Julie, recently decided to avoid headstand. She’d just read William Broad’s book The Science of Yoga, which investigates yoga’s purported benefits. Hmm, I read that book when it was published in 2012—and I recall its numerous accounts of serious injuries. The case studies typically involved extreme…
-
Lifetime Physiotherapy
At my dentist’s office, I was sitting in an exam chair before my appointment. Nearby, I heard her talking to another patient, who sounded male and youngish. I vaguely made out the conversation. “So, when can I use my front teeth,” he asked, “to bite into something like an apple?”…
-
Constant Vigilance
For six years now, I’ve gone on daily walks with Stella, a Giant Schnauzer / Labrador Retriever. We’re out for an hour or two and it never fails: At some point, a phrase from Harry Potter springs to mind: Constant vigilance. CONSTANT VIGILANCE! I’m always glancing around, scanning our surroundings…
-
Are you in touch with your breath?
In January I somehow pulled a muscle in my back while teaching. Exactly when and how I did it, I don’t know. Perhaps I twisted too deeply demonstrating Parivrtta Parsvakonasana (Revolved Side Angle Pose). I was teaching “cold,” from not warming up beforehand and from the freezing winter temperature outside.…
-
Case study: hamstring strain (or something)
In early 2014, I strained a left hamstring muscle near the origin. Or an external rotator in the left hip. Or something. It snuck up on me. There was no acute injury. I simply noticed less range of motion (ROM) in straight-legged, forward-bending poses, marked by a pulling sensation on the lateral side of the sitting bone.…
-
Yoga injuries: who’s at fault?
Ever been injured in a yoga class? Chances are, we’ve all felt a twinge in one class or another. So, who’s at fault? The teacher? The student? Or are occasional tweaks simply part of being active and exploring our limits? Since William Broad began writing about yoga injuries in the New York Times and on…
-
Aches and pains: My favorite home remedies (Part II)
Here are my favorite home remedies for routine tweaks and twinges–and a word on the psychosomatic factor. RICE (Rest Ice Compression Elevation) Rest. The best and simplest remedy is hardest for me to comply with. When I notice a twinge or tweak, what do I do? I might ratchet down, but short…
-
Aches and pains: Are you “injury prone”? (Part I)
Last month, eight colleagues and I faced our Intro II assessment for certification as Iyengar yoga teachers. Before commencing, the assessors asked us about injuries or health issues: “Do you have anything new to report?” When my turn came, I said, “Nothing new to report.” I entered the exam “healthy.”…
-
Are men really less flexible than women?
I recently read two articles on that apparently rare specimen: the male yoga student. In an undated Yoga Journal article, “Where Are All the Men?” Andrew Tilin, considers why men aren’t naturally inclined toward yoga. In a December 22, 2012, New York Times article, “Wounded Warrior Pose,” William Broad investigates whether men risk injury doing asana.…
Yoga Spy 