Ten Ways to Get Started with Yoga After an Injury
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been approached or have had conversations with people in class about how to best get started back with yoga after an injury. This also applies to starting yoga for the first time after an injury. I thought this would make a good topic for my next column. Maybe you’re reading this and like one of the people I spoke with, you’re afraid you’ll get hurt again. Maybe you have a memory of how fit you once were and now, faced with your injured body, you’re frustrated and feel there is no way you’ll be able to taste that feeling of strength and flexibility again. Maybe you have “good days” and “bad days” and have just given up on the idea of doing anything physical. The good news is yoga is the perfect exercise to do in instances like this. Why? Because yoga poses and sequences can be modified to fit just about anyone’s body and physical condition. Yoga’s intensity and be increased or decreased depending on the pace, the poses selected, the use of props and the sequence offered. Here are some tips for getting started back or getting started for the first time: Check with your physician before starting a yoga practice. This is pretty obvious but depending on your injury, you might not think to check. Yoga is getting a great deal of exposure these days as being a contributor to injuries and despite that, there are a number of physicians who are actually suggesting it to their patients, as well as physical therapists who encourage people to attend class as well as therapy. Review the classes on the schedule at your local studio and make a selection based on your physical condition and requirements. This may require some consultation with the studio owner or one of the teachers. Generally speaking, if you’re a beginner, these are the best classes to attend. These classes will be geared towards people with little to no experience. Even if you have experience, with your injury, you may be looking for a slower pace and more time to move from pose to pose. These classes generally provide both. If you are unable to put weight on your hands or have an injury to the upper body, power yoga or vinyasa (flow) classes may not be the best choice. There’s a great deal of movement from standing to the ground as well as many poses where weight is put on the hands in these classes. Now, having said there, there absolutely is a way to modify these sequences so you can skip placing weight on the hands. This would require one on […]