Injuries in Yoga are Possible
Injuries in yoga are possible. Nobody likes to talk about it – including me. After all, the physical practice of yoga is meant to help reduce injuries, not cause injuries. But injuries from yoga are possible and that’s what makes modifications so important. That's why modifications are the focus of this month's “From the Coaches.”
Most of us don’t practice yoga simply for yoga itself. We often have other goals – to build and/or maintain strength for surfing, to gain energy to be able to keep up with children who are always on the move, to improve flexibility and reduce injury while engaging in other sports such as soccer, running, or biking. It’s important to challenge ourselves in classes and to get out of our comfort zone and try something new, but not at the expense of injury. The moment you injure yourself, you not only lose your yoga practice, but you lose what you were working toward off the mat. As a teacher, I can gauge areas where you can dig deeper and some areas where you may need to back off a bit, but only you know how poses feel and what may feel off for your body. This is where modifications play an important role.
Some people may hear the word “modification” and think of a lesser version of a pose. But, instead of “modifications,” a more accurate name would be “variations.” Variations allow our practice to meet us where we are in that moment. They can be stepping stones forward, a way to try something new, and a way to allow our bodies to continue to grow without breaking. If you feel like you aren’t challenging yourself when you modify a pose – remember that having the courage to accept you need to modify is itself a mental challenge. To me, mental challenges are greater than most physical challenges and a valuable part of the practice. To be able to recognize the areas where your body needs you to do something different than what your mind wants to do is a sign of intuitiveness and, frankly, a win over our ego.
I’ll never forget when I started practicing yoga again after giving birth. My practice was at my strongest before I was pregnant. I modified most of my practice during pregnancy, which was easy to do and accept with a growing belly. I told myself my practice would be different afterward, but I didn’t realize HOW different it would be and how different my body would be.
One pose that stands out the most is plank. I couldn’t do it anymore. Well, let me rephrase that. I did plank, terribly. My core was so weak I couldn’t really engage and hold my hips up. I convinced myself that if I just kept doing it I’d eventually get back to proper form and that I didn’t need to modify because that would just slow me down. My lower back started to hurt and my minor abdominal separation started to worsen. That was my wake-up call. I needed to modify otherwise I’d wind up with a whole slew of problems that I didn’t want. After months…and months…and many variations, I built back into plank. Along the way, I also realized it was completely OK if I never got “back” to where I was before.
The point of this yoga practice is to challenge ourselves where we are at THAT moment on our mat. Not where we were yesterday. Sometimes that challenge is physical and sometimes that challenge is mental. There are variations of poses for a reason, and there is always a variation available. Use them to make you stronger. You won’t regret it.