Healing from an Injury

by Baxter

It seems that no matter where we develop an injury, it has a profound effect on the way our entire body functions in everyday life. I myself injured my left rotator cuff many years ago while participating regularly in rock climbing. And although I gradually recovered most of my function in that arm, after giving up climbing and taking up yoga, it is still stiff every time I do my first Down Dog!

And just this past weekend, after doing some home improvement projects which had me doing movement patterns that where not routine for me, I woke up Monday morning with right should pain when taking my arm forward and up or out to the side and up.  I immediately modified my usual yoga practice and limited those particular movements, while essentially working around the painful movements in order to allow what ever is aggravated to quiet down. My underlying assumption is that I have strained my right deltoid muscle, the lateral band of fibers. However, if the pain and limitation persists, I will consider a thorough evaluation by an orthopedist.

For any of you who have a yoga injury, I’d recommend following the same advice I gave myself. If you have not already done so, I recommend having your injury looked at by a physician or other qualified health care provider to more clearly identify what is really going on in the muscle or joint.

I would also encourage you to seek the assistance of a local yoga teacher with lots of experience working with your particular issues. In addition, you may have to consider a longer-term modification of how you approach your yoga. You can certainly continue to practice many yoga asana to keep other parts of the body strong and flexible, while using the injured part of in a more neutral way. But this might mean not doing certain poses at all, if they continue to cause pain and provoke inflammation of your injured area. I know that this can be very challenging for many of us, but you may not heal without such a modified approach and a re-framing of your goals with your yoga practice. I have given up running, soccer, and climbing due to the negative effects these sports were having on my body and my desire to avoid uncertain surgeries. At first, I was disappointed and a bit saddened at the prospect of not doing these things that I had previously enjoyed. However, I came to find equal satisfaction with the new activities I explored, including biking, hiking and yoga. And boy, is my shoulder happy about my decisions!

Lonely Rock by Brad Gibson

Finally, I feel compelled to remind our readers that our yoga practice is not static, nor is it designed to keep us in the exact state of physical condition we had at age 25 as we age. It can help us age gracefully, maintaining some strength, balance and openness on the physical plane. But the yoga practice has at its core this paradox of acceptance and change. When I was training in India, they used to chuckle at our American obsession with youth. There, the individual’s yoga practice would gradually change over time, becoming less about physical asana practice and more about breath and meditation, not because you cannot do physical poses, but because you are more capable of diving into the subtle practices as you mature and age, which are felt to be much richer and rewarding than mere asana. I am sure we will discuss this particular aspect of yoga again in the future. For now, all the best on your healing journeys!