The Pain of Yoga
Today I’m in pain – a not inconsiderable amount of pain. And I blame yoga. Possibly soccer, but mainly yoga.
This week at Sunday night yin class, our instructor felt the need to focus on the upper leg and hip region. Despite it being slow, calm yoga, I found it intense. I was shaking and twitching embarrassingly with every pose. But – and here’s the part where I quote something trite about clouds and silver linings – I learned something out of the deal: I’m not flexible. Not at all.
Being a clever and occasionally observant individual, it occurred to me early on that this might be the sad case. It was the beginning of class, I remember, and we were sitting on the floor with our legs spread out as wide as they could comfortably go (slightly more than shoulder-width for me). Then, with our palms on the floor, we had to lean forward from the hip to deepen the stretch. Despite already straining against sitting like this, I attempted to lean. And nothing happened. I stayed upright, torso refusing to lower any further, hips and back launching an immediate protest. So I stayed incongruously upright, shoulders and spine inelegantly curved towards the ground in the closest approximation of the pose that I could muster. And I stayed there for three minutes.
The rest of the session proceeded in a remarkably similar manner. A pose would be described and demonstrated and, with clockwork regularity, I would fail to accomplish anything even remotely resembling proper form.
The real problem, though, was that I was trying – I mean really straining to get it. Bad idea, I know, but I couldn’t even get close to the pose. I was falling drastically short of even the lower limits of flexibility. But I stubbornly felt obligated to do the poses properly.
The upshot is I’ve injured myself now, so lesson learned. I’m not flexible and I’m paying the price for trying too hard.
Tags: injuring self, trying too hard, straining, yoga pain, yin yoga
May 19th, 2009 at 7:42 pm |
Can I offer a suggestion or two?
I teach yoga, and was once painfully tight. So when you say “I’m not flexible”, I would suggest saying “I’m not flexible – yet.” Because with time and persistence, your body will open up.
The second thing to remember is that “doing the pose” is not what yoga is all about. It’s about being connected to the breath, and allowing your breath to guide you into a place of alignment where you can begin to open up.
So for example, if while sitting with wide-open legs, just sitting up straight is a strain, the first thing you want to do is find something to prop your pelvis up on. A block, rolled up mat, cushion, phone book… this raising up allows the pelvis to find some forward movement, and brings your spine into correct alignment.
Realise too, that you don’t have to lean forward. Not at all. If you’re feeling an openness simply by sitting up straight, stay right there and breath into it. Inhale up your spine finding lift and lightness, exhale through the back of your legs and heels finding groundingness and openness.
Bearing this in mind will completely change your practice.
We all have different bodies, and we all look different when we practice yoga, so focusing externally on the position of the teacher’s body takes your awareness away from the intuitive knowingness of your body.
Stay focused on your breath, and your internal processes, and you’ll be surrendering into bliss in no time – regardless of how open your body is.
Blessings,
KL
May 26th, 2009 at 2:39 pm |
Thanks for your reply! Your suggestions are much appreciated. Thus far, I’ve been finding it difficult to focus internally. I’m usually prohibitively self-conscious throughout most of a class. It’s something I’m working on and it’s coming along… slowly. In the meantime, using props might be prudent. I’ll try using the block for support and see how it goes. Are there any resources online where I can find these kind of modifications and learn where I need to employ them? Or is this something I need to talk to an instructor about?
Cheers and thanks again,
~AS
May 27th, 2009 at 11:23 am |
One way to get a great understanding of the use of props is to
attend a couple of Iyengar classes. Iyengar focuses on precise
alignment, and uses a wide variety of props to attain this
alignment. An Iyengar instructor would definitely be able to
give you the low down on how to best modify poses for your body
as it is now, and then armed with that knowledge, you’d know what
you needed in your regular yoga classes.
Good luck! Persistence and patience always win the day. So far,
I’ve never encountered anyone in any of my classes who is as
tight as I once was… and I’m slowly working my way toward full
forward bends. It’s taken a few years, but of the joy in feeling
the body surrender into openness!
Cheers,
KL
May 27th, 2009 at 2:10 pm |
Not a bad idea. I’ve read a little about Iyengar yoga in passing before. I’ll look into finding such a studio in my area. It’s also good to know that my problem isn’t entirely unique. It’s even better to know that some instructors have had to overcome this problem. I’ll let you know how it goes. Really appreciate the tips!
Cheers,
~AS