Your Guide to Yoga for Injuries
Having an injury can make physical activity challenging and even stressful. Knowing what is safe, accessible, and effective for recovery can be tricky to navigate. This guide will walk you through practicing yoga with an injury so that you not only feel comfortable, but empowered to stay active and safe on your road to recovery.
Make a Plan
First and foremost, you’ll want to consult with your doctor or physical therapist. Many times, medical professionals will not only give yoga a seal of approval, but encourage it for physical recovery. Next, you may want to seek individualized support. A private session with a yoga teacher is a great way to receive hands-on instruction tailored to your injury recovery. The next best thing is attending an in-person class where a teacher can help you modify and reap the most benefits out of class. What are your injury recovery goals? How much time do you have to devote to yoga? Where and when will you practice? All of these answers will help you make a realistic plan you can stick to, and a plan is best made alongside experts (your medical professionals and movement specialists).
Listen to Your Body
As important as it is to listen to your doctor, physical therapist, and yoga teachers, you are always the number one expert on what feels good for you. Be sure to listen to your body and modify or take breaks when needed. Just because an exercise or pose is safe for you, doesn’t mean that it feels good or is required. Ask for ideas on how to modify in class and don’t be afraid to hold a resting pose like child's pose or to even chill in savasana when you need to.
Push Yourself to Get Uncomfortable
Discomfort is not the same as pain, and we encourage you to get to know that difference intimately. We never want you to push through pain in yoga, but working through discomfort can be beneficial on many levels. It can feel like the best option is to stay off the injury completely or shy away from any pose or exercise requiring use of that area of the body. However, oftentimes using your injured area safely under guidance from an expert can aid in strengthening and ultimately recovery. Pushing yourself can feel more mentally uncomfortable than physically uncomfortable. Never push yourself to power through pain, but if fear is holding you back from physical activity while injured, try to push through that mental discomfort. Remember to listen to your body. You can always stop, take a break or ask for a different modification if something doesn’t feel right.
Track Your Progress
Injury recovery can feel like a long, daunting and frustrating journey. Track your progress over time and stay motivated with small wins and improvements. If this is challenging to see on your own, try going to the same yoga class or yoga teacher each week so they can help you see your progress. If you opt for private instruction, you’ll set goals and measure progress with your yoga teacher each session. If you attend a group class, arrive early to update your instructor and stay after to ask any questions or share observations about how things felt for you. Also remember that progress is not always linear, and it can be more useful to compare month-to-month progress as opposed to day-to-day progress where factors like stress, fatigue, nutrition, and more can blur the image of what your overall progress looks like.
There are many benefits that yoga can provide for injury recovery. The decrease of anxiety and stress is not always the initial motivation to practice, but an incredible perk. Injury recovery can take a mental and emotional toll, so having a chance to slow down, move and breathe in a calming way can make a big impact.
If you’re interested in practicing yoga for injury recovery, start with one of our slow or gentle classes or book a private session at Yoga Baum! You can visit us for a private session at our yoga studio in Louisville, KY, or you can set up a virtual appointment.
Reach out to us for more information!