So, I’m working with an injury. Again. I spent much of last year with a tweaked hamstring and now I’ve done something to my shoulder. It happened a couple of weeks ago, and I was sure it would last only a few days, but I still have a fair amount of pain and limited range of motion. Pain is no fun, but the hardest part for me is always having to modify my practice. Chattarangas? I don’t think so. Arm balances? Handstands? Off the daily roster. I’ve never had a shoulder injury before and I am fast realizing the importance of the shoulder.
The stages of injury for me are always the same: 1) denial, 2) frustration, and 3) acceptance. Even with all of the mindfulness practice I’ve done over the years, it can still take me a good solid week to get to stage three. That’s the point where I finally realize that I am stuck with my injury for the foreseeable future, and I stop pouting over it and start looking for what can be learned.
And there’s no doubt: I have learned much from my injuries.For one, I have learned to slow down. I am a quick mover and fast walker who is naturally short on patience. Now, even putting my backpack on takes effort. And if I am practicing yoga, I have to move from one pose to the next slowly to avoid causing myself pain. So, all in all, I am slower when I am injured. Which leads to the fact that injury has taught me to be more mindful. When I move slower, I also deeply consider the moves I am going to make before I make them. Moving more mindfully influences me to be more thoughtful and deliberate in my actions and in my speech. But perhaps the biggest thing that injury has taught me is detachment. It reminds me that, at any time, what I think I have can be taken away from me. My strength, flexibility, and endurance are all temporary, as are my muscles and my bones. It’s a hard pill to swallow but I know that it keeps me humble and real. And though I modify my practice as my shoulder heals, I also find other ways to practice presence beyond merely the physical. (As most yogis know, the body is an amazing thing, but it can also be an unreliable friend.)
Over the years, injury has become my biggest teacher. And while there is a part of me that wishes my shoulder would hurry up and heal, there is another part of me that is grateful for this opportunity to take a pause from my routine, and wake up into a new moment.
How do you deal with injury? What kinds of injuries have you had and how have you dealt with them? What have you learned? Write in and let us know!
I have had a neck hernia, this actually got be back into yoga. When I was a teenager I could do halasana, sarvangasana, matsyasana, padmasana without much effort. I never had a serious yoga class, only a teacher from India who demonstrated the poses once and I just imitated. So after a while I stopped exercising, stopped doing yoga and spend all my time working on an internet business at my desk. I gained a lot of weight(was always overweight though), developped bad posture and when I got back into exercising I developped a neck hernia. This got me back at taking hatha yoga lessons, I am still regaining the flexibility I had during my teens.
The first stage of any injury should never be denial. It should always be caution. “No pain, no gain,” BS. Pain equal less gain maybe even debilitation. When you feel a strain, stop. That’s it for now. Go through easy range of motion movements. Evaluate if it is an injury. Will it still hurt tomorrow? Ice it. Take an anti inflammatory if available.
You say it is hard to lift your backpack up because of your pained shoulder? Here are some tips. Make sure the backpack is close to your body. Gravity is not your friend. Don’t reach out to lift it. Bend your knees and keep your back straight. Slip your arm in and lift with your legs. They are stronger. If possible put the backpack on a chair first. Then simply slip in your arm and lift. Sometimes if we have an injury we overcompensate by using muscles and joints that we usually do not use as much. This can lead to further injury…Good luck.
Like many of us, I came to first came to yoga years ago because of pain. Too many hours of standing was causing low back pain that was not acceptable as an ongoing condition in someone so young. I was so grateful for the almost-immediate relief that came from yoga that a lifelong practice resulted. It took time and patience, but I haven’t had back pain for years.
While I have been blessed with very few injuries, the wiser part of myself finds it fascinating how much I’m willing to ignore my body when it tells me to back off. Whether it’s a deep-seated competitiveness, a lack of mindfulness, or (increasingly) an unwillingness to modify my practice for an aging body, I still sometimes manage to ignore that the purpose of the practice of yoga is more about consistent breath and a calm, focused mind, principal aspects of yoga no matter what the body’s state . So, like you Karen, I find myself very grateful for the sometimes-harsh, always-present teacher of my body when it tells me “That’s enough” and I’m listening closely enough to hear.
Eleven months ago 1) my partner was convalescing from deep-vein thrombosis, 2) my mother had several strokes and was hospitalized, and 3) my 6-year-old granddaughter was spending a couple of weeks with us and I was to fly her back home. In the middle of all this (and two days after Christmas), I broke my ankle. Yes, my first reaction was denial. “I couldn’t possibly have broken it! Yeah, I heard a snap, but it’s just a sprain, right?” and “I’ll ice it; it’ll get better.” It didn’t. There was no one to even drive me to Urgent Care, so the next day I finally drove myself! The wonderful Urgent Care doctor said, “Oh, you have way too much going on!” and she ordered me the Cadillac of walking casts. In the next two weeks, I took care of my partner, helped my father settle my mother into yet another hospital room, then flew my granddaughter through two airports to her home.
Through all this, I learned just how strong I am, but I also learned to listen to my body better. Yes, I was still a caretaker for others, but I added myself to that list of people to take care of. I decided that a bone break was pretty serious, and that I needed to be patient with myself.
Nonetheless, I was in yoga class two months later. In downward dog, I was a tri-pod with my ankle in the air, and that was okay. I spent time in Yin Yoga poses putting myself inside my ankle–existing there to investigate any pain, discomfort, or sensations–and to send it healing energy.
Thanks for sharing this amazing story of strength and patience!
Luckily , I haven’t been injured to the point of being down for the count . Too often we forget that health, in the various forms be it strength, cardiovascular, flexibility ect can be taken away in the blink of a warrior pose.
After reading this article, I am reminded how very fortunate I am to be flexible and springy, as I like to say. With that being said, it also gives me a better sense of how to transition posture to posture , pose to pose and so fourth and more importantly to slow down- take a breath ad just be.
Sheila: I don’t know the host but Mark or Ian could tell you. You can reach them at contact@pranamaya.com. Thanks for reading!
Oh my am I familiar with injuries, having lived through shoulder surgery, torn hamstring muscle, and periodic lower back pain. I do not stop doing my yoga , but only do restorative yoga and meditation when I am injured. I am a lot more mindful in my practice and a lot more grateful for my health. Thank you for sharing.