Archive for the ‘yoga injury’ tag
I am humbled and reminded that I am just human with tests of injury.
In yoga class, injuries mostly happen because of wrongly set intentions.
Good yoga classes often start with the instructors checking if anybody has any injury or special request AND asking everyone to set good intentions, to dedicate their practice to someone (loved ones, someone in trouble) or something (world peace, etc) and to visualize exactly how they want to feel at the end of the class.
As we are all humans built with integration of delicate joints, sensitive tissues, constantly regenerating new cells and yoga class can be one of the most-intensed workout most people can ever experience, risk of injuring oneself in a yoga class is definitely not impossible especially IF:
- we arrive late to yoga class causing us to have missed the crucial breathing warm-up and sun salutations that are usually conducted first 15 minutes of a yoga class
- to why, most yoga centres especially BE Yoga are strict on NOT allowing anyone to enter a class if they arrive later than 10 minutes of class’ start time)
- we do not respect our body, our limits and our teachers
- Cramps and unbearable pain are organic ways of our body telling us something is not right or our alignment is not correct that – if we go on, we will definitely injure ourselves
- Our limits and maximum tolerance of stretching / holding our own body weight are not the same for everyone. The person in front of us in our yoga class is able to hold it longer / stretch it furthermight be due to they have been practicing yoga longer / more regular than us
- Our teachers / instructors might have been practicing yoga 10 times longer than us / have taught a 1000 students / have a lifetime experience of yoga so whenever they say “Don’t turn your head around as you hold Matsyasana (Fish Pose)” or “Don’t hyperextend your knees in Uttanasana (Forward Bend)”, listen to them!
- our intention to performing a pose (especially during advanced yoga classes) is not to better ourselves BUT to look like Jessica Alba or Cameron Diaz AND to show-off or to do it better / hold it longer than everyone else in the class
- that is when, the pose comes with arrogance & hatred side-effects instead of benefits & humbling effects
As a yoga instructor myself, as much as I can I use these reminders to remind myself whenever I join other yoga classes or conduct my personal practice everyday. But sometimes especially when I am not centered, thinking of too many things at once or too tired, these reminders often slipped my mind.
That is why I usually get injured during photoshoot and public performances (as the intentions are obviously to show-off
)!
And errr, I injured myself again on Friday night while leading an introduction to Ashtanga class at BE Yoga. This thought was running in my head “Everything I do in this class will make me appear stronger on that cover!” as I demo asana by asana.
As a result, I pulled my upper trapezius (shoulder blade) and bracchialis (triceps) on my left while demonstrating Chakrasana Vinyasa (Complete Wheel Flow), I was not even warmed up as the rest of the class as I was showing it (off).
I went to an interesting Chinese chiropractor who performed some Oriental Tit Tar realignment for sports injury and applied some hot herbal medication on my back.
I can’t even turn my head or look up and down (let alone do the pose above) as I type this . Wish me speedy recovery and remind me to take the rest I deserve, please!
Love and light.
