This entry was posted on Apr 17, 2024 by Charlotte Bell.
In the event you apply yoga, you’ve most likely heard the entreaty, “Take heed to your physique.” It’s good, sound recommendation. While you embark on any bodily apply, it’s necessary to know and respect your physique’s limits. Tuning in and listening to your physique and what it’s making an attempt to speak to you every time you apply is crucial not solely to your physique’s well being, however to the expansion of your apply. How else can you actually know the results of an asana?
As academics, we are able to’t really know what one other particular person is feeling in his/her physique. So encouraging college students to develop their very own physique consciousness is essential. Though listening to your physique, and inspiring your college students to take action, is essential, generally it’s not sufficient to maintain your physique protected.
3 Causes Why Listening to Your Physique Would possibly Not Be Sufficient
Physique Consciousness Is Not a Given
A few of us come to apply with pretty refined physique consciousness, whereas others come to apply barely in a position to perceive what they’re feeling even when it’s by no means delicate. This disparity is likely to be the results of some individuals having already engaged in numerous bodily exercise whereas others haven’t. An individual who has suffered bodily or emotional trauma might be both hyper-aware of bodily sensation, or may need developed a mechanism to close down excessive sensation. Regardless of the motive, it’s protected to imagine that each pupil who involves your yoga lessons shouldn’t be experiencing the identical stage of physique consciousness. So not each pupil will be capable of belief his/her listening expertise, no less than at first. That is the place an skilled instructor who is aware of how you can assess alignment integrity is so necessary. And alignment integrity doesn’t look the identical for each particular person—people usually are not cookie cutters.
Ligament Ache Could Not Present Up within the Second
Even when your physique consciousness could be very refined, there are occasions if you is likely to be hurting your self inadvertently. A pose might really feel positive within the second, however in some instances, the ache response might be delayed. For instance, you could not really feel overstretched ligaments till the following day. As soon as ligaments are overstretched, they don’t return to their unique size. Over time, constantly over stretching ligaments can destabilize your joints. Refraining from pushing to your absolute edge is wise, wholesome apply, to your ligaments in addition to your cartilage (up subsequent!).
Joint Injury is Typically Hidden—Till it Isn’t
A stickier, extra long-term challenge is the potential of joint injury, particularly within the hip joints. Our acetabula (the sockets of the hip joints) are lined with a cartilaginous floor referred to as the “labrum.” As well as, cartilage covers the heads of our femur bones. The cartilage on each surfaces permits the ball and socket to articulate easily and freely. Cartilage has no enervation, so we are able to’t really feel the ball and socket articulating with one another. After we make a behavior of pushing or collapsing into our joints—this particularly applies to the bendier people—the cartilage can tear or put on down over time. We don’t really feel cartilage injury till the cartilage is gone, after which it’s typically too late. Luckily, hip alternative surgical procedure has improved by leaps and bounds. However a greater thought could be to keep away from over stretching our joints within the first place.
How Can Yoga Lecturers Assist?
As academics, we must always encourage college students to hearken to their our bodies, and assist them perceive that ache and discomfort are indicators to again off, to not hold going. However we additionally want to coach ourselves to know what collapsing right into a joint seems to be like. A few of the poses that folks generally collapse or push into their hip joints embrace excessive hip openers—suppose Kapotasana (Pigeon), Hanumanasana (splits), Anjaneyasana (lunges) and Yoga Nidrasana (ankle behind the top). (Do you really want to place your ankle behind your head to take pleasure in a grace-filled life?)
Backbends is usually a drawback as nicely as a result of there’s a bent to push into your hip joints to get that further few millimeters of peak. And that ubiquitous instruction about holding your pelvis squared in standing poses? Please don’t do it. Let the hip of your again leg rotate inward so that you just preserve continuity between the legs and pelvis. This goes for twists as nicely.
Listening to your physique is crucial. You’ll be able to keep away from a whole lot of current and future struggling by merely paying consideration. But in addition, do keep in mind that simply because all the pieces feels positive within the second, it might not be in the long term. Know what regular vary of movement is to your joints. And bear in mind: Nowhere in yoga’s texts does it say that pushing previous your limits is sweet apply. Keep in mind shtira (stability) and sukkha (ease) from Sutra 2.46? (Translated: The bodily physique ought to be regular and cozy.) In the event you’re going to place power into something in your apply, goal for a steadiness between these two qualities. And end up an skilled instructor who is aware of what meaning.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and started instructing in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Conscious Yoga, Conscious Life: A Information for On a regular basis Apply and Yoga for Meditators, each revealed by Rodmell Press. Her third e-book is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and folks sextet Pink Rock Rondo, whose DVD received two Emmy awards in 2010.