Yoga Grows with You and Your Needs

I noticed some stress in my knees during my yoga training when I was encouraged to bring my knees closer together during bridge. This was very uncomfortable, but trying to be the “good” student and do it the “right” way (very un-yoga-like of me), I forced my body into doing it. About a year later, my left knee started clicking and my right knee began to hurt to the point that it started to affect my yoga practice.

I visited several chiropractors and was told that my meniscus was inflamed and he guessed it was from moving in and out of lotus too quickly, or just that lotus and other asanas had put strain on my knees over time. I was surprised to hear this, and even more surprised to hear that if I didn’t lay off it for a while, it may lead to surgery.

Yoga As Sport

I contacted one of my yoga teachers who shared that over the years he had to modify his practice and there were certain poses he simply couldn’t do anymore. He, like the chiropractor, likened yoga to any other sport where you’re prone to injury, wear and tear over the years.

I never thought of yoga like a sport. For me, it’s been a mind/body practice, but the more I thought about it, many of the poses are challenging and when rushed through, there is risk for injury. Exercises like sun salutes (used to hate them but then became my favorite for energy and focus) can put a lot of strain on the body during a vigorous practice. Even if you’re stressing proper alignment, over the years, the body can simply stop enjoying what it may view as strain on it’s parts (especially a Vata body). I learned from one of my yoga trainers, a registered nurse, that many yoga teachers end up having hip replacements when they get older. It’s something not talked about a lot in the yoga community, but important to be aware of.

Yoga as Friend

Yoga doesn’t need to be a cookie cutter practice or a goal for the ego to achieve. It can be a life-long friend that changes as you change, and grows as you grow. Yoga is always teaching you something new about yourself and the practice, and about life. Expecting to keep the same practice you had at 18 when you’re 60…well, that’s like wearing the same dress from high school. Times change, and our styles change with it. Allowing your yoga to evolve helps you evolve; you’re able to let go of the past and learn new ways of discovering joy and meeting your needs.

Yoga As Therapy

My most popular classes have been restorative, and I’ve noticed for me the most powerful experiences I’ve had with yoga have been in my restorative practice. This is when I’ve felt my heart open, my chakras clear, my intuition strengthen. So for now, while my knees heal, I’m embracing yoga solely for the soul strengthening, cleansing and rejuvenation it provides.

There are many kinds of yoga, that’s the beauty of it. I’ve found that “sport-like” yoga requires more emphasis on the body and physical movement, which is wonderful for body awareness, focus and stamina. I’ve found it challenging and sometimes nearly impossible to go quietly within and take notice of the deeper stirrings in my soul when my focus is highly concentrated on the physical. Restorative yoga still asks for body awareness, but it also provides the stillness to go within. It offers time to notice how you feel, internally and externally, and it offers time to heal. I’ve met many students and teachers on my yoga journey who are very uncomfortable with a quieting practice. It may bring up uneasiness if your nervous system is used to running at full speed, or if you’re not ready to feel suppressed emotions that may bubble up. For some, the simple art of relaxation may carry judgment with it – such as believing that an exercise in relaxing the body is laziness or not achieving anything.

A relaxing yoga practice helps you achieve peace of mind and the ability to nurture and be kind to yourself. A quieting practice creates time and space for you to feel love for yourself, which is one of the most empowering things you can do. Gentle yoga helps lower stress hormones and calm the nervous system, aiding in peaceful sleep, more energy, and glowing skin. Gentle yoga pays attention to aches and pains and provides appropriate stretching to release tension. Gentle yoga encourages a peaceful and trusting mind, and to flow through life’s challenges with grace and ease as much as humanly possible. There is a lot achieved when slowing down and exerting less energy; most notably, the positive effect it can have on your mental, emotional and physical well-being. Gentle yoga is an opportunity to receive energy instead of constantly giving it out. The result is rejuvenating!

I began teaching gentle yoga for healing, and then spread my yogini wings to teach more physically enduring classes, but I feel this flare-up in my knee is my body reminding me that my relationship with yoga is a gentle, nurturing, loving one. It’s not about forcing, straining, or doing. It’s about surrendering, letting be. I’m being guided back to focus on yoga for healing (what else would a healer teach, anyway?)