Having decided to write a post on this I'm still finding it difficult.
"Do you have any aches and pains?"
"s'pose"
"Well what kind?"
"I don't know, the usual"
"Have you seen a doctor?"
" A, Doctor? Are you kidding, wouldn't want to waste their time?"
Once spent a week doubled up in agony, getting up in the night to sit in hot or could baths but refusing to see a doctor. When I did finally go, after much nagging and threats, it turned out I had kidney stones.
How, so very, English. You may scoff over there in the US? Well, you have National Health Insurance now (kind of, dont you?), give it fifty years and you'll be the same. Wont want to be a bother.
"Well how about, alternative therapies"
"What are you crazy, pay for some treatment that's not recognized by the NHS (National Health Service), not on your nelli sir".
How even more English.
So here's my list
Troublesome knee, from old Aikido injury, right one doesn't bend as fully as the left.
Echo of an overstretched right hamstring. Don't think I pulled it completely but I've had to go easy with it for a year, almost fine now.
Right psoas pain, I think it's psoas. feel it most after the right side of Eka Pada Sirsasana, irritating.
Twinge in right Shoulder or rather just below the shoulder going down my arm. Doesn't really bother me but notice it when I raise my arms above my head so I tend to be mindful of it.
Occasional stiff neck after long headstands (20 minutes or more )
Back pain, little way above the small of my back on the right side close to the spine, from old old back injury. Aware of it through most back bends which again made me mindful and possibly overcautious for a long time. Now I do quite deep back bends and it's no different from doing a shallow UD
Sore Coccyx, comes and goes but made jumping back a pain as well Navasana.
There, I feel so much better now.
Not having a dig here at those who do write about their Aches, pains and injuries but rather at myself and English men in general with their faux stoicism and absurd resistance to 'bothering' the doctor( or is that just me?). And as for our feelings about alternate therapies that borders on contempt, what's that all about.
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14 comments:
Hey Grimmly,
I've been lurking along (drawn in by your series of 'developing a home practice' posts) and finally felt I had to comment. Firstly, thanks for putting that series of posts together - I'm a relative newbie, and reading about others' progress is really interesting, and helpful. And this one on aches and injuries has brought me out of the wookwork as I'm currently a bit restricted in my practice by my intercostals, reading about others' injuries is weirdly encouraging.
Lastly, I had to laugh at '
Occasional stiff neck after long headstands (20 minutes or more )'. That's what I call a long headstand! When I make it to 20 breaths I'll be surprised if I have no stiffness in the neck after!
R
Not just British or male, the disinclination to bother the doctor. When it comes to medical intervention, I like to stay just shy of negligence.
Some very good shoulder and hip rehab/prehab drills here:
http://idoportal.blogspot.com/
I really struggled with my wrists for a while there. Little skinny stick wrists, all of seven inches around, tiny bones, and one was broken a few years ago and poorly set. And here I was doing all these vinyasas, they hated it. Used to ache and ache. They got amazingly better with an inferno wrap. They make them for various body parts. I recommend for old injuries!
In other thoughts, having just done the David Williams workshop, I have a whole new feeling about ashtanga and injuries. he was SO emphatic that there is no place in yoga for injury, if it hurts, even a little, you're hurting yourself. Cut back to half effort, you'll get twice the results and no injuries, practice for the rest of your life this way, etc. he's a vibrant 60+ years old, daily practice for 40 years, and no injuries. We must baby the bits that got injured elsewhere, but no need to get injuries in yoga, that was his biggest message, one I have really taken to heart.
Hi R thanks for delurking commenting, first time I've come across your blog. I should bring that home practice series up to date, thanks for the reminder.
I think the stiff neck in headstands comes from lack of control. If your nicely set up then it's fine. I think because I do some of the Vinyasa Krama variations for the second ten that I sometimes lose control and the stiff neck comes from that. I've heard reports of two and three hour headstands, most I tend to do is forty minutes in the Inverted Sequence, seems plenty.
Don't say that Karen I've been giving M the 'grown up under the NHS' excuse for years and getting away with not seeing the doctor. Will be in trouble now.
Thanks for the link S, what a great blog, looking forward to exploring it. Forget there's a world outside Ashtanga and yoga sometimes.
Totally agree with David Williams there. Can't believe some of the injuries I hear about. Are we more cautious when we practice at home I wonder. I've had no bad injuries to speak of really, most of them are old ones that I try to stay mindful of. I know it seems like I used to push ahead in my practice but I like to think I've kept my common sense. Perhaps, practicing at home we're forced to listen to our bodies more and err on the side of caution. Besides, what's the point an injury means you can't practice or at least not comfortably.
That VK has been good for this, adding an extra posture here or there to open things up a little more, especially through the winter.
That was a tough post to write, I am not sure I would want to spend time listing my pains, fear it could make them worse or something...
and about the doctor, yeah, methinks there is a tendency with men... although I must say I will avoid doctors like the plague if I can
Thanks CK, your fortitude comment helped me get on the mat this morning.
Never been Supersticious Claudia ....touch wood
Well. This is something I've wondered about, because the way you seem to breeze through everything is incredible to me, you almost never seem forced to slow down. You have mentioned the knee thing from time to time though.
So I'm one who seems to get injured a lot, and writes a lot about it. I don't think it's a question of mindful practice - it's very easy to say 'if it hurts you're doing it wrong', and I agree. But a lot can happen coming OUT of poses, or when it's too late to back off, or it doesn't hurt at all at the time but might feel slightly odd, and subsequently spirals off into some drawn-out 'injury'; or maybe you don't know what the hell happened, or how you did it. In my case I think it has to do with hypermobility and the realignment of a twisted pelvis, but anyway.. I never got injuries during my years of home practice, and yet I can think of only one injury I've had that had to do with an adjustment (falling off mayurasana to the side). My previous injuries were also in classes - iyengar, shadow - where I wasn't being touched. Weird.
Also these things don't have to involve doctors, in fact in my case they never have!
I've had lots of tweaks, a few injuries and some 'openings' since I started mysore practice, but also never opened and strengthened my body so much in such a short time with my home practice, or enjoyed my practice so much.
Anyway, now the problem is how to practice 2nd & 3rd series (or indeed at all) with some problem that began as a tiny twinge during chaturanga about six weeks ago and is now a very tender hand and achy, clicky wrist. Maya9 I'm interested in your story if you feel like writing any more?
Sorry for the long comment, I'm rambling, but thanks for writing the post...
PS. I am in no way suggesting that Ashtangi's who do injure themselves lack common sense most of the time, I'm sure, it just comes down to bad luck. So far I've been relatively lucky. Sorry if I seemed to give the opposite impression. Nor do I mean to suggest that you leave common sense at the door of the Shala.
Thanks Susan. Love how you write about your injuries and how you cope with them. That sounds terrible, I mean you write about them in the same way you write about asana, very clear detailed, mostly detached.
I'm not suggesting injuries happen through a lack of common sense or as the fault of a teacher. Practicing the kind of asanas we do, in any of the series, six days a week, injuries are bound to happen. It's interesting that it was chatauranga rather than something more complicated that resulted in injury. But then perhaps it's more likely to happen in the ones we take for granted or focus less on. I guess I am saying we're less mindful sometimes which can, just can, result in an injury. Taking the eye of the ball, to resort to cliche
As for injuries happening in a Shala, yes we hear about adjustments that go wrong but I was thinking more along the lines of how practcing at home you're the teacher as well as the student and have to be doubly aware of what your doing, I wonder if in the shala, a 'safe, supportive, environment', you are perhaps less cautious. that's what I meant by listening to our bodies more at home. But perhaps that's something that should have been raised by somebody who practices both at home and at the shala to avoid misunderstanding.
I begin to realize you are somewhat of an expert here and so I'd like to take a short interview of yourself and publish it in my site and if you are okay please send me an email. I have been practising Yoga for years now but never heard of Navasana! I have had injuries too and when I do, I usually do a reverse of the asana that caused a discomfort. For instance, a chakrasana to counter a dhanurasana etc. Viryastambanasana is also a great posture for anti-stress, which I love practising.
I have a site http://www.all-under-the-sun.com/yoga-for-beginners-practical-no-nonsense-advice (am actually not a pro when it comes to blogging but have considerable experience on the mat!). I would be privileged if you could come by.
Thanks for the comment Maverik, I'll be sure to take a look at your site. However, i don't think an interview would be appropriate. I'm in no way an expert having only been practicing for a couple of years. I'm sure you'll find bloggers, some whom occasionally comment here who have been practicing for decades, some teach as well and would make much more interesting and relevant interviewees. Thanks though.
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