Wai Lana Yoga Fan

Having gone through so many injuries myself, I always try to make sure that my students – be it in yoga or other things, know that they have to listen to their bodies- just as Wai lana says. I think it is essential for every yoga teacher to teach their students not just how to do poses, but how to actually become more aware of how they are feeling and being able to adjust accordingly.

My having started yoga with an injury helped me learn a lot about this. It also helped me choose yoga teachers.  I don’t want to say certain yoga teachers are bad or anything, but what upset me was when I’d be pushed beyond what I knew my body could do- especially with the limitations of my injuries.

I’ve lived such a competitive life since I was a young child, and so my yoga practice has become a retreat from my constant attempt to be better than everyone else in whatever I’m doing.

Here are some nice little tips from Wai Lana about doing yoga asanas with injuries:

Wai Lana’s Weekly Message: Doing Asanas with an Injury

An injury can put a damper on your asana practice, but don’t let it keep you from practicing altogether. Yoga has so many poses that it’s usually easy to find asanas that don’t affect the injured area. Some will even help heal it.

Depending on the type of injury you’ve suffered, you may need to rest that part of your body completely. Pulled muscles and ligaments require complete rest. But you can still practice asanas that strengthen the surrounding muscles. For example, if you’ve hurt your knee, you can strengthen the hamstring and quadriceps muscles of the thighs. When these muscles are strong, they work hard for you, taking stress and pressure off the joint, allowing it to heal more quickly.

Many physical therapy exercises are yoga-based; it’s just a matter of knowing which ones to practice. So ask your doctor or therapist which movements are good for you and which you should avoid. Find out which muscles you need to stretch or strengthen, then practice the appropriate poses. Take care to avoid any movements that could cause further damage.

Even if you have to give up most of yoga’s basic asanas for a while, you may still be able to do exercises that loosen the joints (such as shoulder, ankle, and wrist rotations) and neck or eye exercises. And, of course, you can always practice pranayama and meditation. Injuries are stressful. Breathing and meditation help to calm and revitalize both mind and body, giving you the energy you need to cope and heal.

Here’s a rewind.  Eleven years ago I was traveling around and actively competing as a track and field athlete.  A year later, my knees were starting to give out on me, and with more bad luck, I also sustained a back injury that left me almost unable to walk.  I can tell you – that is one of the worst things that can happen to any athlete.  It was one of my therapists who suggested I do yoga.  My friend suggested I try Wai Lana yoga.

So there it was.. I started off with Wai Lana’s Easy Series. I practiced with her religiously each day to the best  I could in the condition I was in until I got back to my pre-injury condition (took about 6 months).  After that I was back running and competing for another two years.  I also tried many yoga teachers around town and in other places I’ve visited, but Wai Lana is still my favorite yoga teacher because she makes things so easy and simple.

Sometimes I still can’t believe I’ve gone from being a badly injured athlete to a yoga teacher, but it was exactly yoga that got me back in shape (Special thanks to Wai Lana!).  I’ve been teaching yoga for the past 6 years now. I just started off with friends and family and former team mates and slowly, more people in my neighborhood and town just also wanted to have classes.

Please do keep up with my blog and I’ll be happy to hear from you all.