I used to care very deeply about jumping back to high plank. I made it my mission to guide students through safe vinyasa flows or sun salutations in order for them to add years to the life of their practice. Since yoga is a lifetime practice, and we rarely learn anything overnight, our bodies need to carry us through said lifetime practice. Wear and tear on the joints is inevitable, but carelessness would not happen on my watch. Since I feel that message was conveyed to my students in NY and Florida, I've switched my priorities a bit.
As a member of the "yoga butt," injury club, I am now the biggest proponent of bending your knees in a forward fold, maintaining a stomach to thigh/chest to knee compression. When I learned the reasoning behind the subtle bend to the knee from Amy Lucky, my focus shifted as I zeroed in on all of my students who were putting themselves at risk for yoga butt or lumbar back issues.
Yoga Butt injury is not as sexy as it sounds, in fact it's annoying as shit and my left leg will forever, or what seems like forever, be effected. It's other more scientific names include, Ischial Tendonitis, Sits bone pain or my favorite. Proximal Hamstring Tendonopathy. Not to be confused to telepathy, which would have been awesome for prevention of this injury. It feels most intense in forward folds, sometimes sitting, sometimes even walking. How did I get this? I relied on my flexibility. ON THE MAT. And what was happening in my life? I was also relying on my, "flexibility." How "cool" or "laid back," I was. I use air quotes because I wasn't really cool or laid back at all. I was covering up my feelings, to comfort other people, so that they would continue to like me, for fear that if I spoke up, wasn't so "cool," they would leave me. And what happened? On the mat, I only hurt myself. Off the mat, I only hurt myself.
SO. I'm thankful for this pesky injury that happened because my pelvis is or WAS floppy at the time, which gave me room to fold deeper by way of my tendons rather then the true belly of the muscle. I'm thankful for any injury actually because they're honestly the best teacher. It has not only helped to strengthen my practice and bring more INTEGRITY to my practice, but it has helped me to teach yoga with a much more mindful eye.
I can tell when you're hyper flexxy, I can see when you're using your flexibility and not a healthy combination of both. I am you. So bend your freaking knees. As Amy says also, "we won't get addicted to keeping our knees bent either." Because I can see how easy it is to just stay there and not progress, but the support I feel with knees bent at first, before moving forward is honest, and literally there for me.
I'd love to open this blog post up, because even when I say, "bend your knees," in class most people don't. Is it scary? Is it more uncofmorablt? I'm truly curious because for me the second i was given permission to bend my knees I had a party in my head, my heart and then back at my apartment talking to Ashley about how happy I am that bending my knees will actually HELP me. That it will slowly open my outer hips and release my jacked up lumbar spine!! And, when I do keep a buoyancy to my knees in folds, my spine is so much longer!! Cindy Crawford, watch out, this girl is literally growing inches!
But, for some people, I see hesitation. I see uncertainty and fear. So, what's holding us back?
Let's keep this discussion rolling for sure. In the meantime, I will continue to sound like a broken record, and I will continue to lightly touch the backs of your knees when I see that it's necessary. I will continue to stop class when everyone is doing it, and I will also continue to repeat, "I only say this will love because my injury has helped me to teach with more awareness." I love you. I want you to practice forever. I want you to learn from this practice. I want to see you, next to me, on the mat, practicing together, when we're 95, loving the fact that we're still finding depth in our life and not just existing. <3
