yoga and injury recovery
Yoga can be a very important part of recovering from an injury, and injury prevention. Yoga helps bring awareness to areas of the body that need to be healed, strengthened, and stretched. Some of the most common injuries are tearing of the muscle or connective tissue, whether it be tendon or ligament. This occurs when the deeper stabilizing muscles are weak, or the muscles are too tight. A tight muscle is a weak muscle. A muscle is strongest when it is pliable, with the freedom to stretch and contract to it's full ability. This also allows more circulation to the area, which promotes healthy tissues, and injury recovery. The deeper muscles are often known as our stabilizing (or "shunt") muscles, and only fully engage during Isometric Contractions, where the muscle length doesn't change, but the tension increases, such as Plank or Boat poses. The longer you hold a strengthening pose, the more stabilizing muscles engage. The longer you hold a deep stretching pose, the more fascia is accessed, allowing a deeper loosening of scar tissue and restrictions. Arguably, one of the most important phases in injury rehabilitation is strengthening the muscle in it's stretched state, which happens in many poses. This state of elongated contraction, known as an eccentric contraction, is the muscle's weakest state, and when most injuries occur. It's not when you're picking up the 100lb weight, it's when you're setting it down, that you're the most vulnerable to injury. In Yoga, one of the goals is holding a pose for a certain amount of time, which engages the deeper stabilizing muscles (isometric contraction), while the muscle is being stretched (eccentric contraction).
In short, Yoga helps heal and prevent injuries by:
There are many different types of Yoga practices and classes. Just trying one class is like saying you tried one kind of massage one time. Different types are going to be good for different types of bodies, different phases of injury recovery, and different goals.
The best thing to do is to look at what your overall goals are, and where you are in your process. This link has a great list of some basic types of Yoga, so you can find a class that meets your needs where you are.
The important thing to know is that it's not about the pants, or expensive clothing, or the vegan green smoothies. It's not about how everyone else looks in the class. It's about you, and your process, and your goals.
So breathe. And enjoy.
Namaste.
Yoga Teachers, please click HERE
In short, Yoga helps heal and prevent injuries by:
- Bringing breath and awareness to areas in the body needing attention
- Strengthening joints by triggering deeper stabilizing muscles
- Stretching the muscles and connective tissues to allow freedom of movement without restriction
- Strengthening muscles in their weakest state, helping to heal and prevent further injury
- Engaging the parasympathetic nervous system, which reduces blood pressure and stress hormones in the system, and increases circulation to the digestive and reproductive systems, as well as the muscles and joints that need it, while releasing relaxing and happy hormones in the body.
- Increases oxygen in the body in general through focused and intentional breath work. All cells require oxygen for survival, and creating the space and practice of deep breathing helps with overall cellular function and health.
There are many different types of Yoga practices and classes. Just trying one class is like saying you tried one kind of massage one time. Different types are going to be good for different types of bodies, different phases of injury recovery, and different goals.
The best thing to do is to look at what your overall goals are, and where you are in your process. This link has a great list of some basic types of Yoga, so you can find a class that meets your needs where you are.
The important thing to know is that it's not about the pants, or expensive clothing, or the vegan green smoothies. It's not about how everyone else looks in the class. It's about you, and your process, and your goals.
So breathe. And enjoy.
Namaste.
Yoga Teachers, please click HERE
