Yoga Injuries Stink
I know sounds like an oxymoron but yes it is possible to get injured doing yoga. Especially the kind you find being practiced at most gyms and advanced yoga studios in the US.
I consider myself a pretty advanced asana practioner, but for the past 4 months or so have maintained a consistent 6-7 day a week practice. Many of my classes are very physically challenging (Baptiste Power Yoga is the style).
Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue as my body would have time to heal, but I started developing a bit of aching in my wrists. Instead of doing the smart thing and modifying poses (which you are told to do in case of soreness or injury) or taking a few days off, I just decided to power through.
Using a laptop computer 12 hours a day didn’t help matters.
In the end, one class was especially challenging, and I my right wrist was super-sore afterwards.
I continued to going to class for a week or so, modifying poses whenever arm balances were in order. The pain was not and is not that bad, in fact, I could practice through it without a problem, but I fear it getting worse.
Therefore, I took 3 days totally off, and did an Iyengar practice that was much easier on my wrists. Iyengar practices focus on alignment, and I figure it would be a good thing for me to really delve deeply into to prevent any further injuries.
I figured out that my injury was caused by improper hand position and pressure. My position was just a few degrees off, but after hundreds of Sun A and B’s. this eventually wears you down.
Moral of this story is to never stop focusing on the basics, even if you are advanced. Really nail technique and you’ll go much farther over the long run and be more likely to avoid any injuries.
