Wrist pain can be an issue for a number of yoga students and office workers. Melanie Cooper demonstrates in this video some great exercises for keeping the wrists strong, mobile and hopefully injury free.
It is possible that some students may feel discomfort in the shoulder whilst doing certain actions in the yoga. One potential answer to this may be the underlying bony structure of the shoulder, specifically the shape and size of the acromion process.. This is not a topic that applies to everyone but is useful for teachers to have an understanding of as well as for students that feel something is not happening quite as it should at the shoulder. I…
In this workshop, Yoga Teacher and anatomy expert Adarsh Williams explains and demonstrates some useful ques for maintaining good stability in the spine, hips and shoulders when performing yoga postures.
One of the common questions asked by yoga students is ‘what’s that popping sound from my joints?’ quickly followed by ‘is it safe?’ and ‘does it mean I’m going to get arthritis or injure myself?’
A central concept in all healing arts is that of correcting imbalances within the body. The principle of re-establishing balance can be found across all cultures from Navajo sand paintings, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine to modern allopathy. And anything with true healing power also has the capacity to cause injury when practiced without balance. For example, joint mobility is beneficial for a number of reasons–provided it is balanced with joint stability. In this blog post I discuss the concept of joint proprioception and its relationship to joint stability and yoga, concluding with a tip for “re-setting” muscular proprioception following hip openers.
Some time ago I threatened to write an article about pain showing up in the joint that connects the collarbone to the breastbone. I have had a couple of more recent requests to talk about this potential problem in Supta Kurmasana. As always I try to look at the anatomy, its function, observations about the posture itself and perhaps some ways that information may inform the way we work in the posture or adjust it.
It is quite common for yogis, particularly women, to develop wrist pain and numbness or tingling in the whole hand or individual fingers, either when they are doing arm balances or Chaturanga or at night if they sleep with arms raised above the head although these sensations subside if the arm is placed alongside the body.
Padmasana can cause various problems for yoga practitioners. Meniscus tears usually occur as a result of falls and accidents but in yoga they can be caused by incorrect functioning of the Popliteus and Semimembranosus (inner hamstring). Both of these muscles control rotational forces in the leg. The Popliteus muscle retracts the lateral meniscus, while the Semimembranosus retracts the medial meniscus, preventing the meniscus from being compressed and torn when the knee is flexed. Swelling or pain in this area can…
Students who struggle with squatting poses may have limited range of motion (ROM) in one or more of three important joints. Learn how to assess your students’ ROM and help them modify their poses. There are three major joints to consider when teaching a Squat: the hip, the knee, and the ankle. If any one of these three joints is limited in its range of motion (ROM), then any of the squatting poses will be awkward and uncomfortable. You can…
The purpose of some Yoga postures is to stress the joints in a beneficial manner. This article explores the different forms of stress that can be placed on a joint so that a Yogi can make the appropriate choices when practicing.