If You’ve Got Back Pain From Yoga, Try This
Wanna know a secret that shouldn’t be a secret?
Yoga instructors do Pilates to manage pain they think they aren’t supposed to have. They come in with back pain because their practice often emphasises stretching over strength.
What makes that pain go away?
Core strength, oblique strength, and glute strength.
If you’ve got weak abs and a sleepy tush, your back takes all the responsibility that your bum and obliques should be taking.
Making your bum and abs stronger helps to manage that pain.
If you teach yoga, don’t be embarrassed about any pain you might feel or injuries you might have.
Pilates teachers cross-train all the time and, in order to be able to do more advanced exercises, they need to incorporate strength training.
Doing other forms of movement means that you’re mature enough to leave your ego at the door and do what your body needs.
You aren’t less of a yoga teacher if you do something other than yoga.
My massage therapist told me that she wouldn’t be able to do her job if she didn’t get massages, do Pilates and yoga, and go for regular acupuncture treatments.
I complement Pilates with lots of walking.
My Pilates mentor regularly uses the elliptical machine, does step classes, and gets runs in.
Isn’t doing the same thing all the time kind of boring?
Why not switch things up with other forms of movement that you love?
I switched from bikram to vinyasa yoga in 2013 because the flow is different and because the order of the exercises varies from class to class – it’s not the same thing in the same order every time (though there’s no issue with that if it’s something you enjoy and can sustain).
All I’m trying to say is: if you teach yoga and do yoga regularly, and you have aches and pains because of it, try strength training or Pilates to help your core connection, kick in your abs, and wake up your sleepy bum.
There’s no reason to be ashamed of doing something other than the form of movement that you teach.