To think yoga can really hurt you?

[LadyMoglet]

I have been practicing yoga for over 4 years and love it so much. I initially took classes along with home sessions and often use youtube. 2 years ago I had six months with a private teacher so have a decent grounding.

I have always tried to be mindful of what I am doing, never pushed myself and taken as much care as I can. But something happened recently that has really upset me - and I have no idea how I've done it.

About 8 weeks ago I noticed a mild pain on the inside of one knee when in certain poses (cross-legged, lotus, pigeon and butterfly). For those who don't know, these involve bringing the knee inwards so that the foot comes towards the thigh). I have never overstretched or rotated my knee to my knowledge, but something must have happened.

I rested then carried on, taking care to monitor it and not push anything. The pain came back whenever I did yoga, so I then rested for a full month. On returning it was exactly the same as if no healing had occurred.

It is now worse, as the pain has spread to the entire knee cap and I am off the seek medical advice next week. In the mean time I won't be doing much, so hope it calms down a bit. It does not affect me in every day life and my range of lotion is fine unless I pull my leg inwards.

it's not looking good is it? I have a horrible feeling I won't be able to continue yoga, since I can't locate how I hurt it in the first place.
I would have put this in the yoga section but it doesn't get much traffic. I would really like to know if this has happened to anyone else, and if they were ever able to resume.

It won't get better just from resting, rehab your knee!

Of course yoga can cause injuries, however I wouldn't say they were certainly connected, and it's equally possible you've hurt yourself another way and yoga has aggravated it

The most important thing is to find out what’s actually wrong with your knee before you do anything else, that way you avoid inadvertently making things worse. From what you describe, it may be a problem with your cruciate ligament.

Been looking at a few of the mentioned strength training and injury based youtubes this morning (tom morrison, etc) and can't see any professional/medical or physio qualifications. Maybe I'm overly cautious but not sure we should be taking injury advice or solutions from unqualified youtubers, regardless how knowledgeable or friendly they are.

A coupe of the 'solutions' suggested for my own knee pain would literally wreck it :(

My pal broke her toe in yoga...

Yoga can cause damage and if certain poses regularly cause pain you shouldn’t do them.

going off your username I presume it didn't put you off?

It's brilliant isn't it ! Yoga mats at dawn

I strained my back slightly just doing a regular twist/stretch in lockdown. I had been doing yoga every day on my own, and for two years of classes before then. It was just a warning to take care and was fine after a few days. Yes you can injure yourself doing yoga, particularly while doing advanced balances and inversions, and you need to notice twinges and things that don't feel right, and modify or don't do poses that don't suit you.

I would go to a class rather than do it online and the teacher should be able to modify poses for you.

Have you ever practised yoga? It doesn't have to be spiritual, not all classes are.

Well, I live to Christian values and I've been practicing yoga for donkey's years. My spiritual life is perfectly intact and unaffected by the uplifting experience of time on the mat

I don't find there to be much in yogic philosophy that would be anti Christian. I discuss this a lot with my husband who is devout and I am a devout yogi. Exploring the ideas is really interesting. Fundamentally a core tenant of yoga is ahimsa which is non harm to yourself and others.

Op, forgetting the knee pain how long can you usually stay in low lunge? I can hold that pose pretty much indefinitely, so something is very off if you struggle to stay in it for just a short while when somebody talks. I've been doing yoga for probably 5 years so imagine similar levels of fitness I also run and do weights.

I'm very hypermobile (Ehlers Danlos syndrome) and my rheumatologist has told me in no uncertain terms to stay away from yoga because of the risk of joint hyperextension/dislocation.

I recently dislocated my finger emptying the kitchen bin so he might have a point 😂

Yin Yoga might be very beneficial for you, but be mindful that there are still poses with the same type of movement.

There is a saying in Yoga - Yoga meets you where you are. It means there will always be a yoga practice that is accessible and beneficial for you.
You also need to meet yourself where you are too and know that this can change on a daily basis.
Most people for instance will never express Pigeon pose with the shin at a right angle, some people might do it like that every time and others it might look like that on the odd occasion. Some people might only ever practice Pigeon standing or reclining. And all of this is absolutely fine. The whole point of yoga Asana is for people to find comfort and ease within the their bodies so it makes sense that the poses are adaptable.

From what you've said it sounds like you might be putting emphasis on creating certain shapes with your body which you deem to be a correct expression of a pose and this might be the cause of your discomfort.
Also, I'm sorry that you have felt the need to stay with or even go into a pose when it doesn't feel good or right in your body. A good yoga teacher would have been holding space for you in a way that would make it clear that it is your practice and you're in control.

I found that after a while practicing yoga I wanted more intensity than just generic exercise like you’ll find in a leisure centre vinyasa class. Because let’s face it, a yoga class is never going to be as physically intense as spin class or marathon running, so why do it?

I found the desired intensity in Bikram Yoga by going to the busiest classes where there was group energy amidst the heat. And eventually I could take the 90 minute class without taking in a bottle of water, just drinking a lot before hand.

I also went to a lot of Kundalini classes which is connected to Sikh energetic practices.

And I went to Kirtans where you’re chanting to Hindu deities. I liked Jivamukti which integrates chanting. I used to listen to chants like this!:

I also had a phase of listening to and even attending satsungs by various well known New Age / Indian influenced gurus who are big on YouTube and Facebook, most of whom turn out to be corrupt, money grabbing, sexually exploitative etc.

Having done all that, I do think that all of this was a redirection or misdirection of a search for a Christian notion of God.

If I had stayed at the level of casual yoga classes to keep fit, then it wouldn’t have been a challenge to Christianity. But I got sucked in and it replaced that religious impulse entirely.

Like several others I wouldn't do a YouTube class and feel, especially injury wise you are really putting yourself at risk because you can't see yourself and you can easily get into a completely wrong habit.

A teacher will just say you're doing X or Y, try to do Z instead, or if you then say you have problems with something they will instantly say don't do that or stick a brick here or there

Personally I have arthritis in my knees so things like pigeon are just impossible for me and I've never been in a class where the teacher hasn't instantly noticed this and suggested something, even in really quite hard fast classes

Because let’s face it, a yoga class is never going to be as physically intense as spin class or marathon running, so why do it?

that's your attitude to yoga - it's a very Western attitude, having to 'achieve', needing to do yoga to meet a goal, and "why bother" if you can't get into a sweat and burn calories.

I do spin and have run many marathons but I'd never put my yoga practice into that category, it's chalk and cheese.

Do you mean Yoga with Adriene? How odd, I’ve been doing her videos for years and I’ve never seen anything like this at all? Which video is it?

Any exercise can be damaging, more so if you don't know what you're doing, perhaps, but also if you've been taught/trained properly.

Agreed. Possibly not actually originating from the knee at all.

You could be mistaking the 'religious impulse' for the chemical high you get off more intense exercise - they are certainly in the same region of the brain