The other day Mary, a college classmate, emailed me a question concerning yoga poses that she could do while healing from a tear in her rotator cuff. I have written in past blog posts that after I broke my left foot almost 4 years ago (caused by jumping on my mini-trampoline and landing at a wrong angle - not by doing yoga!),while healing I continued to do some yoga and sitting aerobics on the same trampoline!
Well, injuries differ substantially. Whether you can continue some exercise and yoga in particular after an injury really depends on the nature and location of the injury. I am not a doctor or health practiioner.Common sense dictates however, that some parts of the body are more delicate than others. When my broken foot was healing, I could do selected modified yoga poses as long as I didn't put ANY weight on my left foot.
However, when Mary told me that she had a tear in one of her rotator cuffs and was not supposed to use her shoulders or arms while the tear in her rotator cuff healed, immediately I knew that her yoga options would be limited. The arms and shoulders play a central role in holding yoga poses and in yoga movements. I advised Mary that she heed her physician's advice and could likely only do yoga facial exercises, neck rolls, and maybe some breathing techniques. Apart from that, I suggested that she "sit it out" until she got the green light from her doctor.
By synchronicity, yesterday, the topic of rotator cuff injuries came via email from yoga instructor, Lucas Rockwood, and I found it most helpful. The video which you can watch below explains why the rotator cuff must be treated with great caution - it's a complex and delicate part of the body. At the same time, this video is informative because it shows you how to treat and re-strengthen the rotator cuff after an injury.
Yours for treating your body with care after an injury,
Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginners Yoga at Home Coach
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