Fasly-Kam

I am not a doctor. Nor physical therapist. Nor any kind of licensed health worker. I am a certified yoga instructor. I am a science-curious, anatomy-fascinated, yoga practitioner who studied so that she could share information about yoga with other people in a safe, productive, interesting and functional way. I am learning about how the body works (or doesn't work) through my own practice, and self-study, and hope to inspire other people to do the same. That being said, I MAY have had an experience or studied about an experience that MAY be able to help you improve your practice AND prevent injury during it. I MAY, however, not be able to. Some yoga instructors in fact ARE PTs or MDs or PhDs in the health profession and may be able to not only diagnose a problem but also offer a route to wellness. So, if you have a condition/problem/ache/pain that has been bugging you for more than, oh, say, two weeks and hurts MORE when you practice yoga (or when you are still), PLEASE go see a qu...

I have a lot to cover on this post and I apologize for my blog absence. I am struggling with a low back injury (and consequential pain all the way up my spine) and how to modify my physical yoga practice and teaching to keep me healthy and continue to do what I love... teach. I have been under the care of two physical therapists that were treating different problems but with similar therapies. One expressed that I had some SI joint issues, and had me doing some nifty exercises to strengthen the core and stabilize the SI joint (hips). She also advised to forgo vinyasa-style yoga as the SI joint problems are MOBILITY issues... the dysfunction was happening when I moved (from neutral or extension to flexion). Hence, not doing fast forward folds was the way to go. One exercise worked the outer hip flexor (abductor) of the dysfunctional side well, and another worked, alternately, the adductors (inner thighs) and then abductors (outer). The interesting part her is that when I first did the...

Here are a couple of articles based on information from Judith Lasater (from whom I took a seminar at the most recent YJ Conference on just this issue). It's not always intuitive on how to prevent or care for SI injuries or pain in yoga, In fact often we'll hear gross adjustment cues like "Tuck the Tailbone" but this isn't always the best instruction. Examine your own practice and explore this information - see if it assists in relieving (or preventing further exacerbation of) pain in this sensitive locale. http://www.yogajournal.com/health/562 http://www.bayoga.org/2006/01/mysterious-sacroiliac-joint-judith.html http://thejoyofyoga.blogspot.com/2010/03/yoga-for-sacroiliac-si-joint-pain.html