My Month Without Yoga
SI Joint Pain
I had my first episode of SI joint pain just after having our first child (ouch, I still remember rolling about the floor in excruciating pain) and over the years, it’s occasionally flared up. One such time was two weeks before I was due to start my Yoga Teacher Training. I phoned the course provider worried that I wouldn’t be able to take part in my yoga training. The trainer explained that they too suffered SI pain and many yoga poses can be helpful here. Thankfully my SI pain resolved in time for me to take part in the training.
Before doing my yoga training and subsequent regular yoga teaching, I would also suffer occasional muscle tightness in various areas – neck, shoulder, lower back and glutes especially. Nothing serious but enough for me to replace my usual exercise with walking for a few days until it was better. The niggles were in my view lifestyle induced – tight shoulders from PC use, tight lower back and glutes from sitting and tight hamstrings and again glutes from running. It wasn’t just a sedentary work lifestyle that was giving me aches but equally an active one.
Recently I realised that my aches and pains really were a thing of the past. It’s rare for me now to find myself with stiff muscles and joints. Regular yoga has definitely been key in helping reduce tight muscles from my various lifestyle activities including desk working, gym, running and cycling.
No Yoga for One Month
After a busy year of teaching weekly yoga classes at the end of the summer, I was looking forward to short break. I’d recorded my online classes early to give myself a full month off. I was in for a surprise! I should clarify that I was still doing my usual exercise and activities during this time.
- First came my tight shoulder. It has a tendency to be a bit tight normally (being my right shoulder, most likely from mouse use). Regular yoga shoulder stretches definitely help ease out tightness.
- SI joint pain. This came from leaning too long on one leg at my standing desk. I should know better! Standing desks are meant for varying sit-stand position with too much standing being as problematic as too much sitting especially when we get tired.
- Ouch! Inner groin and hamstring pains. I’d thrown myself into a fun dance session with full gusto forgetting that it might be a bit more sensible to do a bit of a warm up! The next day I was hardly able to walk without groaning. Three days later and I wasn’t much better. This was unusual as I’ve done plenty of similar vigorous dance workouts in recent months with no effect at all the next day. I suspect my regular yoga has helped by keeping my muscles stretched and joints well oiled.
- These days, back pain is a rarity for me. By the end of a few weeks of no yoga, I was noticing that my lower back muscles were really tight.
- Did I also mention that I’ve been slacking on plank in recent weeks and… how can you lose that much core strength in so little time? Use it or lose it really is a thing!
Keep Calm and Do Yoga
I could have waited until my month was up to do yoga again but the lure of those eased mobile muscles was too strong. I instantly loved being back and for me, regular yoga in my week is most definitely here to stay.
P.s. Did I just say I hardly got sore muscles these days? I should also say I don’t often do 10 hour seriously steep hill-walks. Last weekend I did and my resulting sore muscles were the impetus for one of this week’s new classes in my online Keep Calm and Do Yoga: Sore Muscles after Exercise Yoga! It’s one of my favourite classes ever and definitely one to keep up your sleeve for those next day post overdoing it on exercise groans. If you like the sound of it, check out my online Own Your Yoga here.
‘We don’t use our body to get into a pose, we use the pose to get into our body’.
Photo courtesy of Photo by Elly Fairytale from pexels.com
If you or someone you know would like help to make and sustain a health related change, get in touch today by emailing me.