DON'T BE ME!

Owwww!  Eeeeehhhh!  Yowza!  I don't think I shouted out loud, but the gritted teeth grimace on my face must have told the story loud and clear.   My knee was in some kinda pain trying to do Crescent Lunge again the other day.  I've written about this before  (Patella Panic) so you would think I'd have learned my lesson: Props.

I had my blanket under my knee, but that basically doesn't help at all.  Karen suggested a bean bag addition.  That did help and I joyfully stretched into the full pose -- for a moment.  But I knew I couldn't hold it for very long.  I just have creaky knees that do not like to bend or bear weight in certain ways.  I need A LOT of padding and my knee at just the right angle.

Why can't I learn that I need props to help me in this area?  It's a pride thing; an ego thing.  It's obviously a lesson I have to keep learning.  The next day Elizabeth led us in basically the same posture but this time with a block under the knee.   I thought that would be a hopeless prop (not soft enough) but found it surprisingly supportive to my knees.  Trial and error.

Most interesting in all of this is the story I tell myself about what is the "right" way to do yoga and what is the "wrong" (cheating) way.   This is so ridiculous.  An article I read on preventing yoga injuries (http://preventyogainjury.blogspot.com/2013/02/3-things-you-must-do-to-keep-you-knees.html) listed the following:

Poses that Engage the Knee: Bound Angle, Bridge, Camel, Cat, Chair, Child's, Cobbler, Cow, Cow's Face, Crescent Lunge, Cross Legged, Eagle, Extended Puppy, Extended Side Angle, Fire Log, Frog, Garland, Gate, Goddess, Half Circle, Half Frog, Happy Baby, Head to Knee Forward Bend, Hero, Heron, King Pigeon, Knee to Chest, Lotus, Low Lunge, Monkey, One Legged Pigeon, Powerful, Rabbit, Reclining Bound Angle, Reclining Hero, Rotating Standing Leg Stretch, Runner Lunge, Sage Bharadvaj, Seal of Yoga, Squat, Sun Bird, Supine Head to Toe, Table, Thread the Needle, Three Faced Forward Bend, UpwardFacing Bow, Warrior I, Warrior II, Wheel

Given this number (granted I don't think I've tried all of them), that I only have trouble with Crescent and Hero's poses should be cause for celebration!  Instead, I get down on myself and think I "should" be able to do them.

Does this happen to you?  Are you a little hard on yourself?  Do you ever move into a pose that is too hard on your tender joints and tight muscles?  Finding the "edge" between challenge and ease can be tricky.  But hurty-ness is a a big red flag that you are over the edge into the danger zone.

So, DO NOT BE ME!  Grab a prop.  Help model for me and others that it's OK to use the whole arsenal of blankets, blocks, straps, wedges, bean bags -- and flat out opting out of a pose -- to keep our sweet bodies safe and strong in yoga class.

I'm learning this lesson very slowly, but next time I'll skip the grimace and grab the block! ©

Namaste,  donnajurene

Photo Credit:  annamoskvina@123rf.com