Over a year ago, I began experiencing a pain in my right chest/lung area. When it first began occurring, my memory brought me back to having my arms in Cow Face Pose a few days prior (with my right arm up), and perhaps stretching my right arm backwards a bit further than was comfortable.
I don’t recall feeling any pop or anything out of the ordinary when in the pose, but the next time I was in Cow Face pose it dawned on me that I was using muscles that seemed to irritate the injured area. So, I determined that it might have been the cause.
For about 4 months after that, I rarely did any yoga, and eventually the uncomfortable feelings went away completely. But recently I’ve gotten back into a regular, 3 times/week practice, and I’ve been noticing the discomfort has returned. During practice, I feel it mostly after doing backbends (camel & wheel mostly), or when rolling onto my right side after Savasanah. I avoid going deeply into Cow Face Pose out of fear of hurting myself further. When I’m not practicing I feel the discomfort in my right lung/chest area when I exhale. It’s not necessarily painful, except on a rare occasion when I exhale while in a twisted position?I’ll get a sharp pain.
Does this sound like an injury that could have been caused by Cow Face Pose, or might it be something else? Any suggestions for helping it heal?
Are the backbends good for it, or should I avoid them?
Also, because it’s been there so long I’m beginning to question whether it is a yoga related injury, or if I have some sort of lung problem that I should get checked out. Other than the discomfort, I have no other breathing problems. Is it normal for something like this to take a long time to heal itself?
Thanks for all your guidance!
Namast?
~sAM~