Neck pain, crane to handstand

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hello everyone!

I?ve been doing Brazilian Jiu-jitsu for a few years now. It is a lot like wrestling. About 8 months ago, I herniated two discs in my cervical spine (C6 and C7, I think) practicing Jiu-jitsu. Ever since the injury my neck is usually stiff in the morning and my range of motion is not limited, but I do have a small bit of pain when I try to touch my chin to my chest or look to the ceiling.

I started Yoga about 3 weeks ago. I can?t really afford to join a school, so I?ve been teaching myself for books and the internet. I bought a Yoga mat a few days ago and now practice in the local park in the morning. Anyway, I love Yoga! I can?t believe I didn?t get into this sooner.

Every time I practice, I do a series of a neck stretches (6 motions: chin-to-chest, look up to the ceiling, chin-to-shoulder, ear-to-shoulder) to start. I have noticed a definite increase in my neck flexibility and there is little to no pain now.

Just recently, however, I have been working on the crane pose to handstand. Within a few days, I was able to do this very well. The problem is that my neck pain has returned! Does this mean that I shouldn?t do that pose anymore? Or should I just tone it down a bit and not do it so much?

Any input is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

#2

Namaste and welcome,

I am really glad you have discovered yoga and that you like it so much. However, I want to caution you here, just as a sensei would not allow a yellow belt to do some of the sillabus of the blue or brown belts in jujitsu, so the same in yoga. You have attempted an advance asana within three weeks of starting to do yoga if I understand you correctly, which I personally only teach to students after about 18 months of doing yoga and only if I can see that they have the necessary integrity in other asanas to perform it correctly and successfully.

This is unfortunately the danger of doing yoga without a teacher, most people don’t have the patience and the knowledge of the asana system to know how to progress through it in an orderly manner without hurting themselves. I would like ask that you please attend a few classes with a teacher, see how they sequence and progress the class.

About your neck, I will leave it to the more knowlegeable members to advise you on that, but I would rest it for now and no asanas where you have to put weight on it.

#3

Hello James,

You look to be a young fellow, presuming that avatar is you. If that is the case then you have the advantage of rapid healing on your side. Still, my friend, a neck injury like the one you cite is not trivial. Youth tends to equal invincibility. What we learn is that we are all too mortal and the sooner we begin caring for our selves the less we suffer over the long haul.

It would be inappropriate to begin a general, unsupervised, on-your-own asana (poses) practice while the cervical discs are still finding their way back to their native position in the architecture of the neck. While releasing muscle tension is “nice” it is a grossly incomplete protocol for healing cervical injuries. Gentility and traction, in conjunction with meditation using light and breath AND appropriate dietary shifts are mandated for a complete healing.

Frankly, with a spinal injury you cannot afford NOT TO work with a teacher. It is quite foolish to place the well-being of your spine (of all things) on the line merely to appease a fancy for physical form. I understand it, of course, but will not gloss over it.

While the poses you mention do not bear weight on the skull - thank goodness - they can exacerbate tension around the neck especially when a student does the poses from a book with no sense of action and does them only from muscle. Yoga asana is NOT a what-you-see-is-what-you-get-proposition.