To go to class or not to go to class? help!

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hello all! I’m Stella; I’m 26 and I’ve been practicing yoga since 2007. I have not been practicing the last few months, which usually is not a problem for me; I have had a few hiatuses and I pick up where I left off, usually. This time, it is a no.

I don’t know what’s going on with me, but I find yoga incredibly painful now. I’ve always been very flexible and fairly strong, and while I am not an advanced practitioner, I could get through a surya namaskar without trouble. (Except for transitioning from forward bend to plank. Someday, I will float back…) Now my hamstrings and inner thighs screech with every forward bend, my spine can’t find that sweet spot in cobra, and my sacroiliac joint just hurts all the time. My wrists and knees are especially painful. I do have fibromyalgia, but it has not previously manifested like this. In fact, yoga is my medicine for it.

There’s a yoga studio near me that offers hot yoga and lots of basic/nurturing/gentle classes. The heat soaks into my joints and relieves all my pain, usually, so hot yoga is a good thing. I’m afraid to go to a class though, when I’m having such difficulty getting through a 15 minute practice. I’m doing fairly restorative poses with modifications as necessary, and I find myself holding them for long times; a minute is not uncommon. A sequence might go:
Tadasana
Chair
Standing forward bend
Plank
Table
Extended puppy
Child’s pose
Butterfly
Head to knee forward bend
Half lord of the fishes
Legs up the wall
Savasana

This leaves me feeling better than when I started, but also in more pain and usually quite fatigued. The most pain occurs when I’m in the poses and the day afterwards.

What should I do? Should I take this as a sign that I shouldn’t be doing significant yoga practice? Should I go to class and tough it out? Should I just keep doing a minimal practice until the pain eases somewhat?

Listening to my body tells me that it’s like a five-year-old; it doesn’t want what’s best for it. So, it needs yoga but doesn’t want it. But I worry that I’m doing too much, or conversely, too little. Does anyone have any suggestions? Are there poses I should consider working on? Should I continue holding the poses so long?

Sigh. Body, body, body. Poor baby. How can you hurt so much?

#2

I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will come along and give you a good answer, but I just notice that you have mentioned restorative yoga, but most of those poses are not restorative, and holding a pose for only one minute is not very restorative either. If you are in pain from fibromyalgia, I would suggest taking a few true restorative classes, where you are completely supported by props and doing no work to hold yourself up, like you would do in chair and plank. Even butterfly and legs up the wall can be modified with straps and bolsters so that you do not exert yourself in the poses. Remaining in these poses for 5 minutes, even 10, may do you good. I’m a little confused as to how you feel better when you are also in pain and feeling fatigued. Hope this helps.

#3

Hi Stella,

FM is an auto-immune issue and that can be prone to flare ups. So you may have a temporary state of being or a new nature to this. In addition there are far too many other variables which have not been broached - your environment, work, relationships, diet, lifestyle, meditation et al.

Unfortunately most contemporary practices do not teach students how to discern what is right for them in their living, do not teach them effective meditation techniques, do not teach them ways to safely work with the light and colors, do not teach them the lifestyle choices which champion their well being, do not teach them how to manifest their practice in the outer world (read: off the mat). This is the Yoga which brings a person to balance, takes them out of separateness, and brings them in contact with their very purpose for being here.

As has already been mentioned, restorative practices in asana require support. The degree of doing has to be significantly reduced from a “regular” practice. This support comes in the form of props so that the body effort may be minimized without sacrificing alignment.

There should never be any “toughing it out” in yoga. That is an aggressive almost violent approach which is appropriate to weight training but antithetical to Yoga. However it should also be mentioned that we should not, as students of yoga, wilt at the slightest breeze.

I could not possibly determine what you need but I can tell you that our needs relative to the practice do change just as our moods change. At this point, until you DO know what is going on for you, I would suggest exploring a sound practice which does not involve jumping, high heat, or a rapid pace.

gordon

#4

By “feel better” even though I’m tireder and in more pain, I mean I feel mentally clearer and emotionally more content and unified. I’m feeling my way through my practice bit by bit.

The yoga studio I’ve been thinking of do have a class for the pathetic among us, all props and supports. I’ve been meaning to drop by and talk to the teachers. I just worry that I’ll spend the whole class struggling and straggling- I’m not a comparer, but it’s hard when I feel completely out of step.

Sometimes it’s hard to know when to push and when to let go. I’m a stubborn ox sometimes, perverse and mischievous; when I first began having significant, life-changing pain, I took up running, because I thought, well, if I’m going to be in pain anyway, I may as well be doing something worth it. Running became my movement meditation and my mainstay. Obviously I’m not able to run now, which may be contributing to the jerkiness I’m feeling as I try to ease back into yoga.

It’s been two weeks of painful practice. I do feel a lightening of my body afterwards, and I am beginning to grasp at the comprehension of my body I used to have. I know that everything will be as it should be, and this pain is not suffering, thank goodness. It’s just an obstacle.

#5

It’s not pathetic. Responding to your body’s needs should be empowering. And you would not be straggling in a restorative class. The book ‘Yoga as Medicine’ by Timothy McCall has a chapter on yoga therapy and fibromyalgia that may interest you. I’d stay away from hot yoga for now.

#6

Both pain and pleasure are suffering my dear.

#7

Stella,

Good sound advise from Gordon and Trinley. And do try to get the book, “Yoga as Medicine” by Timothy McCall. The chapter on FM, as Trinley stated, is very good.

I have a student with many “conditions”, FM being one. When she is not having a flair up, she does quite well and honors her body. Interestingly though, when she is having a flair up, she use to try even harder thinking working through the pain will eventually help. Over the course of working with her, she’s come to the realization that she must “tone” her practice down when she’s in the middle of a flair up. Lots of props and modifications. She now knows what she needs. She takes a lot on her shoulders and lives a high stress life. When she becomes overwhelmed is when the flair ups seem to occur. She is beginning to see the pattern. I’ve worked with her on breathing, which is pivotal in lessening the effects of FM including stress, and relaxation. I used yoga nidra with her and she’s found that using this has helped immensely with her sleep.

The most important thing to remember is to listen to and honor your body. During flair ups try the gentle approach. When you are feeling good, do your normal practice without overdoing it! Work on pranayam (breath work) and relaxation techniques. This holistic approach will hopefully address some of your issues.

Best of luck to you and please keep us all updated!

#8

there’s a book on “yoga for fibromyalgia” by shoosh lettick crotzer, Rodmell press for $9.91 USD at amazon.

I cna’t post links b/c I don’t have 15 posts, sorry.

just type in “yoga for fibromyalgia” at amazon and there are a couple more books as well.

good luck.

#9

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;52948]Both pain and pleasure are suffering my dear.[/QUOTE]

I concur

#10

Wonderful advice in this post, and please, as trinley also said, do not consider restorative yoga for the “pathetic” among us. I feel so blessed to be able to do restorative yoga, it’s like giving myself the ultimate in pampering, especially when experiencing pain. Bless your heart hon, there are lessons in everything we do, and some of those lessons involve forcing us to acknowledge that there are times we just need to slow down and pamper our bodies instead of pushing, pushing, pushing. It is GOOD to take quiet time, meditate, let the world go. It restores us for those times we are back to pushing pushing pushing again, so that we can continue with more balance and calm in our lives.
One word of advice when you do go to the restorative class - with your sacrum an issue, be very aware of any pain you may feel when resting in reclining bound angle pose. Make sure you have good support for your low back. I myself did not realize that the ache in my low back should NOT be there, and that I should have moved out of the pose as soon as I felt it, but I laid there for perhaps 10 minutes aching away. I have been paying for it for a long time since.
But see the restorative yoga as a blessing, not something for the pathetic! :slight_smile: