Yogateacher with knee/leg pain

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Namaste,
a question. I’ve been teaching yoga for over 4 years, yet never so many classes since i started up my own yogastudio. For over 6 months i’ve been working 6 days a week, with over 20 classes per week to teach, and it’s taking it’s toll.

It started as a vague pain in the knee, and occasionaly having my knee locked. Yet the pain has increased and even the connecting muscles are cramping up.

When i get up i have to make extreme slow movements to deal with the stiffness and pain. Since 2 days the pain is moving up to my upper leg.

Anyone any idea?! And yes, i know i should take more rest and give my knee the change to rest. I notified the students that for 1 week the studio will be closed, yet i can’t take more time off as it’s a starting studio.

Thanks in advance for the replies

#2

What are you doing when you teach a class? Are you guiding your students or practising yourself?

#3

Khushi,

Previous injury?
Age, overall health?
What do you teach? (meaning style)

Important questions to be able to respond properly.

I have one question for you though. Why did you close your studio? Couldn’t you have led the class without participating?

#4

Hi Khushi -

I’m sorry for your pain, and understand what you are going through. I’m a yoga teacher with 30 degree curvature of the spine, as well as a couple of degenerative discs. At times the pain acts up and makes it difficult to teach. Here are some thoughts based upon my own experience.

[ul]
[li]Be honest with your students about what you are facing. Let them know that there are certain poses you need to honor your body, so there are certain poses you can’t do right now. This is setting a good example, I think.
[/li][li]If you have a regular student who you can use for demonstration purposes at times, that would be helpful
[/li][li]Don’t try to go physically deep into the poses or try to hold them long. Focus more energy on guiding the students and on hands-on adjustments in order to give your body a rest.
[/li][li]See a physical therapist for suggestions on how to manage your knee issues and your yoga teaching.
[/li][li]Consider that pain in the legs can sometimes be referred pain from the spinal column.
[/li][/ul]

I wish you well.

Namaste, Monique

#5

Namaste, thanks for the wonderful tips and replies! very appreciated.

Unfortunately it’s not always possible to make use of a regular student, yet i will see if i can ask some students to come to certain classes, and thus make more use of this.

For myself, i’m 36 yrs old. During my childhood i have been practicing ballet, horseback riding and for 3 yrs i was pretty intense busy with aerobics.

At the age of 14 i had an injury with a horse. During a ride in the forest the horse was scared by some loose running (and barking) dogs, resulting in the horse getting on it’s hind legs and eventually tipping over and falling, with me still on it. Therefor for a short period i had over 700 kg’s on my knee and i was operated 2 yrs later for a splinter of my meniscus floating around in my knee joint. After revalidation and several years later the pain was gone, yet now it’s popping up again, and even more severe than ever before.

The style i teach is a mix of traditional Indian Hatha Yoga and influences of Asthanga Mysore flow (had all my education in India where i lived for a couple of years).

Most of the time i don’t practice myself with the students, and just give them hand ons. With 1-2 classes i do practice partially with the students, and the other 18+ i don’t.

Thanks again! And if you (all) have more suggestions, please feel free to reply.

#6

One of my Yoga teachers has knee problems and recently had surgery. Sometimes he does something that hurts him, but often he says things like “Do so and so, I cannot because of my knee.” He uses random students, regulars and new ones, both as correct and incorrect examples, to demonstrate postures.

My first teacher was one of the kind that does the whole practice herself and lets students follow her. In her case I could understand that the body strikes after some time :wink:

I wish you the best, sorry that I cannot help you more…

#7

Hello Khushi,

When the meniscus is not intact it certainly can obstruct knee joint extension. And that, of course, may be why you’re having a “locking” in the joint. Add to this that there is a history of stress on the joint; a trauma in the fall, the demands of ballet, and horseback riding. It’s a pretty clear picture.

Pragmatically there is no issue of frequency of practice (or teaching). The issue is one of alignment WHILE practicing or teaching. While I cannot speak to asana in “traditional Indian Hatha Yoga” I do know that the phrase is not synonymous with alignment. Further, an ashtanga practice is not an alignment-based practice AND its pace supersedes safety and alignment.

What I suggest when students have similar issues is that they pursue a three-pronged protocol; nutrition/lifestyle, alignment-based therapeutic asana, and the svadhyaya or self-study that unearths the emotional origin of the physical manifestation.

#8

Hi khushi,
Normally issues dont pop up suddenly. They are accumulated for sometime. It may possible that you may be using wrong posture for you or it may be some other issue as well. Whatever but you may need to know root cause of it and then act accordingly. Thanks