Starting to Move Again

by Nina

Recently Shari and I wrote a post recommending a sequence to someone who had lost confidence in her body after a fall (see Regaining Stability—for Free!) Another reader left a comment on that post that made me realize what an important topic this was:

Omgosh. I ....this took my breath away. This is exactly what happened to me! I was this vibrant, moving being....then a stupid, nasty fall (via a piece of gravel on the sidewalk) ended all that. And my subsequent life mirrors your friend's. Thank you SO much for giving us hope!

It seems that after experiencing a fall, many middle-aged and older people may become fearful, which can lead to inactivity. That inactivity in turn leads to stiffness, weakness, loss of balance and/or loss of agility. So I decided to learn a bit more about the woman who left this comment, and to see if there was something we could do to help her regain her confidence and start to move again. Everyone has different issues, so before making recommendations, I asked her to fill me in on any physical problems she had. Here’s a condensed version of her reply:

My sacrum got cocked (like it often does) and that triggered a bout of sciatica - the two sent me to the ER. The cocked sacrum was the result of some incorrectly done crunches plus my bete-noire, a fibroid that spans the entire back of my uterine wall.

I've had two motorcycle accidents (about 20 yrs apart) and now just have that North Dallas Forty thing going  (the opening scene, with Nick Nolte in the bathtub - painful).  Also, I have had shoulder surgery (torn rotor cuff with a bone spur sticking through it)— that one is healed.

Last thing that happened was about 18 mos. Ago—striding down the street, I twisted my ankle on a piece of gravel and went down like a sack of potatoes.  Banged up my left knee and hip (that poor hip gets so much grief), wrenched my back, and damaged the OTHER shoulder in the fall, which is why I have no flexibility or confidence whatsoever. So I can’t extend my right shoulder much. I also have two discs in my neck that are bone on bone, though I keep those pretty limber, most days.

So that's the litany of ick.  Other than that stupid fibroid and the post-injuries I’m actually pretty healthy and very strong (except for that shoulder – but I can still lift between 50-100lbs with my arms at my sides – just not extended).  Mostly I'm just stiff and achy and need to get back to moving around - your post on 'regaining stability' resonated so deeply, Nina.  

After learning about our reader’s situation, I decided to take her case to Baxter, who pointed out to me that certain physical problems, such as the fibroid and the new shoulder injury, needed to be addressed by a medical professional. He agreed that while our reader was seeking medical help, she would also benefit from a gentle yoga practice that allowed her to start moving again. A short, daily, gentle yoga practice would be helpful to her allover physical health and would allow her to start increasing her flexibility, as well as her confidence.

In her case, because she has a history of low back and other problems, he recommended that instead of having a single sequence, she should alternate between three different sequences. I was happy to find that two of the sequences were already on the blog! (So if you’re a new reader and want to start practicing some short sequences on your own, be sure to poke around through our archives to see the various sequences we’ve been posting.)

The three sequences are:

1. Baxter’s classic Low Back Care Practice (see Low Back Care Practice). Because hip openers are helpful for low back problems, this sequence includes stretches for leg and hip flexibility.

2. Baxter’s classic Mini Restorative Practice (see Mini Restorative Practice). A restorative practice will help reduce stress. Long-held passive poses also gently stretch your muscles.

3. Our new Gentle All-Around Practice (see Gentle All-Around Practice), which I'm just posting today. This practice includes shoulder stretches to increase upper body flexibility and standing poses to improve balance and stability.

My hope is that practicing these sequences on a regular basis will, over time, restore her flexibility, balance, and feelings of self confidence, and allow her to be a “vibrant, moving being” once again.

And although we came up with this set of sequences for a particular person, all of them would be suitable for just about anyone who is starting a home practice. And it just so happens we’re in the first week of the new year! So if any of you have made resolutions to start practicing yoga at home, give any or all of these sequences a try and let us know how it goes.

Featured Sequence: Gentle All-Around Practice

by Nina

This short sequence is designed for anyone who wants to get started with a short, gentle home yoga practice. This sequence is a great complement to our Low Back Care Practice and Mini Restorative Practice because it focuses on upper body flexibility, strength and balance, which are not addressed by the other sequences.

Although I originally designed this practice, Baxter reviewed it and made a modification—so it is officially Dr. Baxter Bell approved. We both hope you enjoy the practice!

1. Standing Shoulder openers (see Opening Tight Shoulders).

Releasing tight shoulders is important for the upper back and neck health, and is an important antidote for time spent in front of computers, driving, gardening, or other activities where you are reaching forward all day. If you have limited range of motion in one shoulder, just do the best you can, even if that means, for instance, taking your hand only half way up the wall rather than all the way. To make the sequence shorter, you could skip some of stretches (and alternate on different days of practice).

2. Half Dog pose at the Wall (see Half Dog Pose at the Wall). 

This pose is a wonderful all-over stretch because as it opens your shoulders it also stretches the sides of your torso, and, if you straighten your knees, it stretches the backs of your legs as well. It’s a perfect warm-up for standing poses!

3. Warrior 2 and Warrior 1 Mini Vinyasas (see Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 Mini Vinyasas).

Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 are classic standing poses that improve your balance (due to their wide leg stance), build leg strength (due to the bent front knee) and increase upper body strength (due to holding arms out to the side or over head). Practicing these as mini vinyasas (moving in and out of the poses with your breath), will improve balance and agility, and are a gentle versions of these poses. (Though this is not as strengthening as holding the poses for extended periods.)

For the Warrior 1 vinyasa, if you can’t hold your arms overhead, you can keep them in Namaste (prayer position) in front of your chest or place your hands on your hips.

4. Tree pose. 

Depending on your self confidence and your ability to balance, you can do this pose in any number of ways. If doing the pose in the middle of the room causes stress, stand in Tadasana (Mountain pose) with your left side near the wall. Shift your weight to the your left leg—if needed use your left fingertips on the wall to balance—and lift your right foot into any of the following positions:

• toes of the right foot on the floor, rest of the foot off the floor
• right foot on top of your left foot— but try not to have your right toes touch the floor
• sole of the right foot pressing against your left calf
• sole of your right foot pressing against your left thigh (above the knee)

5. Chair Twist (see Simple Chair Twist).

This pose releases back muscles that are stiff or sore from sitting at a desk or from traveling, or from everyday activities that stress the back, such as gardening and painting, and increases the rotational mobility in your spine. Twisting also helps nourish the spine—movement of the spine helps maintain the health of the discs—and also strengthens the bones themselves as your back muscles pull on the bony insertions of the spine. And it also strengthens the oblique muscles of your core. If you have a history of low back problems, please do this pose with a block between your thighs and twist only from the navel on up.

6. Easy Inverted Pose (see Easy Inverted Pose).

Resting your calves on a chair with a support under your pelvis puts your body into a slightly inverted position, so the blood flows from your legs down toward your heart making this pose a very calming inversion, which is also very restful for your leg muscles. If the support under your pelvis irritates your lower back, you can simply do the same pose without it.

NOTE: If you're reading this on the day it was posted, keep your eye out for a second post that recommends a weekly routine (including this sequence) that would be beneficial for anyone with back problems or who just wants to start practicing yoga at home.

Doing Yoga Without

by Nina

Yesterday I wrote Cheating at Yoga? about props and how we here at YFHA staff feel it is wise to use them to adapt poses to your body type and/or physical condition. But there are some physical conditions where a prop won’t help. In this case, you can simply modify your poses in certain ways to make them accessible to you.

I was thinking about this because recently a friend told me that she “can’t do yoga” anymore because shoulder injury (as yet undiagnosed). I assured her that she still could because there were a lot of poses that she would still be able to do. She then asked if there were some yoga videos for yoga without arms, and I said that I couldn’t think of any but that most practices (except Sun Salutation practices) could be modified by changing your arm positions or, in some cases, substituting one pose for another. I know all about this because I’ve had two frozen shoulders, which meant even moving my arm was very painful, and I continued to go to a public class and kept up my home practice throughout.

Because lifting caused her pain, I suggested that she avoid all poses where you bear weight on your arms. This would include Downward-Facing Dog, Sun Salutations, and some backbends, such as Upward Bow pose (Urdva Dhanurasana). A modified version of Downward-Facing Dog pose, Half Downward Dog at the Wall, could be substituted for the full pose. Inverted poses, such as Headstand and Shoulderstand, where you bear weight on your shoulders should probably also be avoided. For these, you can do partial inversions, such as Supported Standing Forward Bend and Supported Prasarita Padottanasana (see All About Supported Inversions), where your head rests on a block or other support.

Substitute for Downward-Facing Dog

Even after eliminating those poses, there are still so many other poses someone like her could do, including standing poses, seated twists, seated forward bends, and backbends, such as Locust, where your arms do not bear weight.

But what if even just raising your arms over your head or out to the side causes pain? In this case, in standing poses, you can modify your arm position to one that is more comfortable. For poses where both arms are overhead, such as Tree pose (Vrksasana), Warrior 1 (Virabhadrasana), and Powerful Pose (Utkatasana), bring your hands into Prayer position (Namaste) in front of your heart. You can even take this same arm position in poses such as Triangle pose (Trikonasana) and Extended Side Angle pose (Parsvakonasana), where your arms are out to the side. But you could also practice those poses with just the injured arm alongside your body or with a bent elbow and hand on your hip while your uninjured arm is in the standard position. In other words, just find a position that is comfortable for your injured arm. Feel free to experiment!

Surprisingly, seated forward bends, especially if you are flexible and normally hold onto your feet, can also hurt your shoulder. In this case, for the injured arm, reach it only as far as it can go and use a block underneath to support it. Binding in twists is also not recommended, as it is an intense stretch on the shoulder, but most of us know milder alternatives for the arms in twists.

It’s your practice people, so just make it work for you. Like I said yesterday about using props, this is not cheating! You’re still practicing and that’s all that counts.