“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote”} }”>

Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth yoga, fitness, & nutrition courses, if you
>”,”name”:”in-content-cta”,”type”:”link”}}”>join for Outside+.

I’ll always remember my first major shoulder injury as a yoga practitioner. It was 2008 and I had just finished my 200-hour yoga teacher training. Before then, I had a habit of moving quickly through poses because I desired to sweat. Now I used to be working on refining my alignment. But every time I took a vinyasa, I felt a wierd pinching within the front of my shoulder. The pain was particularly exacerbated by Chaturanga, which was literally every other pose in my Mysore-style Ashtanga practice.

I didn’t seek medical care when it began. Surely yoga had all of the answers! As an alternative, I attempted a pair very different approaches while recovering from my shoulder injury with a pair very different outcomes.

First, I assumed that not doing any asana would allow my shoulder injury time to heal. So I ended practicing altogether for what gave the impression of a couple of weeks but, really, was probably only a couple of days. Not coming to my mat was incredibly difficult—and frustrating—provided that I had recently made yoga my entire life by quitting my job within the film industry to develop into a yoga teacher.

I used to be sorely upset when my shoulder didn’t immediately repair itself. Also, I noticed how much I really needed my asana practice, as I felt rather more on edge and anxious without it.

Missing the serenity that yoga helped me find, I modified tactics. Next I attempted pushing through the pain. A fellow Ashtanga practitioner assured me that “injuries only exist for those who give them attention.” You may imagine how well that worked out. It was removed from serene.

In time, my shoulder injury appeared to improve, despite my carelessness, however it would still flare up once in a while. I’m not certain whether I really got stronger within the poses it once affected or I just got higher at ignoring the pain.

Ten years later, I experienced a more severe shoulder injury with an easily identifiable cause: I fell out of a pose. It required surgery together with a lengthy and daunting recovery. Once I got here back to my mat post-op, I knew I had to search out a unique approach than previously. Something less extreme. I still needed my yoga practice to assist me cope with every part, including the grief of letting go of certain teaching jobs and poses, but I also needed to back way off of my typical practice.

As I learned easy methods to come into yoga poses while also caring for my injury, I discovered it helpful to shift my motivation away from wanting to “nail” certain poses or “get a workout” and toward an intention of learning easy methods to listen—deeply—to my body and its needs.

I spent numerous time simply observing what did and didn’t feel good in my body. Once I encountered a movement that caused pain or made me feel unstable, I modified it. And once I found poses that did feel good, I attempted to focus more on those.

In staying curious, I learned that my injury was a possibility to cultivate a deeper presence in my practice. This meant not needing to do certain shapes—in some cases, ever again. Although my practice may look much simpler once I’m hurt, I find that to be my most advanced practice of yoga.

5 ways to switch common yoga poses if you’re recovering from shoulder injury

By approaching my practice in a different way and focusing rather more on finding stability in a pose than “going deeper” (physically, anyhow), I learned that a shoulder injury—despite being painful, stressful, inconvenient, and numerous other things—will also be a possibility. It may allow us to approach our practice in a much slower and more mindful way. Below are a number of the shoulder-friendlier arm modifications for common poses that worked for me.

In the event you’re experiencing shoulder pain, seek the advice of with a healthcare provider prior to engaging in any physical activity.

(Photo: Sarah Ezrin)

1. Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salute), Utkatasana (Chair pose), Virabhadrasana 1 (Warrior 1), and Anjanayasana (Crescent Lunge)

Challenge: Raising your arms alongside your ears

Solution: Taking your arms in a V-shape

The way to: As an alternative of bringing your arms shoulder-distance apart or your hands together (which is difficult for many bodies, even if you don’t have a shoulder injury!), bring your arms wider right into a V shape.

(Photo: Sarah Ezrin)

2. Virabhadrasana II (Warrior 2)

Challenge: Extending your arms straight out out of your shoulders

Solution: Bend your elbows

The way to: Exaggerate the external rotation of your arms to show your palms to face the ceiling in Warrior 2. Next, bend your elbows barely—simply enough so your arms feel lighter and your upper back releases away out of your ears. Keep your gaze in keeping with your chest fairly than turning your neck to look over your front hand.

(Photo: Sarah Ezrin)

3. Utthita Trikonasana (Prolonged Triangle) and Utthita Parsvakonasana (Prolonged Side Angle Pose)

Challenge: Reaching your top arm alongside your ear

Solution: Rest your top arm in your side body

The way to: When the teacher cues you to bring your arm overhead or toward the ceiling in Prolonged Side Angle or Triangle Pose, keep your top arm along your side body and rest it in your torso. This keeps your upper arm bone in anatomical neutral so your shoulder joint isn’t taxed. If it feels okay for you, turn your palm to face away from you to pronate your forearm.

(Photo: Sarah Ezrin)

4. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)

Challenge: Stress in your arms while bearing weight

Solution: Bring your legs closer to hands

The way to: Come into Down Dog along with your hands on blocks. Walk your feet forward to shorten your stance until you might be bearing little to no weight in your arms, just like Ardha Uttanasana (Half Standing Forward Bend). Keep your head down and your ears in keeping with your upper arms. This means that you can profit from the hamstring stretch and the inversion without bearing weight in your shoulders.

(Photo: Sarah Ezrin)

5. Parsvottanasana (Pyramid Pose)

Challenge: Paschima Namaskar (Reverse Prayer)

Solution: Hands on hips

The way to: Relatively than taking your hands behind your back in Parsvottanasana (Pyramid Pose), bend your elbows and place your hands in your hips. This means that you can profit from the chest-opening aspect of the pose without taxing your shoulder joints.

Tip
This modification also works for any pose wherein you might be asked to internally rotate your upper arm, where you’d interlace your fingers behind your back, reminiscent of Prasarita Padottanasana (Standing Wide-Legged Forward Bend) and Humble Warrior.

About our contributor

Sarah Ezrin is an writer, yoga educator, Instagram influencer, and mama based within the San Francisco Bay area. Her willingness to be unabashedly honest and vulnerable along together with her innate wisdom make her writing, yoga classes, and social media sources of healing and inner peace for a lot of. Sarah is changing the world by teaching self-love one person at a time. She can be the writer of The Yoga of Parenting. You may follow her on Instagram at @sarahezrinyoga and TikTok at @sarahezrin.