Bendy Yoga Teachers and Communication

 – or Does your yoga teacher know what it’s like to be stiff?

I had a very good yoga teacher not so long ago who admitted that when she started doing yoga she actually found it quite easy in many ways. Even without trying too hard she was naturally flexible and found that it wasn’t too much of a struggle tying herself into the various yogic knots.

It stands to reason that many yoga teachers maybe initially drawn to yoga because they were born bendy, can do a lot of the yoga poses well and find that they enjoy being good at it. So can someone like this really understand what it’s like to be a middle aged bloke who works in an office and struggles to touch his knees let alone coming close to reaching his toes?

A good yoga teacher will listen to their students and try to understand what difficulties they face and how they feel. If a teacher drops effortlessly in to a standing forward bend, places her hands flat on the floor and presses her chest against her thighs then she doesn’t really have a concept of what a tight hamstring is or a ridged low back and immobile pelvis. She has to rely on you, the student, telling her how it is for you.

It’s important to communicate with your teacher, and the same goes for a Pilates instructor or personal trainer.  They should be willing and keen to listen.  It’s also even more important to communicate with yourself. Yoga, Pilates and movement in general is a chance to check in with your own body and listen to what it’s trying to say. Don’t just rely on your teacher to tell you what you ‘should be feeling’, actually tune in and ‘really feel’ what your body is telling you.

Bottom line is that you are your own best teacher provided you take the time to communicate with yourself.

Also save a thought for the poor old bendy yoga teacher that is often too bendy. I treat plenty of yoga teachers and students that maybe bendy but they need to work really hard to gain and maintain the strength to hold everything together.

Avoidance or Remedy?

It’s always interesting to hear the stories patients have to tell to give the back ground of the problems they present on their first consultation. We will often find out that the problem that is causing enough pain to prompt the visit to see an osteopath is the tip of the iceberg.  The other thing that can initiate that first visit is an inability to do something enjoyable or important such as a sporting activity.

Of course rather than trying to rectify the problem another possible option is avoidance.  If a particular movement, activity or task causes pain then just avoid that particular action. If you develop Repetitive Strain problems in the arms or wrists through working at a desk and computer then just change the job to avoid the computer. If running causes recurrent groin strain then stop running.

Avoidance certainly is one option but the underlying problem hasn’t gone away and you run the risk of being able to do less and less. Is that really the best option?

I’ve been treating a patient recently who had to stop cycling because it kept triggering pain and spasm in his left thigh. During the consultation he also told me about his history of hand and wrist pain associated with computer work. Luckily he found himself a better job which doesn’t involve as much use of a computer. So that’s computer work off the list and cycling off the list . . . . . what next?

Essentially aches and pains are your bodies way of telling you it’s not happy but more often than not osteopaths can not only ease the aches and pains but we can help your body return to the activity that it wasn’t particularly happy with.

As well as the hands on osteopathic treatment advice relating to changing your technique, using your body more efficiently, or introducing a more balanced exercise routine may also be included.

Now surely that’s a better option than avoidance and simply giving up the activity even though it may involve a bit more work to get you back on track.

Looking Beyond Disease

A patient came to see me recently that I hadn’t seen for well over a year.  She came in with a flare up of the ‘old low back problem’ which we’ve successfully treated in the past.

Obviously we got to talking about what had been happening since her last visit. It turns out that a chronic cough she’d had that was put down as being an allergic reaction to something was now confirmed as being an autoimmune problem that has led to damage to the lung tissue in places.

As she described how the ‘very nice consultant’ had explained things and put her on long term steroids to help control the symptoms it raised the all to common issue whereby medics often don’t see beyond the disease.

As an osteopath I expect to help patients reach their potential and hopefully exceed goals. That might be something as ‘simplistic’ as lifting an arm above shoulder level or bending down to reach the toes. Simplistic achievements they maybe but of huge significance if you’ve been struggling to dress yourself or simply put on your own shoes and socks. 

Usually these sort of things resolve with a bit of help but there are some more chronic conditions where the stakes are even higher and it’s useful to look beyond the apparent doom and gloom presented by the doctors.

Breathing isn’t just about the lungs, there’s an entire breathing mechanism involved which also includes the diaphragm, the rib cage, the upper back and even the nerve supply to the relevant muscles

Just because the tissues of the lung have been damaged in some way doesn’t mean that the overall breathing mechanism can’t be made to function more effectively.

With any chronic breathing problem osteopathic input backed up with the right sort of exercise can improve the breathing capacity overall. Of course if you can breath more easily you can do more which in turn means that it’s easier to maintain your fitness and simply enjoy life a little more.

Don’t just accept the ‘keep taking the tablets and live with it’ attitude.

Luggage Damage

Here we go heading into summer and the holiday season.  So how much can you squeeze into your suitcase for that holiday and, more importantly, how heavy will it be once you’ve packed it?

The fact is that this is the time of year when osteopaths will be seeing patients with luggage induced injuries. If you don’t want to be one of those unlucky folk here are a few things to think about when it comes to surviving your holiday luggage.

How heavy? – Obviously the weight of your suitcase will determine how much potential damage it will cause when you come to lift it so try to keep it light. Let’s face it, most of us are guilty of packing too much stuff and we return home with somethings that never leave the case. Maybe even consider two bags instead of cramming everything into one. Of course the airlines would like this and I appreciate it’s not always possible.

Does it have wheels? – It’s a lot easier to wheel a heavy load than it is to lift it so opt for the suitcase with wheels. Also bear in mind you’ll probably still have to lift a suitcase at some point in any case to get up or down stairs, into the boot of a car or drag it off the airport conveyor belt.

Need a trolley? – If the airport or railway station has a luggage trolley it makes sense to use one to carry your load.

Pull or push? – Dragging a case behind you means walking slightly twisted which could put strain through both the shoulder and the spine. Pushing a case in front can be less of a strain on the body.

How high can you go? – You may be able to just lift your heavy suitcase off the floor but don’t assume you can get the same case above your head and into an overhead locker.

How long have you been sitting? – Whether it’s a couple of hours in the car or a long haul flight across the Atlantic bear in mind that you’ll be stiff at the end of the journey and therefore at more risk of injury when it comes to throwing luggage around. So don’t be in too much of a hurry to lift the suitcase out of the boot of the car after a long drive.

What’s the rush? – If you try to do something too quickly the chances are that you won’t do it properly so think about how you lift a huge suitcase and take your time.

Do you need help? – If it’s too heavy or too bulky don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Simply remember to view your luggage as a potential health hazard and be careful when you’re anywhere near it.

Beware Hair Twiddling

I like to think that osteopathy is a partnership approach to solving problems with both the Osteopath and the patient being involved in the process. So it’s always nice to hear that a patient has acted on their own initiative.

I’ve recently been treating a patient with a painful shoulder and she’s been making steady progress but I was surprised when she came to clinic and announced that she’d solved her shoulder problem by getting her hair cut short! She went on to explain that since a young child she had always had the unconscious habit of twiddling her hair with her right hand. When she wasn’t thinking about it whilst just sitting watching TV she’d fall in to the habit of fiddling with her hair.

It makes sense that when osteopaths start treating a patient with a particular problem not only do they have to come up with an idea as to what they are treating in the form of a diagnosis but we also like to think beyond that to figure out what caused the problem in the first place and what aggravates it. Most patients are looking for pain relief or better movement but unless the potential cause of the problem is identified it’ll happen again and again.

In the case of shoulder problems classic aggravating factors might be carrying a heavy shoulder bag, holding a young baby repeatedly over one shoulder or using a computer mouse for long hours. Of course an aggravating factor that I’ll now bear in mind is having long hair and twiddling it!

The thing is that with a lot of the aggravating factors that are associated with using the arm we have to remember that arms are quite heavy things. If you lift your arm above your head for a while it’s fine but leave it there for any length of time and things are going to ache and complain under the weight of the arm itself even if it’s not holding on to anything. So when folk sit at their busy, cluttered desk in front of the computer holding on to the mouse, unless the arm or wrist is resting on the desk the arm and the shoulder are going to get tired and they’re going tighten up and ache. And the same goes if you’re sitting in front of the TV twiddling your hair!

Stress and Feeling Old

“Every stress leaves an indelible scar, and the organism pays for its survival after a stressful situation by becoming a little older.”

~ Hans Selye

I think the majority of patients coming along to our clinic would relate to this quote from the endocrinologist Hans Selye. When you’re struck down with an episode of severe low back pain and every simple movement becomes a monumental task you feel like you’ve aged over night. Actually, it doesn’t even have to be a really bad pain to make you feel elderly. Tight achy muscles that reduce your flexibility and which make getting out of a seat hard work will make you feel old.

Interestingly, although now-a-days  we commonly use the term ‘stress’ and are so used to describing work, lives, or situations as being ‘stressful’, Hans Selye first came up with the term in the 1930’s. ‘Stress’ is actually only about 80 years old! He came up with a model to describe the biological effects of stress on the body when he introduced his General Adaptation Syndrome in 1936.

We’re all surrounded by varying degrees of stress and our bodies are designed to react to stress.  In its purist form this is where the ‘fight or flight’ reaction kicks in when we’re faced with danger. We’re designed to run away from danger or fight back if we can’t run. Unfortunately it’s rarely as straight forward as that. Modern day stresses are not about running away from a tiger they’re more about low grade persist stress in the face of things like a bullying boss, an abusive partner, or financial insecurities.

It’s fair to say that a lot of patients that find themselves coming in to see us at Mulberry Osteopaths with some form of physical crisis will also have an ongoing stress factor in their lives. Stress will highlight the weak spots and make the body more vulnerable to injury. There’s never a good time for an acute episode of low back pain but don’t be surprised if it hits at the worst possible time when you’re moving house, you’ve just lost your job, or there’s a family bereavement.

As osteopaths part of our job is to work physically to help you on the road to feeling better and feeling less old but we also try to give you ideas as to why things have gone in to a meltdown moment. Recognising the stress factors is part of that process as well as possibly offering some advice as to how to cope with the stresses.

Yoga or Pilates?

There may still be a few folk out there amongst you that haven’t yet got into the swing of things on the exercise front for the New Year. Delaying that trip to the gym or exercise studio may even be a wise move as by now those New Years resolution people will be starting to fall by the wayside so creating more space.

It’s also possible that you’re simply not sure what sort of exercise to go for. Whatever it is you choose it has to be enjoyable.  There is no way you’ll keep it up week after week if you really don’t want to be there.

As an osteopath I am very keen to get my patients involved in their own recovery and that will include not just specific prescribed exercises but also encouragement to start or restart general exercise. I’ll often be asked whether I’d recommend Yoga or Pilates.  If you ask Google the same question you’ll get numerous articles full of ‘useful’ information and celebrity advice. If you want to get confused take a look through these:

 http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Is-Yoga-or-Pilates-Better-for-You

http://www.active.com/fitness/articles/yoga-vs-pilates-which-one-is-right-for-you

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/sep/29/healthandwellbeing.fitness

http://www.chopra.com/ccl/whats-the-difference-between-yoga-and-pilates

As a huge generalisation I’ll often suggest that if you need to improve your flexibility go for yoga whereas if you’re looking for more strength and stability opt for the Pilates.  Having said that there are plenty of toning and strengthening poses used in yoga and Pilates will also help with your flexibility.  The bottom line is that if you get a good teacher and they manage to provide a good combination of exercises you’ll end up being a bit more bendy and a bit stronger regardless of what you call the class. And this is where we come back to the need to enjoy the exercise. If you like and trust the teacher you’ll enjoy it more.

Why not try both, have a test run and see which you like best and stick to that? Of course it may also be the case that neither yoga or Pilates is your cup of tea in which case pick something else . . .running, cycling, dancing, hillwalking, tennis, swimming.  The list is endless and if you do nothing else think about breathing! If you do it properly even breathing is an exercise and there is never an excuse not to breath.