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Member
Posts: 34
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand | Thu 9 Oct 08, 8:20 pm
Hi All,
I think I may have developed a hernia in my groin. It is not painful or troublesome yet. Of course, I am only guessing at this point, but I will know better after I visit the doc next week. I would be quite surprised if it is anything else. But, who the hell knows?
I have a few questions which I realize can only be addressed in a general sort of way.
(1) Is anyone aware of asanas causing or provoking a hernia? Or is this more likely yet anohter lovely feature of being a 58 year old guy?
(2) If so, is it best to avoid certain asanas or certain types of asanas or practice?
(3) I realize it depends on the severity and type, as well as the type of surgery, but if it is a hernia, and if surgery is required, I wonder how long I must refrain from asanas and bicycle riding afterwords? Any ideas?
Thanks for any feedback.
Aloha,
Rex |
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| Well would ya look at this!
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/237
All I did was google HERNIA YOGA and I got a link to that article. Didn't really read it, and no, I don't have any experience with hernias (herniated disks, yes, but that's it), but I figure it's a start. Good luck to you, Rex, and be well. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
   
| rex - it seems to me that hernias are pretty much due to weaknesses in the abdominal muscles and some people tend to be prone to them and others not. I have a female student who has had a couple of them and she found that the Iyengar style viparita karani:
http://www.yogaartandscience.com/poses/inver/vipkar/vipkar.html
and viparita dandasana:
http://www.yogaartandscience.com/poses/backext/vipdand/vipdand.html
were helpful for easing discomfort caused by the hernias before she had her surgeries. Sorry I don't recall how long her recuperation was. Good luck - these tend to be fairly simple and people recover well as a rule, I believe. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Oh - I hope that didn't sound like I was nagging about going to a class! You may not want to do a biggish back bend like v. dandasana without instruction, but v. karani is pretty accessible. Some height under the hips and legs up the wall. Even Mr.Tourist likes that pose and he claims most asanas "shatter" him.  |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | There's always acupuncture,  |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Hi Rex - Mr. Tourist is soon to be 55 and a life long athlete. He has a very muscular body, especially his legs, and grew up when stretching was pretty much unheard of. I blame his early soccer coaches for contributing to his excessively tight hamstrings, though our kids both have them, so I'll allow that some may simply be heredity. He has played soccer, baseball, basketball, done water skiing (slalom, tricks and jumping), raced sailboats, snow skied (downhill and cross country), skated...all this under age 30. Then there was triathlon (swimming, road cycling, running) in short and marathon distances, adventure racing (kayaking, trekking, mountain biking), a bit of orienteering and now ballroom dance (yes, it is a sport. I sweat more at a ballroom practice than at yoga class). Oh - and I should say, he did each of these things at a pretty high level - no jogging in the park! So I may have missed a few things, but those are the highlights. If we had the money we poured in to those sports over the years, we'd have a nice vacation home somewhere!
Anyhoo - all play and no asana has made Mr. Tourist an inflexible boy! And while he has been prodded into doing some stretching over the years by physios and massage people, he always did it like a runner - quickly and as little as he could get away with. He finds standing poses challenging and I always have to monitor his breathing because he huffs and puffs while in the pose. For parsvakonasana, for example, when we all take one hand down onto a brick or even the floor, he struggles to get his onto a chair seat. Even at 19 years old, he could not sit in dandasana with his back and legs straight, so seated poses usually require him to sit on a height of 9 - 10" or even on a chair. Getting up and down from the floor, he looks and sounds like an unfit 75 year old, even though he does it all day long for work now. He is a computer guy and always having to crawl under desks to do wiring so you would think he would get more flexible just by doing that all the time, but not so far!
So he does not "like" yoga much at this point. Almost every pose is uncomfortable and "hurts" though I am not sure he always knows the difference between "hurt" and "stretch." All of his sports experience was somewhat done from natural ability and asana is not a place he can get to with ease, so he finds it hard to do. BUT his sore back, which has plagued him since he had a ruptured disk at 20, is feeling more comfortable and less painful than it has in years and he dreams of a day when he might run again, so he shows up in class every week now! |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Hi Rex - I suppose the main thing to let him know is all about your various injuries and conditions. He also needs to know if you are looking strictly for a practice that is therapeutic or if you are looking for a more rounded asana practice. Personally, I think it would be your best bang for the baht to have a bit of everything - some stuff to help ease the discomforts, as well as something to challenge you. Make sure that you can do the things he suggests with the props you have available or have him show you how to use home made or makeshift props. For example, you can roll a couple of blankets up into a mat to make a bolster substitute, so you don't have to feel that you must go out and buy a bolster.
You are also welcome to let him know that you are in contact with another certified Iyengar teacher who is available to answer questions if needed. I would be happy to do that for you, though I can't promise I have answers for everything. The web site does not give his certification level, but it is certainly higher than mine.  |
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Hernia??? Yuck!
