How to more effectively work with pain & injuries in yoga.

Too often when a student has an injury or complaint of pain, we offer limited alignment modifications learned in our teacher trainings or in order to try to protect the injury, we create a fear of movement.  

There are science-backed strategies to teaching and coaching movement, and this course will teach you how to go beyond offering generic modifications to more effectively working with your students and their pain or injury in a way that keeps them moving and enjoying their practice.

You will learn how to improve and adapt poses to minimize risk and symptom pain.  The skills you learn in the course will dramatically increase your value to your students. One of the greatest tools we can give our students is the ability to practice and to move comfortably even with an injury.

As teachers, we are taught to avoid causing injury or pain and we do our best to keep students safe.  Approximately 1 in 5 Americans suffer from chronic pain so this course will teach you strategies to confidently work with poses in the presence of pain or injury and not to fear or avoid them. 

As a yoga teacher your top priority is too keep your students safe:

You work hard to learn alignment to make sure you don't injure your students.

You are committed to deepening your knowledge as a yoga professional to create more inclusive, accessible, and effective yoga practices for all.

Sometimes, alignment and generic modifications can leave us feeling limited in what we can do for our students or lacking confidence in how to effectively work with pain & injuries.

You have students that ask you about injuries or pain they may experience during specific poses or throughout their practice.

You may feel uncertain about how to address these concerns or end up providing a response or modification you've learned through social media or teacher training.

As yoga and fitness professionals, we have a responsibility to have an evidence-based approach when working with injuries and pain experienced by our students during their practice.

We must be open to unlearn alignment cues or pose benefits that have been passed down and shift our focus to better understand how to effectively work with injuries.  Pain and injuries are very individual and what worked for one student may not work for another. 

This ongoing self-study and evidence-based approach allows you to not only ensure your students' safety but also to teach the true depth of yoga more effectively by understanding injury prevention and adaptation strategies for a more inclusive and accessible practice.

You will learn:

• How an injury doesn't  have to be a limitation when we know how to help our students adapt poses that allow them to practice and move with an injury or pain and not to fear or avoid it.
• Techniques to adapt poses to minimize risk and alleviate pain, dramatically increasing your value to your students. 
• Strategies to address gaps in traditional alignment principles, tailoring the practice to the unique needs of each student.
• Basic knowledge of common injuries seen (and created) in yoga classes and how to work with them effectively.
• An examination of key poses that often aggravate pre-existing injuries and create new ones, exploring ways to adapt these postures for a safer and more inclusive practice.

Course Details

Lecture 1: Understanding Injury Prevention in Yoga

• The Importance of Injury Prevention in Yoga
• Types of Injuries in Yoga
• Common Strains and Sprains
• Overuse Injuries
• Stress-Related Injuries
• The role of yoga teachers in injury prevention
• The mind-body connection in injury prevention
• How stress affects pain &  injury risk
• The impact of stress on breathing
• Traditional alignment cues and breathing Mechanics
• Teaching effective breathing mechanics
• Recognizing and addressing stress in students
• The relationship between pain and injury

Lecture 2: Biomechanics and Functional Alignment in Yoga

• Understanding biomechanics of yoga poses
• Traditional alignment vs. functional alignment
• Individual variation in body proportions
• The risk of injuries due to alignment
• Evidence-based movement principles
• Teaching functional and healthy movement
• Adapting poses for different body types
• Subtle changes in cueing to minimize overuse and overreach

Lecture 3: Strategies for Injury Prevention and Management

• How to teach a challenging class while minimizing risk
• Adapting pace, intensity, and duration
• Teaching healthy movements into and out of poses
• Teaching students to adapt poses for themselves
• Addressing discomfort vs. danger
• Filling in the gaps of generic modifications
• Strategies for helping students work with discomfort
• The role of mindfulness in injury prevention
• Effective use of different types of cues.

Lecture 4:  Working with student with back pain 

• Understanding the anatomy and function of the Spine
• Common causes of back pain in yoga
• Recognizing different types of back pain
• The role of core strength in spine health
• Safe spinal alignment and mobility
• Adapting backbends and forward bends for back health
• Common mistakes leading to back strain
• Asana lab: working with students with back pain

Lecture 5: Hip Health and Injury Prevention in Yoga

• Understanding the anatomy and function of the Hip Joint
• Common hip injuries and discomfort in yoga
• The importance of hip mobility and stability
• Functional alignment for hip-intensive poses
• Strengthening the hips and glutes
• Strategies for minimizing hip strain
• Addressing where traditional “alignment” could cause pain or increase injury risk
• Asana lab:  working with students with hip issues.

Lecture 6: Shoulder Health and Injury Prevention in Yoga

• Understanding the anatomy and function of the Shoulder Complex
• Common shoulder injuries in yoga
• Identifying overuse and tress on shoulders
• Functional alignment for shoulders in poses.
• Strengthening and stabilizing the shoulders
• Adapting poses for students with shoulder issues.
• Addressing where traditional “alignment” could cause pain or increase injury risk
• Asana lab:  working with students with shoulder issues

Lecture 7: Knee and Elbow Health and Injury Prevention in Yoga

Knee Health

• Understanding the anatomy and function of the knee Joint
• Common knee injuries and discomfort in yoga
• Recognizing overuse and stress on the knees
• Movement principles and strategies for knee safety
• Strengthening the quadriceps and hamstrings
• Preventing hyperextension and locking of the knees
• Asana lab: working with students with knee Issues

Elbow Health

• Understanding the anatomy and function  of the elbow joint
• Common elbow injuries in yoga
• Identifying overuse and stress on elbows
• Movement principles and strategies for elbow
• Strengthening the forearms and triceps
• Techniques for elbow flexor and extensor health
• Managing weight-bearing poses on the elbows
• Asana lab: working with students with elbow concerns

Lecture 8: Wrist and Ankle Health & Injury Prevention in Yoga

Part 1: Wrist Health

• Understanding the anatomy and function of the wrist joint
• Common wrist injuries in yoga
• Recognizing overuse and stress on the wrists
• Movement principles and strategies for weight bearing pose
• Techniques for distributing weight on the hands
• Wrist mobility and warm-up Exercises
• Asana lab: working with students with wrist Issues

Part 2: Ankle Health

• Understanding the anatomy and function of the ankle joint
• Common ankle injuries in yoga
• Identifying overuse and stress on ankles
• Movement principles and strategies for standing and balancing poses
• Techniques for ankle mobility and stability
• Balancing the weight on the feet and ankles
• Asana lab: working with students with ankle concerns

This course is for you if:

• You are a yoga teacher that wants to do their best to prevent injuries or work with students that have chronic pain or injuries

• You have pain or injuries that are impacting your yoga practice. 

• You want to share yoga from an evidence based perspective

• You want to feel confident in what you are telling your students 

• You coach, train, or mentor other yoga teachers

• You want to lead from a place of accurate and up to date information  

Key Outcomes:

You will leave this course with an understanding of the difference between:

• Opinion-based or anecdotal approaches to injury prevention and pain management in yoga.
• Evidence-based strategies for injury prevention and working with pain in yoga practice.
• How to support your students in their practice with pain or injuries. 
• How to apply this knowledge in your teaching of key poses to create a safer, more inclusive, and adaptive practice for your students dealing with injuries or pain

The Details

When:  Wednesdays starting  October 11, 2023 from 12:00pm-1:00pm EST

You can join the course live with time for Q&A at the end or access the recording on your own time. 

Oct. 11, 12:00pm-1:00pm EST Lecture 1: Understanding Injury Prevention in Yoga

Oct. 18,12:00pm-1:00pm EST Lecture 2:  Biomechanics & Functional Alignment

Oct. 25,12:00pm-1:00pm EST Lecture 3: Strategies for Injury Prevention

Nov. 1,12:00pm-1:00pm EST Lecture 4:  Working with Students with Back Pain

Nov. 8,12:00pm-1:00pm EST Lecture 5:  Hip Health

Nov. 15,12:00pm-1:00pm EST Lecture 6:  Shoulder Health

Nov. 22,12:00pm-1:00pm EST Lecture 7:  Knee & Elbow Health

Nov. 29,12:00pm-1:00pm EST Lecture 8: Wrist & Ankle Health

Investment for all 8 lectures: $799

Payment plans available

Individual lectures available for $150 each.

Pain blocks the path to peace and the deeper benefits of yoga. When our students are in pain due to an injury or trying to achieve different pose alignment cues, we can unintentionally elevate their stress level and prevent them from accessing the mind-body benefits a yoga practice can bring.

Not only can high stress levels increase your students’ risk of injury, it can prevent them from experiencing the calm or relaxation that they are seeking through a yoga practice.