Karen Repassy: Why your yoga is hurting you

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that when you hear the word “yoga,” one of two things happen. One: You panic because you are not flexible enough to put yourself into the shape of a pretzel. Two: You secretly wish you could put yourself into the shape of a pretzel.

I understand. I used to dream of having a yoga practice where I was able to do all the cool yoga stunts I saw in the media. I would gaze upon an image of someone wrapped up in a pretzel pose and think, “One day I want to be able to do that.” 

Before I found Winter Garden Yoga, I practiced all types of yoga in all types of studios throughout the Central Florida area because I wanted to develop the skills and flexibility to have an impressive looking yoga practice which included cool pretzel-shaped poses.  

Then one day in a yoga class, as I was awkwardly flopping around on the mat, I asked myself a very important question: Why? Why is it so important to me to bend like a pretzel when it was hurting my low back? Why was I forcing my body to bend and twist and develop shoulder pain? 

I realized that in my quest to become super flexible, I was causing myself a lot of pain — inside and out. On the inside, I had a bruised ego, because I was not even close to doing any type of stunt. And on the outside, I was walking around in physical pain.

I thought being flexible was supposed to help me move better. Instead, it was inhibiting my ability to move at all because I was in pain. 

Unfortunately, this happens to a lot of other people seeking the benefit of yoga. Thankfully, I walked through the doors of the right yoga studio for me. 

Through the insightful instruction of Brian Friedman, I started learning how to pay attention to which muscles I was using in a pose and engaging them to get more stable and to get into proper alignment.  

As a result of moving properly — by using my muscles and focusing on alignment — I felt stronger. Not only that, but also my posture was better, and I was getting toned. My aches and pains in my back, wrists and knees went away. I just plain moved better off of the mat. 

So, what’s the takeaway? 

Getting super flexible was a path to injury, but now that I am focusing on moving properly on the yoga mat, the positive carry-over goes into everyday life. If you want to give yoga a try to move better, have more energy and feel better overall, here are three tips that I recommend: 

1. Get clearance from your doctor or health care provider.

2. Find a studio and instructor that focuses on alignment. Think about it: Would you take your car for a cross-country road trip if the wheels were out of alignment? Of course not. Your car will run much more efficiently and safely when it is aligned properly. The same can be said for you and your yoga.

3. Find a studio and instructor that doesn’t require flexibility. You want instructors who focus on movement instead of instructors who focus on stretching.

Karen Repassy is a professional nutritionist and certified yoga instructor at Winter Garden Yoga, located at 12 W. Plant St. in historic downtown Winter Garden. Karen is certified in Functional Yoga Instruction and Metabolic-Effect Nutrition. You can learn more about Karen and the classes offered at Winter Garden Yoga by visiting wintergardenyoga.com, calling (407) 579-9889 or emailing [email protected].