Pain in Our Yoga Practice - Is It OK to Push Through?

 Is it OK to feel pain when I practice yoga?

There is no place for pain/ discomfort/ cramping etc. in our yoga practice; 

if pain happens we need to identify the cause and find the remedy. 

As the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali (Sutra 2.46) explains, our  “asanas should be steady and comfortable.” 

It’s important for our continued good health that we don’t adopt the mindset of “no pain no gain.” I would like to change that awful phrase to a less catchy “no exertion, no gain.” It’s good to exert ourselves during our practice, it’s good to raise our heart rate and feel our muscles working hard;  it’s not good to feel pain as we stretch and practice yoga. Our yoga practice is more than just a fitness craze - it’s a holistic lifestyle that encompasses both our physical body and our spiritual essence, our entire way of being. 

The following topic, toe/foot cramps, was brought in by a few yogis in my class as we practice ankle- intensive and toe-intensive poses. The summary below explains most causes of toe/foot cramping and what to do about the pain that accompanies the symptom.

Causes of Toe or Foot Cramps

1. Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the connective tissue (fascia) connecting the heel to toes.
2. Tight or weak muscles. Dozens of tiny muscles help the foot and toes move. Tightness in any of these muscles can cause muscle spasms and pain.Sometimes the pain comes from another muscle. An example of this might be tension in the ankle or Achilles tendon that causes muscle spasms in the foot or toes. A new toe-intensive pose can cause cramping if the toes weren’t stretched enough beforehand.
3. Muscle injuries caused by overexertion. Overextending a muscle, tendon, or ligament can cause an injury that will bring on cramping in the toes. Please remember that our yoga practice must be steady and pleasant: this guideline will prevent you from injuring yourself inadvertently.
4. Poorly fitting shoes. Check that your show toe box has enough space for your toes to spread out. As we age, our feet widen - your shoe from two years ago may be a bad fit today. Pointy closed-toe mules and pumps are the worst for our feet. 
5. Dehydration/ electrolyte imbalance/ vitamin deficiency.  Ensure that you are well hydrated before and during class.
6. Arthritis. For some people, the pain of arthritis feels like muscle cramps.
7. Poor blood flow. When there is not enough blood flow to the feet or toes, they may ache or spasm.Crossing the legs for too long can slow blood flow to the toes and feet. Also, peripheral artery disease causes arteries throughout the body to narrow, weakening blood flow. Speak to your doctor if you suspect poor blood flow.
8. Neuropathy, neuroma and dystonia. Neuropathy is when a person’s nerves are damaged. Neuroma is a pinched nerve. Dystonia is not a disease, it’s a symptom manifesting as involuntary spasming and cramping. Uncontrolled diabetes and Parkinson’s disease are the most usual causes of neuropathy. Multiple sclerosis,  brain injuries, or even a stroke, can cause dystonia.

Home Remedies for Toe or Foot Cramps

1. Stretching:  Flex and extend toes 5-10 times. Follow this by stretching the ankles and feet by rotating the feet and ankles clockwise then counterclockwise 5–10 times.
2. Exercise: Light exercise, such as walking, can help strengthen the muscles of the legs, feet, and toes. Exercises that target the feet and toes may also help. Try placing objects on the floor, then picking them up with the toes.
3. Massage: Massaging the feet, legs, and ankles may help muscle spasms. Start with gentle massage then gradually increase the pressure.
4. Resting: Identify which asanas aggravate your toes and avoid them for a few weeks. Continue gently massaging the toes daily during the time of rest
5. Elevating your feet and legs frequently when sitting or lying down.
6. Use heat to heal: use warm foot-baths, heating pads or hot compresses on your feet.

Please see your doctor if the home remedies suggested above don’t work and remember that your body is sending you a signal that something is wrong. Use your awareness to identify what the signal is trying to tell you and don’t get intimidated if an unenlightened physician does not take your symptoms seriously. 

Pursue your best health - if not you, who?

Yoga as Your Partner in Health

 Yoga & You - Partners in Health

I have long known that if I don’t enter a task in my calendar, it’s bound to NOT happen, it’ll be forgotten for sure. When I held a full time job, went to Sanskrit school, and taught yoga all at once, I ascribed my forgetfulness to just being overwhelmed. Then, since we all have our private fears, my rising chronological age brought on a concern that down the line I may begin a slow slide into cognitive decline. 

Dementia is not in my gene pool but still - with so much talk about cognitive decline going on in the news, I was sucked into the worry. I like to be prepared and I wanted to know what more I could do to stave off any future decline.

Now a new neurological study came out putting me more at ease.  The study, presented at the 2022 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in San Diego, followed 296 participants who were completely sedentary at the beginning of the experiment, for 12 months. 

The study confirmed two important points: 1) even a modest amount of exercise - 2 to 2.5 hours per week - may slow cognitive decline in sedentary older adults;  2) the exercise does NOT have to be cardio-based (this was the previously entrenched view) - even gentle yoga and basic stretching deliver this slowing down effect on cognitive decline. 

So, what have we learned from all these recent studies? 

The more we move and exercise, the better our health will be. 

Even if we don’t have the time to exercise 1+ hour every day, 

just 20 minutes of yoga stretches per day will keep us vibrant and thriving. 

As yogis and yoginis, our thirst and need for a healthy mind and body are indelibly impressed in our psyche. I personally use yogic tools every day - in my car while driving (meditating), in my daily encounters with people (zen, inner peace, awareness, mindfulness), and on my mat. I'm wishing you the same, with your days full of movement (asana), contentment (santosha), health (ahimsa), and zest for life and all it has to offer (svadhyaya).

How Much Exercise Do We Really Need?

 

Exercising more than the recommended amounts yields the longest life 

(a medical study)

A longer life may mean scheduling in even more than the recommended amount of weekly exercise, according to a new study by the American Heart Association (AHA). But you don’t have to add it all in at once - just 20 minute of exercise a day made a difference on life span, according to a 2021 study.

Ideally, adults should get 1.5 - 5 hours of moderate physical activity or 1.5 - 2.5 hours of vigorous physical activity a week, according to the World Health Organization. But people who surpass those levels live longer than those who don’t.

Researchers analyzed more than 116,000 adults in a study published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. Participants self-reported their leisure time activity in questionnaires several times over the course of 30 years, and researchers estimated the association between the time and intensity of exercise with rates of death.

The highest reduction in early death was in people who reported 2.5 - 5 hours a week of vigorous physical activity or 5 - 10 hours of moderate physical activity -- or an equivalent mix of the two, said study author Dong Hoon Lee, a research associate in the department of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.  "It is also important to note that we found no harmful association among individuals who reported (more than four times) the recommended minimum levels of long-term leisure-time moderate and vigorous physical activity," he added in an email.

Examples of moderate activity include a very brisk walk, yoga, mowing the lawn or playing tennis doubles, while vigorous activity includes cardio activities like hiking, jogging or playing soccer, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The study results support WHO's current physical activity guidelines, but also push for higher levels to see even more benefit in living a longer life, Lee said.

How to add more movement

You may be thinking, "10 hours a week of moderate activity sounds like a lot. There is no way I can work that in with all my other responsibilities.”  And yes, it may take some intentionality and effort. But studies have also shown the best ways to work in exercise into routines so that they stick. Set up your fitness time as you would set up a doctor’s appointment - a firm time on your calendar, worked into the flow of your day.

A megastudy published in December 2021 showed that the best exercise programs include planning when you work out, getting reminders, offering incentives and discouraging missing more than one planned workout in a row.

"If people are hoping to boost their physical activity or change their health behaviors, there are very low-cost behavioral insights that can be built into programs to help them achieve greater success," said the December study's lead author Katy Milkman, the James G. Dinan Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of "How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be."

Again, remember that don’t have to add it all in at once - just 20 minutes of exercise a day (walk, yoga, gardening, hand-weight workout, dancing to an upbeat song)  made a difference on life span said Dana Santas, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and mind-body coach in professional sports.

In your calendar, prioritize your health and set up your fitness breaks to fit into your day.