Ep 42: Teaching students w/ Pain & Injuries - Why Teachers are Hesitant

In recent episodes I've been talking a lot about pain, injuries and the nervous system a lot. That's because I believe it's such an important topic to discuss. Because you're a movement teacher it's important that you take responsibility for knowing and understanding how the human body moves, how it gets injured, and how students experience pain in their bodies.

In this episode, I want to address a few questions that I've had with teachers about why they're hesitant to learn about injuries so you, too, can understand why learning about the body, anatomy, and injuries is so important.

Have a listen because their concern might be yours as well! It's my goal to help you break through the resistance you have to understanding students with pain and injuries.

Transcript

Monica: 0:00

I know I've been talking a lot about pain and injuries and the nervous system lately. And that's because I believe it's such an important topic to discuss. Because we are movement teachers and we have to take long responsibility for knowing and understanding how the human body moves. How it gets injured And how students experience pain in their bodies. In this episode, I want to address a few questions and conversations that I've had with teachers about why they're hesitant. To learn about injuries and I'll answer them for our community here. So you too can understand why learning about the body and anatomy and injuries is so important.

0:48

Welcome to the Essential Conversations for Yoga Teachers podcast with me. I'm Monica Bright, and I've been teaching yoga and running my yoga business for over a decade. This is the podcast for you if you're a yoga teacher, you're looking for support, you love to be in conversation, and you're a lifelong student. In this podcast, I'll share with you My life as a yoga teacher, the lessons I've learned, my process for building my business, and helpful ideas, tools, strategies, and systems I use and you can use so that your business thrives. We'll cover a diverse range of topics that will help you whether you're just starting out or you've got years under your belt and you want to dive deep and set yourself up for success. I'm so glad you're here. Listen, I don't take myself too seriously, so expect to hear some laughs along the way. Now, let's do this together.

Yeti Stereo Microphone-3: 1:57

Welcome back to the podcast. I don't know about you, but I still can't wrap my head around the fact that it's mid October all ready. This year is flying by. And I think I've been intentional about being present. In the present moments. Do you feel the same way? Like this year is flying by for you as well? I wonder. Any who. This is a really important episode for me to share with you. Because when I talk to yoga teachers, I hear all sorts of stuff. First off, I love hearing about the different paths that yoga teachers are taking. I've worked with teachers who specialize in, are you Veda? Strength and conditioning. Yoga for menopause, the chakras. Mobility and movement. I mean, the list goes on and on. And when I asked them what they think about teaching students with current injuries or persistent pain, I get a wide variety of answers. So in this episode, I want to dive into some of the responses I've gotten from teachers about why they don't think that learning about injuries and pain is so important for their teaching career. And then I'll share how I've explained to them how important it is. I've seen quite a few light bulbs go off. And I wonder if you'll have the same reaction while I'm answering their concerns. Okay, let's get straight to it. The first is I don't have time to learn about injuries and pain management. The key here in this concern is that this teacher has a busy schedule. Teaching full time raising children. She has a social life, et cetera. And can't imagine fitting more into her schedule. And I totally understand that time is a precious resource. And it can feel overwhelming to add more to your plate. I want this teacher to understand that learning about injuries doesn't require a complete overhaul of your schedule. Learning about injuries and pain management. Doesn't have to be a massive time commitment all at once. Impact investing just a small amount of time. Now can save you a lot of time and stress in the long run. So let me explain how. It's through gradual learning. You don't have to learn everything all at once. Learning about injuries and pain management can be integrated into your ongoing development. As a teacher, start with small steps, reading an article, attending a workshop, Or listening to a podcast like this one. Dedicating, even 30 minutes a week to this type of learning can build up over time. And enhance your knowledge without it feeling overwhelming. Take one concept at a time and dive into it. For example. If you want to learn about knee injuries. One of the most prominent is an ACL injury or the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee. First look up the anatomy of the knees. So you understand where the ACL is, then research, how ACL injuries occur, what types of movements in the body leads to ACL injuries? Next learn about the pain limitations and downtime. One might have due to the injury. Learn about recovery strategies, whether they're physical or nonphysical and finally research how you can support someone with this injury in your yoga class. This might sound like a lot. I get it. But you take it piece by piece and over time you'll learn so much. It's necessary to take it down to bite-size pieces so that it doesn't feel overwhelming. And you can incorporate this learning into your already busy schedule. Think of this as a professional investment dedicating small bits of time now to learn about injuries and pain management will pay off exponentially in the future. You'll be able to competently work with a wider variety of students. Retain those students longer and position yourself as a more knowledgeable and trusted teacher. When you take the time to learn this information, it positions you to be a more prepared teacher in advance, which can make class planning faster and more efficient. Say you have a regular student who hurts herself at some point. You'll already have a toolkit of modifications, cues, and strategies that you can competently pull from and apply in class. Remember all professions require ongoing learning and yoga teaching is no different, but goal isn't to master everything in a short amount of time. That's impossible. Instead, slowly integrate knowledge that enhances your teaching over time. That knowledge will accumulate. And before, you know, it you'll have a strong foundation without feeling like you've had to sacrifice too much of your time. Pick a day of the week, a window of time, like an hour that you'll dedicate to learning one new thing about the body. And make this time part of your schedule. And extension of your teaching. And even after one month, just look back and realize what you've learned in just that short period of time. Another response I hear is I don't want my classes to become too focused. On injury prevention or therapeutic yoga. I get it. Injury prevention does not have to be the focal point of your classes. It's really about integrating subtle cues or modifications. That enhance safety without overshadowing the flow and intention of your practice, you don't have to specialize in therapeutic yoga to benefit from understanding injuries. Think about it like this. You'd be enhancing, not replacing your current teaching style, when you learn about injuries and pain management, it isn't about turning your classes into therapeutic sessions. Instead it's about equipping yourself with tools to respond to the needs of your students without fundamentally altering the core of what you teach. You can still deliver the same. Creative flows. Challenging sequences. Or calming practices that you love, But with the added confidence, knowing that your guidance is safe for students with varying needs the goal isn't to make injury prevention, the center of your class. But to integrate subtle adjustments and knowledge into your teaching. So you're prepared to handle any situation. Without making it feel clinical or therapeutic. For example, you can still lead dynamic Vinyasa sequences, but with an understanding of how to offer variations or alternatives that don't interrupt the flow. Ensuring students with injuries can continue to practice. You don't need to transform your class into a therapeutic setting or start diagnosing students. But having knowledge about injuries allows you to guide your students towards safe options that empower them to take responsibility for their own bodies. Instead of offering medical advice, you'll be able to say something like if you're experiencing tight hips Or the sensation of pain in your low back. Here's another option this way your students make informed decisions and your role is to offer choices, not prescriptions. my favorite way is to cue the entire class to take a movement. So all students take the modification. If that's what you're offering. And no one feels out of place or on the spot to make a decision that's different than what everyone else is doing. In class. The key is, is that you don't need to make your classes about injury prevention, but having this knowledge allows you to make your classes accessible to a broader audience. Students with limitations or past injuries can still practice without needing a separate therapeutic yoga class. You are simply providing a practice that is welcoming to everyone. Without shifting the focus away from the energy rhythm and creativity of your teaching. Having a better understanding of pain management and injuries helps you to seamlessly offer modifications without breaking the flow of your class. Sometimes we can get caught up in overstepping the boundaries of our scope of practice, but you don't need to provide medical advice to teach safely. And this is not about diagnosing and treating students instead. It's about understanding the body and teaching from an informed place. Learning about injuries and pain management is about enhancing. Your general understanding of how the body moves and responds, which allows you to offer sound evidence-based cues without venturing into medical territory. Remember your classes don't need to become something they're not, you still have the freedom to teach your unique style, whether that's high energy Vinyasa. Slow and meditative practices, Coon Delaney, the chakras, yoga for menopause or yoga for the coaches, knowing about injury prevention and pain management. Simply as another layer to your skillset, allowing you to teach with greater confidence. You get to decide how and when to incorporate this knowledge. There's no need to shift the overall tone of your class. Ultimately, you're still in charge of the narrative and experience you create in your classes, just because you've learned about injury prevention doesn't mean you have to label your class as therapeutic or change how you describe it. You can keep teaching power, yoga yen. Or restorative while knowing that you have the skills to safely accommodate all your students. Okay. Here's one that I hear a lot. And I wonder if you were thinking this as well. It's. It's not something my students are asking for. And this is true. Your students may not be asking for it directly, but by offering it, think about how it can elevate your classes. This approach is what I used and it definitely sets me apart and attracts more students who value my expertise. I want you to remember that many students won't ask for help until sometimes it's too late. Often students won't speak up about discomfort, pain, or even minor injuries until they are dealing with a more serious issue. This happens for many reasons. Some students don't want to appear. Needy. Some may not realize that they're pushing too far. And others simply don't understand that they could be aggravating An existing condition. If you're already lightly talking about injury and pain in your classes. Students will realize that you're a resource for them. It's not to say that you have all the answers, but you have knowledge, which might be helpful for them. I will often have discussions with students and give them some questions to ask their healthcare provider. This helps them understand that I can offer advice. Because I know what I'm talking about. And I understand the importance of getting medical attention if necessary. Also just because your students aren't talking about injuries doesn't mean they're not dealing with them. Many people practice yoga with aches pains, or minor injuries, but choose to stay silent because they are unsure. If they should bring it up to you, you can incorporate subtle cues or modifications for your students with specific injuries. Even if they never tell you about their physical limitations. While students might not be injured now. Yoga is a physical practice and injuries can happen. Educating yourself about injuries and pain management will allow you to proactively guide your classes in ways that are less injury prone. Okay. So what do I mean when I say less injury prone? Let me give you an example. This was years ago, I was taking a class and the teacher. was teaching a high lunge or a Crescent lunge with a different foot placement. So I want you to imagine this instead of the feet on say railroad tracks with both feet pointing forward, the back leg was crossed behind the front leg. So the right foot was in front, on the right side of the map. And instead of the left foot being on the left side, near the back of the mat, it was crossed behind the right leg and also on the right side of the map. And we were doing squats in this position. Now here's the thing my front foot is going to need to turn out. in order to help me balance. So, if you can imagine this I'm slightly rotated at my knee joint and that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. We all have a degree of rotation at the knee joint when it's flexed. But here is where the issue is. It's twofold. Number one. My degree of knee rotation may be different than the teachers is. And. Two. What if I have a past ACL injury? This is so key because if so, the last thing I want to be doing is planting my foot on the yoga mat and pivoting at the knee joint and doing movements I've never done in yoga. This isn't a scare tactic. So I don't bring this up to fearmonger or to scare. It's just that when you understand injuries, it informs your teaching so much while this Crescent or a high lunge variation sounds creative. It could also be potentially injurious, even if none of your current students are injured that could change. Someone might pull a muscle in another class. Have a past injury flare up or come to you with an injury in the future. But already having the knowledge and skills to help you be ready to offer on the spot and effective support. While your students might not explicitly ask for injury related support. They will benefit from you because you understand how to keep them safe and offer thoughtful modifications. This knowledge helps you stand out as a well rounded instructor and students will recognize that you are prepared to support them at every stage of their practice, especially if they don't know to ask for it. Your student base is going to change over time. Students come and go. Their bodies change and new students will join your classes. By learning about injuries and pain management. Now you're investing into your long-term teaching practice. When students with injuries do join your classes and trust me. They eventually will. You'll be equipped with the knowledge to support them with confidence, thus, making your teaching more sustainable in the long run. As yoga continues to grow in popularity, students are becoming more selective about their teachers. Students are looking for instructors who not only offer a great class, but also understand the body pain and injury prevention plus yoga. Isn't just about movement. It's about cultivating a mindful, balanced, and healthy approach to the body. Understanding injuries and pain management fits naturally into this holistic view of teaching. Even if it's not the focus of your class. And finally, when students come to you for yoga, they're entrusting you with their physical wellbeing. Even if they aren't asking for injury prevention advice, your knowledge can build a deeper sense of trust. If students, since that you have the tools to help them avoid or deal with injuries, move safely and manage pain when necessary. They'll feel more competent in your guidance. This trust can strengthen student loyalty. Which we know is crucial for longterm success as a teacher. Okay. How are you feeling about injuries and pain management now? Can you see how you don't have to change who you are as a teacher and what you enjoy teaching? But at the same time, add valuable long-term knowledge. To your classes. Imagine yourself, teaching restorative yoga, and you have a current student with bursitis. Uh, shoulder condition, which is the inflammation of the bursa SAC in the shoulder joint. Now, even though this is a gentle restorative practice. You know that certain arm positions will not feel good or will be unattainable for this student. So, you know, in your mind how you can offer variations and even additional prompts to help this student feel better so that they can actually relax and soothe their nervous system, which is the whole point of restorative. Right. I hope I've helped you move the needle a little bit. If you're still not convinced about why understanding pain. And injuries is so important. Yoga and injury management is an eight week mentorship that I am leading with my friend and colleague Diana May. And this is what we teach. Understanding and teaching students who are in pain or who have injuries. We also help you understand the student's whole experience so that you are the teacher who understands them. We start actually tomorrow, Tuesday, October 15th. And it's not too late for you to join us. You will be so glad you did check the link in the show notes for more information to join us. And if your gut is saying yes. Just do it. Join us. It is eligible for 20 continuing education credits through yoga Alliance. So if that is something that you're thinking about, I just know. Yes, you will get credit. Can you tell how much I love talking about anatomy, pain and injuries. I want all teachers of movement to understand how a working knowledge of all of these affects your teaching. I don't think we talk about the importance of these subjects. Enough as movement teachers. And if this conversation feels uncomfortable, Don't worry. This is exactly where change happens. I hope this episode sparks some deeper thought around why you should learn more about pain and injuries, because it's so important as a movement educator. I've added a link in the show notes for you to send me a quick text message about your thoughts on this episode. Or any other, I won't know your phone number. It's just a neat addition to the platform I use. That allows for this easy way for you to communicate with me. Once you click on it, it will take you to your messages. Don't delete the code. That's how your message will get to me. And I would love to know your thoughts on this topic. I love diving into these conversations because there are so many important discussions to be had in the teaching world. You know, that my goal is for you to love the yoga teaching life and allow it to be fulfilling and rewarding. And sometimes it takes some work and a few conversations to get there. If you love this episode, let me know. Subscribed to the podcast. So you're always in the know when a new episode drops and share it with another yoga teacher who you think would love to be in on these conversations. Thank you for helping to spread the word about this podcast. And if you've been taking notes in your journal, as you listen to these episodes, I'm so glad you are. And I'd love to hear about it. Finally, don't forget to join my newsletter. That's just for yoga teachers. I've got some exciting teachings coming soon. So I'll want to tell you all about them. The link is in the show notes below, and I would love you to join it so we can always stay connected. All right, that's it for now? Bye.

25:18

Mhm.