Ep 66: Staying Within Your Scope of Practice While Teaching Injured Students

One of the biggest concerns you might have as a yoga teacher is whether or not you’re stepping outside of your scope of practice. We are not doctors & we cannot diagnose an injury, however, we can AND SHOULD learn about them because we are teaching movement to people who probably are currently injured, have a past injury, or might injure themselves in the future. 

If you’ve ever been afraid of stepping outside of your scope of practice, this is the episode for you! I’m gonna help you realize that you CAN work with injured students and offer them a quality yoga practice even with an injury.

Ep 65: Learning Anatomy Feels Overwhelming, Start Here!

Transcript

Monica: 0:00

One of the biggest concerns you might have as a yoga teacher is whether or not you're stepping outside of your scope of practice. Of course, we're not doctors and we cannot diagnose an injury. However, we can and should learn about them because we're teaching movement to people. who are probably injured or have a past injury or might injure themselves in the future. If you've ever been afraid of stepping outside of your scope of practice, this is the episode for you. I'm going to help you realize that you can work with injured students and offer them a quality yoga practice, even with an existing injury. 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. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Monica and I am so glad you're here. If you're here because you're curious about working with students with injuries and wonder if you can help them, then you're in the right place. Injuries are my jam and I've been injured quite a few times, either from my yoga practice or outside of it. But I didn't want to stop practicing yoga. One of the most common concerns yoga teachers have is whether or not they're stepping outside of their scope of practice. This is what I think about that. We are not doctors and we cannot diagnose an injury. However, we can. and should learn about them because we are teaching movement to people who probably either are injured currently, they have a past injury or they might get injured in the future. There are so many yoga teachers these days. I believe you will separate yourself from the pack when you are able to have conversations with your students about what they're experiencing in their bodies. This isn't to say that you have to have. all the answers, but your students will trust you and feel more connected to you when you're able to talk to them about their injury and their recovery. So if your concern is, I'm worried I'll overstep and work outside my scope of practice, first and foremost, it's essential to recognize that as a yoga teacher, your role is to guide students in their practice, not to diagnose or treat medical conditions. you are not a doctor, a physical therapist, or a healthcare provider. And it's important to communicate this clearly to your students. However, this doesn't mean that you can't support. your students with pain or injuries. Your role is to create a safe and inclusive space for students to explore movement, to offer modifications and alternatives to make poses accessible, and to encourage students to listen to their bodies and honor their limits. If a student has an injury or persistent pain, you should always ask if they've been diagnosed by a healthcare professional and if they have any specific guidelines for their practice. This is the perfect place to start. If they haven't, you should suggest that they consult a doctor or a physical therapist to get a diagnosis. Another concern that I hear from teachers is that I don't feel like I know enough about anatomy to even begin to help students with injuries. I understand that because learning anatomy can feel overwhelming. It's completely normal to feel this way at first because it is a broad and can be a complex subject. But you don't need to be an expert to support your students. My advice? Start with the basics. Learn the major joints, the shoulders, the hips, the knees, the spine, and how they move. Understand the muscles commonly involved in yoga poses, like hamstrings and quads. Study common injuries such as rotator cuff tears, low back pain, hamstring tears, and how they might affect movement. I address this in more detail and offered you some anatomy resources in my last episode Number 65. It's titled learning anatomy feels overwhelming start here You should listen to it and get your journal because I shared some of my favorite resources and you'll want to write them down. Remember, you're not expected to know everything. Just keep learning so that you feel confident in guiding your students safely and offer thoughtful modifications. Injured students typically come with pain symptoms. Pain is a complex experience that involves not just the body, but also the nervous system and emotions. Here's what you need to know. pain doesn't always mean there's tissue damage. It can be influenced by stress, fear, or past experiences. Sometimes the nervous system becomes overly sensitive. amplifying pain signals even after an injury has healed. That's called central sensitization. And everyone experiences pain differently. So it's important to listen to your students and respect their unique needs. I have a bunch of past episodes that explain all of this in detail. You should binge them. That's a shameless plug. No seriously, I published those episodes because learning about injuries also means you should be studying the nervous system, pain science, and how injuries, pain, and the nervous system are all intertwined. The next time a student tells you that they're in pain, especially if you don't understand it or their injury, ask them questions like, where do you feel the pain? What makes it feel better or worse? And have you seen a healthcare professional about this? This helps you understand their experience. Offer appropriate modifications. and direct them towards getting a diagnosis. See how this is staying within your scope of practice and helping your students at the same time? You can do this and I encourage you to lean in and get a little bit more curious. It's going to require effort and maybe a little more of your time, but the payoff is in relationship building with your students. You might be wondering how you can support your students who are recovering from injuries. You know that doctors and physical therapists often send their patients and clients to yoga for relief. So students with injuries are often coming to yoga, However, they may also feel vulnerable or frustrated. Here are a few ways you can support them. Number one, create a safe space. Let them know that it's okay to take breaks, skip poses, or use props. Number two, offer modifications. Provide alternatives for poses that might aggravate their injury. For example, you could suggest a block under the hand in triangle pose for shoulder stability, or a bolster or a blanket under the knees in Shavasana for low back support. And third, encourage body awareness by teaching students to tune into their bodies and notice how different movements feel. This empowers them to make informed choices about their practice. Remember, your role isn't to fix their injury, but to help them move in a way that feels safe and supportive. You can offer ideas, but only they know how they feel. If you want to be sure you're not overstepping or stepping outside of your scope of practice, here are four ways to ensure you stay within your scope. Number one, ask questions. Always start by asking if the student has been diagnosed and if they have medical clearance to practice yoga. Number two, Use clear language. Avoid giving medical advice or diagnosing injuries. Instead, say things like, might help you feel more comfortable. Try it and see how it feels. Or, have you talked to your doctor about this? Number three, refer out when needed. If a student's injury is severe, undiagnosed, or beyond your knowledge, always suggest they consult a healthcare professional. And number four, keep on learning. Take workshops or courses on anatomy, injury prevention, and trauma informed teaching to build your confidence and skills. If you don't feel confident yet, it's okay. Confidence comes with time and experience. Start small. Begin by offering one or two modifications per class. For example, suggest blocks under the forearms in tabletop for wrist relief for a student with a wrist injury. Observe and learn. Pay attention to how students respond to your cues and adjustments. This will help you get observable feedback and refine your teaching over time. And always practice self compassion. It's okay to not have all the answers. What matters is that you're committed to learning and supporting your students to the best of your ability. Ask yourself, what have I learned? Or, how have I grown in the last six months? Look back over time and acknowledge how you've grown as opposed to judging yourself in every little moment. One of my most favorite strategies is to simply empower my students. One of the most important things you can do as a teacher is to help students connect with their own bodies. Teach them to listen to their bodies and ask them to honor their limits. Encourage them to explore modifications and find what feels best for them. And as you learn, you can share anatomy tidbits during class to help them understand their bodies better. For example, you could say this strengthens your hamstrings, the muscles on the backs of your thighs. When you empower your students, you're not just helping them in the moment. You're giving them tools to practice safely and mindfully, whether they're in your class, another teacher's class, or out and about in their daily lives. I know that working with students who have pain or injuries can initially feel daunting, but it's also an opportunity to deepen your teaching and make a meaningful impact. You can stay within your scope of practice, continue to learn, approach each student with empathy and curiosity, and create a safe and supportive environment for everyone. Remember, you're not alone in this journey. I'm here, and I love teaching, learning, and discussing injuries. It makes me a little excited on the inside, if you can't tell. If you want a deeper understanding of anatomy, injuries, and pain, but you're concerned about staying within your scope of practice, remember you aren't diagnosing, instead you're working with your student to make the yoga practice appropriate for their bodies at this time. I truly believe that yoga teachers are movement educators and we must understand the human body, its movements, and injuries in order to be effective in our teaching. It's so important for us to have this conversation so that you remember that there are so many opportunities for you in the teaching world. Download the ebook, Sequencing for Different Injuries. The link is in the show notes below. I promise you it will help form a foundation for teaching students with injuries and aging bodies. The information will also help you understand how to accommodate Students of different abilities and it'll be a great resource for you to return to again and again When you download the ebook, you'll be joining my newsletter. That's just for yoga teachers. I've got more Exciting teachings coming soon. So I want to tell you all about them The link is in the show notes below and I would love for you to join it so we can always stay connected I've also added a link to episode number 65, Learning Anatomy Feels Overwhelming. Start here. But seriously, scroll back and have a listen to other episodes I have on pain and the nervous system. You know that my goal is for you to love the yoga teaching life and allow it to be fulfilling and rewarding. And as always, it takes some work to get there. If you love this episode, let me know. I've got a link in the show notes for you to send me a quick text message about your thoughts on this episode. I won't know your phone number. It's just an addition to the platform that I use that allows for this new and super 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, subscribe 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 would love to hear about it. All right. That's it for now. Bye.

15:47

Mhm.