- Hi Bernie
Firstly, I would like to thank you for your incredibly helpful website and books. They have added to my growing yin knowledge immensely. I have recently completed my first 50 hours of Yin Yoga teacher training.
I have a teenage son who damaged his meniscus through a rugby injury. It has now been three weeks since his operation, where they trimmed some of the torn tissue. He already has great motion available in the joint and I want to introduce some Yin into his rehabilitation - in consultation with his physiotherapist and surgeon. If you have time would you be able to answer a question for me?
Would you recommend I only use the seiza pose (with props) or should I create a fuller series of poses for him? I know it is important to also make sure we work on his hips but I'm hesitant to load too much tension onto the lower body. Any guidance you could send our way would be very much appreciated.
Namaste
Jaimee
Thanks for your question. I am glad you are getting value from Yin Yoga!
Regarding your son: it is difficult to recommend a program for him without knowing more about his situation: I don't know his biography or biology. If I knew what caused his knee issue, it would help. Without that knowledge, I can only offer you what I did in my case. Maybe you can extrapolate to him?
In my situation (which I describe in detail in this posting and this posting), I crushed my menisci by doing Lotus Pose too soon. My hips were very tight. I ignored the burning in my knees and didn't stop until the pain prevented me from doing the pose. After that lesson in "listen to your body!" I sought relief through a variety of yoga practices, but ultimately I had to have the surgery, as your son has had. My surgeon warned me that, without the full menisci, I would get arthritis in my knees. He practically guaranteed me that I would get arthritis, but I was determined to repair the damage as much as I could.
My healing involved a number of modality and techniques. Yes, Seiza pose (Vajrasana) was an important part (see my article on Yin Yoga for the Knees), but I also worked on opening my hips, by which I mean, getting to my full range of external rotation and abduction. If your son also has tight hips, he would probably benefit from a Yin Yoga sequence as follows:
- Opening Meditation
Butterfly
Straddle
Shoelace (can add upper body twists and sidebends)
Swan
Winged Dragon
Reclining Twisted Roots
Shavasana
Cheers
Bernie