Student with Achilles Tendon Surgery

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akdavis51584
Participant

October 24, 2013 at 9:15 pm

Post count: 3

#2568

Hi Fellow Yogis!
I am a hot yoga instructor and ran into a new issue yesterday came about… A student of mine is recovering from an achilles tendon sugery. Obviously yoga will be super beneficial to him but I feel like hot yoga may not be the best option due to some of the poses that will place pressure and strain on that area. He is only able to do one side of standing bow, balancing stick, head to knee, eagle pose and etc. So he is standing in tadasana a lot … he wants to know what he can do in those times but I’m not sure what to instrcut him to do. Any help with this would be extremely helpful. I would love to help this student heal and build strength in the areas he is desiring but I also do not want to injure him any more than already has occurred. And if there are not alternatives do you recommend me telling the student maybe hot yoga isn’t the best option for him??? Thanks again and have a wonderful evening!

Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
Forum Owner

October 31, 2013 at 1:26 pm

Post count: 3048

#10674

Hi Mandi

Can you confirm that it is when your student is using the leg that has the healing achilles tendon to stand on during these balancing poses that is currently causing the problem in his yoga classes? I really don’t like to make any assumptions so it may seem obvious but I always check these things.

It’s also worth asking what he’s actually feeling at what precise point for each pose. For example he may be able to stand with his foot in his hand for Standing Bow and he may be able to create some traction by standing in an upright position but as soon as he reaches a certain angle where his body comes forward (which must only be achieved by pressing that leg back and up and NEVER bringing the body forward and down), that’s when the pain starts.

Balancing stick he may be able to step forward on that leg and point the back toes and leave the weight in the front foot but just ever so slightly rest the back toes (or even lift them a tiny bit).

For Standing head to knee he may be able to stand with the leg at right angles but not round over. And for Eagle he may be able to lower hips (with chest high, arched spine, arms twisted) but with both legs taking the weight he will be able to gauge how far he can go and limit it accordingly.

So, at the moment there are some ideas to work with that I can flesh out when there is a clearer picture or when you get a chance to work with them and ‘report back’! :cheese:

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

akdavis51584
Participant

October 31, 2013 at 2:30 pm

Post count: 3

#10675

Thanks Gabrielle for the reply! These are helpful and I will speak with the student about the options you have presented and get a bit more clarification on what he is feeling.

Thank you again and namaste!
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