Episode Transcript
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monica_4_09-17-2024_122441 (00:00):
Many
students practicing yoga
encounter the frustrating andoften debilitating experience of
SI joint pain, discomfort, oreven dysfunction.
I even experience it from timeto time as well.
I.
Despite its prevalence, itremains widely misunderstood and
well-intentioned advice cansometimes exacerbate the problem
(00:23):
rather than alleviate it.
A common solution in yogaclasses for SI joint pain is to
engage your core or engage yourglutes.
While core and glute engagementare undeniably important for
overall stability and movement,applying them as a blanket
solution for SI joint issuesoften falls short and can even
(00:47):
be counterproductive.
This episode is specificallydesigned for you if you've ever
heard or even offered thisadvice and have come to the
realization that it doesn'tquite address the nuances of SI
joint pain.
With your students, we will divedeeper into the complexities of
the sacroiliac joint and explorethe potential underlying causes
(01:11):
of pain and dysfunction.
Let's throw away simple cues anddiscuss more effective
strategies and considerationsfor helping students find relief
and promote long-term stabilityin the SI joint.
Welcome to the EssentialConversations for Yoga Teachers
Podcast with me.
(01:31):
I'm Monica Bright and I've beenteaching yoga and running my
yoga business for over a decade.
This is the podcast for you.
If you are 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 withyou.
(01:52):
My life as a yoga teacher, thelessons I've learned, my process
for building my business andhelpful ideas, tools, strategies
and systems I use and you canuse so that your business
thrives.
We'll cover a diverse range oftopics that will help you,
(02:12):
whether you're just starting outor you've got years under your
belt and you wanna dive deep andset yourself up for success.
I am so glad you're here.
Listen, I don't take myself tooseriously, so expect to hear
some laughs along the way.
Now let's do this together.
monica_4_09-17-2024_122 (02:35):
Welcome
back to the podcast.
I'm Monica, and I'm so gladyou're here.
If I sound a little nasally onyour end, it's because I am, I
don't typically have springtimeallergies, but seems like I'm
dealing with a little bit ofsomething, something.
So you might hear it in, yourear.
(02:57):
Just bear with me as I try to.
articulate myself as well as Ican with this nasally sound.
on this podcast, we get realabout yoga's role in injury
prevention and recovery.
And today we're tackling one ofthe most misunderstood and often
(03:17):
mistreated issues in yoga.
And that's.
Si, joint pain, a littlediscomfort, and sometimes
students have dysfunction.
If you've ever heard, or maybeyou've even said, engage your
core or engage your glutes Tohelp relieve your SI joint pain.
Uh, but you realize that thisisn't the most helpful advice
(03:39):
than this episode is for you.
I'm gonna bust a few myths,explain why common cues
backfire, and give you somepractical solutions you can use
starting today.
So let's dive right in.
Here's the first question weneed to ask, and we need to
understand the anatomy andfunction of this very important
(04:01):
joint in the body.
the scro iliac joint is a smallbut critical articulation where
the sacrum, which is thetriangular bone at the base of
your spine, where it connects tothe ilium, the larger pelvic
bones, unlike most joints, ithas very limited mobility due to
(04:23):
its primary role in stabilityrather than motion.
The joints on the right and theleft side are held together by
some of your body's strongestligaments.
The SI joint is a shock absorberbecause it transfers forces
between your upper body and yourlegs during walking, running, or
(04:45):
maybe even lifting.
The movement in this joint isminimal because it's designed
for load transfer and notflexibility.
If you're a believer that weevolved from walking on four
legs to two, then let me explainhow this evolution to Bipedalism
changed the role of the SI jointin your body.
(05:07):
When we evolved to walk upright,the SI joint underwent major
functional shifts.
It had to, because our center ofgravity shifted and the weight
we placed on our lower bodyincreased significantly.
Its roles shifted from mobilityto stability.
In Quadric, HEADSS, the SI jointis more mobile, aiding and
(05:30):
climbing, walking and running.
but in humans, it became a rigidweight-bearing structure that
handles vertical forces likegravity's impact on your spine.
To adapt for upright posture,the sacrum widened creating a
stronger base for the spine.
(05:51):
The iliac blades shortened andcurved inward improving balance
over the legs and the jointsurfaces became more textured,
increasing friction to resistsheer.
Forces.
However, because of this, weencountered new vulnerabilities.
Bipedalism introduced sheerstress, which are a side to side
(06:15):
forces during walking, makingthe SI joint prone to
dysfunction like ligament strainand misalignment.
This deserves more of aconversation, but knowing that
men and women have a differentsize and pelvis shape is
important to remember.
During childbirth, the femalepelvis needs to move to adapt
(06:39):
for wider birth canals, whichcan further stress si joint
stability.
Why does this matter for you asa yoga teacher?
Understanding movement helps yousee your students differently.
That's been my overarching.
Message throughout many, ofthese episodes, so I hope that
(07:00):
that is connecting for you.
The SI joint wasn't designed forextreme mobility like deep
twists and asymmetrical poses Oroverstretching in hip openers,
which can overload ligamentsleading to chronic and
persistent pain.
But we teach this in everyclass.
(07:23):
Oftentimes teaching more deeperand longer holds, stretches and
twists.
Modern sitting habits weaken theglutes and deep lateral
rotators, the muscles thatstabilize this joint.
Let's talk about what the SIjoint actually does and how yoga
can make it worse.
(07:44):
First, it's the sacrum's shockabsorber working to transfer
force between your spine andyour legs, and unlike other
joints, it has very limitedmovement.
The instability comes fromligament laxity, not the
muscles, which is why some sayonce you overstretch those
(08:05):
ligaments, you cannot restorethem to their initial length.
What we teach in yoga can makeit worse.
Think about asymmetrical posessuch as Warrior one and tree
pose.
The action of practicingdifferent movements with each
hip joint can lead to shearingof the SI joint.
(08:26):
Do you over cue core engagement,like pull your navel to your
spine.
This is an ineffective cue forqueuing core engagement Because
of the anatomy of the corecontainer, this cue can increase
intraabdominal pressure and leadto further ligament stress.
Be honest.
(08:46):
Do you use forced alignment cueslike squaring your hips in
lunges or asking students tocreate a flat back or even stack
their knee over their ankle?
These cues ignore naturalpelvic.
Asymmetry and create anenvironment where students are
forcing their body intounnecessary and sometimes
(09:11):
unattainable positions.
Let's talk more about whatdoesn't work and why.
Strengthening your glutes.
So the glute max is a globalmover, not a stabilizer.
Overworking.
It can actually shift the sacrumout of alignment.
It's small and very minimalmovement.
What about tucking yourtailbone?
(09:32):
Tucking compresses the sacrumand reduces its ability to
absorb force.
Have you ever heard the adviceto use an SI belt?
These are bands that helptemporarily by applying
compression and support aroundthe hips in an effort to
stabilize the SI joint movement.
(09:53):
However, these are not along-term solution.
They decrease proprioceptionlong-term and don't address the
source of the problem in thefirst place.
Okay, let's get to what actuallyhelps.
First, you've gotta train thereal stabilizers of the SI joint
Focus on the deep lateralrotators, the piriformis, the
(10:16):
opterator, and the pelvicfloors, posterior fibers, which
anchor the sacrum.
How to do this, I know thatclamshells get a bad rap, but
they're effective.
Think about having students wrapa resistance band above their
knees.
Guided imagery works really wellhere too.
If you don't actually have bandsto teach with, Ask students to
(10:39):
keep their feet planted gently.
Press their knees outward.
And move without arching theirback to teach this, I often cue
students to take the alignment.
I don't want them to take likearching their back so that they
feel what that feels like.
Then when we practice it again,they can feel in their bodies
(11:01):
where not to go.
Another exercise is a supinepiriformis engagement.
It looks like a supine figurefour, but the intention is
slightly different.
Cue students to lie on theirback with knees bent and cross
one ankle over the oppositeknee.
Figure four.
Instead of pulling the legs infor a stretch, you would ask
(11:24):
them to press the crossed kneeaway while resisting the press
with their hand.
So pressing the hand against theknee.
Pressing the knee against thehand.
This is an isometriccontraction.
Hold this for five seconds andrelease.
The purpose here is nostretching, just activation, and
(11:47):
you can easily incorporate thisinto your classes.
Next, you gotta stop shearingthe joint, Although you may not
be able to completely avoidasymmetrical poses like Warrior
One and Warrior two, untilstability improves, you can talk
to students about not practicingthese poses as deeply.
(12:09):
Instead, ask them to pull back abit.
Be mindful about how you assiststudents.
Are you assisting them intodeeper twists, like chair twists
with the knees in line with oneanother, or deeper hip opening,
like in triangle pose whereyou'd be shearing the SI joint
(12:29):
on the side of the front leg?
Your assists can contribute totheir SI joint pain, so you have
to be super mindful of how yourassists affect the student with
SI joint dysfunction.
Okay.
Third, teach students to breatheintentionally diaphragmatic
breathing over core engagement.
(12:52):
Teach them to let their ribsexpand 360 degrees.
Speak about reducing downwardpressure on the pelvis, and
instead filling out theabdominal container.
Teaching breathing can be veryeffective and students can take
this teaching off of the mat andthey could be practicing it out
(13:14):
in the world, maybe at thegrocery store or while they're
sitting in their car in traffic.
Always remember it is a goodidea to know when to refer out.
Some red flags here include apain that radiates down the leg,
which could be sciatica Or itcould be a disc issue, an
(13:36):
inability to stand on one legwithout hip hiking or a history
of trauma, like maybe a caraccident or a fall or even
childbirth.
In the case of childbirth,pelvic floor therapy is a great
idea.
I was just talking with astudent about this last week.
I'm so glad that we're havingmore conversations around the
(13:59):
pelvic floor and menopause thesedays.
I never had these conversationswith my mom, but that was normal
back then.
Here's what I want you toremember.
Unfortunately, si joint issuesthrive on misinformation.
You can for sure stop teachingstudents to do more crunches and
(14:21):
start working with theiranatomy.
True stability isn't rigid, it'sresponsive, but you have to be
intentional about the yoga youteach and how you teach it.
Okay.
When you have a deepunderstanding of anatomy,
biomechanics, and the effectsyoga Asana have on the body, you
(14:41):
help students understand thatthe yoga practice is not a
workout, but a tool to help themlook inside themselves, to
listen to themselves, and torealize that their bodies might
benefit from slight adjustmentsin the alignment of their poses
in order to suit.
Their own bodies.
It's so important for us to havethese conversations so that you
(15:04):
remember that there's so manyopportunities for you in the
teaching world.
You know that my goal is for youto love the yoga teaching life.
It's important to understandmovement and the issues students
come to your classes with.
If you love this episode, let meknow.
Don't forget to download theebook sequencing for different
injuries.
(15:24):
The link is in the show notesand I promise you it will help
form a foundation for teachingstudents with injuries and aging
bodies.
The information will also helpyou understand how to
accommodate students ofdifferent accessibility.
And it'll be a great resourcefor you to return to again and
again.
When you download the ebook,you'll be joining my newsletter.
(15:46):
That's just for yoga teachers.
I've got more exciting teachingscoming really soon, so I wanna
tell you all about them.
The link is in the show notesbelow, and I would love for you
to join it so we can always stayconnected.
I've also added a link in theshow notes for you to send me a
quick text message about yourthoughts on this episode.
I won't know your phone number.
(16:08):
It's just a neat addition to theplatform I use that allows for
this new and super easy way foryou to communicate with me.
Once you click on it, it willtake you to your messages, but
don't delete the code.
That's how your message will getto me, and I would love to know
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subscribe to the podcast soyou're always in the know when a
new episode drops, and share itwith another yoga teacher who
(16:30):
you think would love to be in onthese conversations.
Thank you for helping to spreadthe word about this podcast, and
if you've been taking notes inyour journal as you listen to
these episodes, I'm so glad youare and I would love to hear
about it.
Alright, that's it for now.
Bye.