ON BIRTHDAYS AND HIPS . . .
In November, I turned 72 years old — yup, I wrote it right ‘seventy-two’. Seems very mature to me. Do you look at people and think “I must be younger than them” and then you’re not? Happens to me more than I care to admit. However, I am healthy, I am mobile, I have a great husband and wonderful children (can’t forget their families in this ‘accolade avalanche’). Quiet celebration, dinner with friends, champagne by the Christmas tree. Nice day.
Another first — our Christmas tree was up in NOVEMBER. That has never happened. Usually it goes up about a week before Christmas and comes down a week after. We have many days to enjoy it.
Now, what about the hips? Well, I participated in a 2-part webinar presented by Ginger Garner in late October. Ms. Garner is a Physical Therapist and Certified Yoga Therapist, and her passion is hips.
“You can’t play the age card!”
I used to cringe when students asked for ‘hip openers’, remembering the many classes I’d taken where the teacher interpreted that request as one to spread the legs as wide as possible. Not so, according to Martin Kirk, who wisely said once “every pose is a hip opener”. Think about it — even mountain pose moves the hips.
So, I signed up for this webinar to learn more about hips. And, BOY, did I learn a lot (a scary lot). I already believed that while hips are large joints, they are also subject to injury if abused repeatedly. Ms. Garner shared many facts about hips — femur neck angles, placement of femur head in acetabulum, labral tears, a new-to-me ligament called ligamentum teres, plus what could hurt and what could help the hips.
I already use caution in teaching by alternating weight-bearing legs so that the hips get to rest between sides. I also am very watchful/careful/attentive when moving a group of students through hip movements. I now am extra WCA (watchful/careful/attentive), because I can’t see femur neck angles, cartilage damage, etc. I can only ‘guess’ at what may be going on.
And, get this, everyone is different! And, some are different from left leg to right leg!!! How does that happen?
So, initial takeaways are:
Allow feet to be un-parallel (for some of us, that’s a literal ‘stretch’); however, if a foot turns out as a result of femur neck angle or femur head placement, we are probably NOT going to correct it by asking them to stand feet parallel. Instead, we may be forcing their hips into an uncomfortable (and un-safe) space.
In Side Angle Pose (Parsvakonasana), stop with forearm on thigh. Taking the hand to the floor forces the hip to an angle that may impinge the labrum or that ‘ligamentum teres’. Can you think of other poses where we extremely flex the hip?
Listen to our bodies. The brain has an uncanny ability to sense danger and there may be a sense of hesitancy (signal) that this is as far as one should go in any pose.
There is more to tell; I plan to watch the webinar again. I have to admit, it now is a bit ‘scary’ to move students into poses and not know what’s going on inside their hips.
Enough. (Remember that book - The Age of Overwhelm - well, things like the unknown-goings-on in our hips contribute to my sense of overwhelm.) I’ll watch again, learn what I can and continue the conservative path I’ve followed for years.
Me (Leslie) in my office . . .
“Change is inevitable; Growth is optional.”
MY SCHEDULE:
4 Public Classes each week at Sage Yoga Studios, Fallbrook & Bonsall
Each weekday afternoon and Saturday mornings in my office - 5525 Mission Road, Suite C, Bonsall, CA (check this website for more info).
