Do you have hip pain? Today’s episode is all about the hip joint and hip injuries that are common in yoga practitioners. Many of you may already know this story, but I tore my hip labrum when I was 23 years old and I spent the first two years of my yoga teaching career walking with a cane and was in incredible pain.
I had a slow, but amazing recovery from that injury, and now almost 12 years later I am stronger, healthier and more pain free than I have ever been in my life! If you are in pain, or have students who are struggling with hip problems, this episode is for you!
I invited my friend Ariele Foster to join me in this conversation because in addition to being a doctor of physical therapy, yoga teacher since 2001 and an anatomy teacher for yoga teacher trainings, she also had a hip injury.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- The stories about our own hip injuries and subsequent healing. (There is hope if you have a hip injury!)
- The anatomy and structure of the hip joint.
- Specific poses and movements that increases the chances of a hip labral tears.
- Some warning signs and sensations that a person might not recognize as a problem until after damage it done.
- The relationship between “hip opening” poses, hypermobility of the hips and injuries.
Learn More From Ariele:
- Check out our previous interview on The Mentor Sessions to get to know more about Ariele and her Anatomy Informed Yoga approach in Episode 7.
- A sequence for cranky hips.
- A sequence for posterior chain awakening.
- Facebook Group for Hypermobility and Yoga.
- Ariele’s website’s here and here.
Great podcast. Thank you for sharing your stories, ladies. It was very informative. Could the next topic be noisy knees? If a knee(s) makes noise but does not hurt, shall I be concerned of some instability? I have been strengthening my feet, thighs (posterior including), and hips for a while but do not seem to get rid of the noise. I have transitioned to the minimal footwear. I am relatively active and diverse in my movements. In my private yoga practice, I see a lot of people with knee pain.
Hi Julia! YES. Ariele and I should definitely do a podcast about popping and cracking. What a great idea. I’ll ping her about that now. Thank you!
This episode was awesome! So glad I heard this. I have been struggling with my hip and yoga for years. I definitely cannot take “standard” classes. Good job!
I’m so happy this was helpful for you Eduardo!
Hi Francesca! Do you happen to have a list of good asanas for people with the kind of hip problems you talk about? And specially a list of bad asanas? If you do, I would greatly appreciate if you can send more info my way! I’m 34, BJJ and yoga for over 10 years messed up my hips. I already had surgery on both sides and want to keep practicing yoga but without destroying my body. Thanks!!!
Hey Eduardo! Everyone’s hips and injuries are super different so I can’t give you a list of asanas that are good/ bad without knowing more about you. If you want to practice with teachers that are well trained in working with issues like this, I’d recommend my virtual yoga studio 🙂 You can check it out right here: https://www.francescacervero.com/online-classes/
hi there – this conversation found me today and my my – it was like listening to a lot of my own story with so many parallels, except the surgery step. Thanks for the hope aspect and I also feel so validated in my discomfort and pain… Time to find an excellent PT.
I find that a lot of time my older yoga students say “oh my hips” and it’s helpful to try to say well… where, what, when, feels like? Let’s keep the conversation going and thank you! sz
I am so happy this was supportive for you Sarah! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have other questions!