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I didn’t think much of it when I stubbed my toe on my yoga mat during my favorite Sunday morning yoga class. I was stepping through from Downward Dog into Warrior 1–a movement I’ve done a million times–and ended up smacking my foot on the mat. I heard a crack and felt a jolt of pain. At first, I assumed it was a harmless incident and that the pain would subside like it usually does when I clumsily bump into things. But when it came time for Savasana, my toe was still throbbing. “That’s weird,” I thought.
As class wrapped up, I was still in denial about the pain. I had plans to meet a friend and then pick up some groceries on my way home. I figured the discomfort was temporary, so I (gingerly) put on my shoes and left.
When I got home after running—well, limping— errands a few hours later, I took off my sock to reveal a black-and-blue toe. After a frustrating trip to the urgent care center, I learned it was broken and that I was about to spend the next six weeks in a medical boot.
Telling people I broke my toe in yoga class was a funny bit (after all, yoga isn’t exactly a contact sport), but this didn’t make up for the fact that I really, really missed practicing. The boot was clunky and made it difficult to walk let alone come into Chaturanga. So I not only skipped my regular yoga classes but also my daily walks and runs. After those six weeks, I could feel my core and lower body getting weaker. But as much as I was desperate to get back on the yoga mat, part of me also dreaded it.
There’s something particularly difficult about returning to a physical yoga practice after an extended break. While a broken toe is, objectively, not the biggest injury out there, I was familiar with the physical and mental challenges that accompany getting back into yoga after dealing with an injury. Once, I took an entire year away from the mat due to ongoing injuries and surgeries. Given my history, I felt surprisingly emotional about my poor toe and what that meant for my yoga practice.
Why Is It So Hard to Return to Yoga After an Injury?
Even after my recovery, there were weeks when I put off attending class and avoided my yoga mat at home—not because I didn’t want to practice or physically couldn’t, but because of the emotions it brought up.
It can feel incredibly frustrating to get back on the mat after an injury. “It’s really difficult when you return to your practice and find that you can’t come back into it at the level you were at before the injury,” says Darby Bonomi, PhD, a sports and performance psychologist in Corte Madera, CA. “This is especially true if you are a high performer or someone who has been working at your practice for years to get to the level you achieved pre-injury.”
Yoga is not a performance, nor is it all physical. Still, I derive a lot of joy and fulfillment from the physical practice. Being disconnected from that is difficult.
And the mental challenge of returning to the mat is often greater. I sink into a comparison trap—not of myself to other students, but my current self to my past self.
“Generally speaking, it’s not fair or useful to compare your current and past performance,” says Bonomi. “You have to start from where you are, not where you were or where you wish you were.” But that is often easier said than done.
It can be emotionally challenging to have to wait to practice again. There’s often a sense of urgency to get back on the mat despite not knowing when and if you can, or what it will even feel like.
When the time to return to my mat finally came, I felt a certain level of fear and disappointment in the changes in my body. To cope with that, I had to ease myself slowly and mindfully back into my practice.
How to Ease Back into Yoga After an Injury
There are all manner of injuries and each is unique. There’s truly no “one size fits all” approach to returning to yoga. Still, the insights below apply to many situations and can help you navigate your mental and physical health in the process.
1. Take It Slow
Take enough time for recovery before getting back on the mat. Be sure to get your physician’s okay to return to practice, but listen to your body as well.
“The biggest mistakes after an injury are rushing the process of healing and ignoring the body’s signals,” says Lara Heimann, physical therapist, E-RYT 500, NDT, and founder and CEO of LYT Yoga Method in Great Barrington, MA.
“Moving with an injury is often a good idea,” says Heimann. “But trying to pick up where you left off can delay recovery or even reinjure the affected area.”
2. Practice In a Way That Feels Good
Of course, an injury can prevent engaging in a person’s usual types of movement on the mat. Still, it’s usually possible to be creative and move other areas of the body, within any limitations specific to your injury.
Heimann provides the example of injuring her foot and wearing a boot, like I did. “I did more floor work to improve my core stability and mobilized my body in all the ways that I was able,” she says.
In other cases, modifying a yoga practice might not be possible. When Heimann required surgery for an inguinal hernia repair, she was unable to lift anything or practice yoga. “I went for long walks and visualized the center of my body holding space for strength and renewal,” she says.
3. Adjust Expectations
Bonomi’s biggest piece of advice is being realistic. “When I say adjust your expectations, I do not mean lower them, but rather adapt them to your body’s current state,” she says.
Mentally preparing for the fact that your body and practice will be different post-injury can make your recovery more positive and safer.
Also, the age-old adage that recovery isn’t linear is worth taking to heart. “Your improvement won’t be in a straight line because that’s not how recovery works,” says Bonomi. “Have patience and respect for both the improvements and perceived setbacks. Know that you won’t improve at the same rate every day and that is okay.”
4. Variations
Modifying your yoga practice is truly the key to your recovery. The types of variations are vast. For instance, it’s recommended that those with knee injuries avoid end range of motion and rotation, such as in Child’s Pose or Lotus Pose. And for shoulder injuries, it’s advised you take it easy on binds.
Talk to your yoga teacher privately, before class, about your injury so they can demonstrate alternative ways of practicing poses. Still, decide what works best for you. Remember that it’s okay to change a pose or skip it entirely.
5. Lean Into the Non-Physical Aspects of Practice
Just as yoga philosophy teaches us, staying present and having compassion for your current self can help guide you through this process. Remember that even when the physical practice of yoga feels less accessible, there are seven other limbs.
Remember that the physical practice isn’t everything. Practicing mindfulness or breathwork may be more accessible for some people than the physical poses—and they are all valid ways of engaging with yoga.
6. Lean On Community
I know firsthand that being sidelined by an injury can feel isolating. Whether it’s not being able to attend my normal yoga classes or the general physical challenges of leaving home to socialize with friends and family, it can be a tough time.
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” says Bonomi. She points out that others have likely gone through a similar experience, if not had the exact same injury, and can be a great resource for support. You might try connecting with other yoga students you know, either in person or online. Otherwise, make a point to socialize with other friends or acquaintances how you can—by phone call, text, or FaceTime—which can help soothe feelings of loneliness.
7. Celebrate Progress
It’s worth celebrating every win, even if that win is holding a pose that used to be easy for you, or simply building up the confidence to roll out a yoga mat for the first time in a while.
Recovery from an injury can take time—there’s no avoiding that fact. Acknowledging progress, and celebrating it, can keep you motivated to continue coming back to the mat.
“Know that you will get to where you want to be with practice and time, but only if you stay focused on the present and acknowledge your progress every step of the way,” says Bonomi.
8. Let Go of Comparison
One of the hardest lessons for me, this is a key step to not only getting back into yoga but embodying the spirit of the practice.
“As we often say as yoga teachers, honor the body where it is without comparing [it] to past abilities,” says Heimann. “Many people can return to a yoga practice and even strengthen their practice after an injury.”
In some ways, getting back on the mat after an injury can feel like starting from scratch. But just because your practice is different after your injury doesn’t mean it’s unworthy. Your body might bear scars, or feel different or weaker, but facing obstacles (like an injury) and surmounting them often make us stronger in the long run.
As for me, it’s a few months post toe-meets-yoga-mat incident, and I’m slowly getting back into my practice. Emphasis on slow. Yes, returning to the mat can be frustrating, disappointing, and even scary. But I’ve tried to flip my mental script, and start thinking of this as a beautiful new opportunity to explore my body and mind—in all its stages.
