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Summer 1999

NAMASTE,


In the fall 1995 newsletter, I wrote about a problem I was having with my left knee. Every now and then, it would dislocate. Fortunately, I knew how to put it back in, but as time passed, the problem began to occur with increasing frequency. I wrote that I had had a similar problem with my right knee some years earlier and that through very specific techniques had been able to work with my knee so that it healed completely. No longer was there any discomfort in the right knee, I said, and I could do anything with it that I could prior to the problem. I then described an approach I was using to work with my left knee and went on to talk about the various obstacles I was encountering as I tried to implement that approach.

Nearly four years have passed. My left knee has not dislocated and has been pain free long enough that I now feel confident in declaring it healed. As with my previously injured right knee, I can do anything with it that I could do before the problem began, including poses such as Vamadevasana II (cover photo), which is difficult for the knees.

The difference between my experience in working with my right knee and my left knee, though, is that in the former case, I know exactly what I did to correct the situation; in the latter, I can’t identify any specific technique to which I can attribute my improvement. The approach I described in the 1995 newsletter seemed to help at first, but as I continued to use it, it became clear to me that, although useful, it was not going to be adequate.

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Since then, over the past four years, I have tried many different things. What helped me with my right knee was totally counterproductive with respect to my left knee, so I abandoned that. I used props in a variety of ways, which seemed to help sometimes and not others. I did lots of standing poses to strengthen the muscles around the joint; that actually seemed to aggravate the situation. As I tried out various ideas and approaches, the knee would seem to get better, then become unstable again, then improve, then regress. Nothing seemed to help unequivocally. I wish I had gone to see an orthopedic specialist a couple of years ago just to see what her/his recommendation would have been. As easily as my knee slipped out of joint (just squatting was sufficient to do it), I strongly suspect that surgery would have been advised. And had I had consistent pain or been unable to function in a reasonable way in my daily activities, I would have considered that option. However, as a student and teacher devoted to the science of yoga, including its therapeutic applications, I am committed to exploring and using yoga to remedy whatever problems I encounter. Anything other than yoga was and is, to me, an absolute last resort.

I suspect that one could become rigid about that, ultimately to one’s own detriment, perhaps. On one level, yoga is so broad and varied a subject that I’m sure it can be employed to deal effectively with just about any and every aspect of one’s life. But I can imagine situations in which I would definitely seek other avenues. If I have a badly broken leg, for example, I’m going to the orthopedist to fix it. I’ll practice asanas afterwards to recuperate and rehabilitate.

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To tell you the truth, as time passed, I began to entertain the thought that nothing I did was going to help with my left knee, not so much because yoga was inadequate or inappropriate, but because my knowledge and skill was insufficient. I figured that if the knee began to hurt in the regular course of the day or became completely unstable, then I’d throw in the towel and try something else. Pain never became an issue, though, and after awhile, I began to notice that more and more time was elapsing between incidences of my knee dislocating. Not long ago, I realized that months had gone by since that had happened. Now I consider the knee completely healed.

So, what finally fixed my knee?

I really can’t point to any one thing. Essentially, I attribute it to sensible and consistent practice. I avoided any position or movement of my knee that produced any discomfort at all or that caused it to dislocate. That eliminated or altered a fair number of poses. Still, I did an otherwise normal (for me) practice. I didn’t focus on any particular asanas or groups of asanas. I just practiced keeping those two requirements – no discomfort, no dislocation – foremost in my awareness. It was often difficult not to do certain things. The temptation for me was to try to do everything I’d always done, maybe just not so deeply. But I realized that I was simply going to have to give up some things altogether, Padmasana, or lotus pose, for instance, at least for the time being, maybe for good. I had to reach a level of acceptance about what I could and could not do, that before then, I had been unable to attain.

This was, in many ways, the hardest part of the journey. Having maintained a strong practice for many years, I have developed the ability to do a fair number of difficult poses. In spite of often telling my students that fancy poses do not a yogi make, I realized that part of my identity as a practitioner and teacher was tied up with doing advanced poses. Deciding to give up practicing at a particular physical level challenged my identity of myself. Of course, this was necessary in order to improve my knee, and in the long haul, a valuable yoga lesson for me, but not much fun at the time. Still, I settled into it after a bit and kept to my regimen – sensible, consistent practice along with faith that the situation would resolve itself in the way it was supposed to.

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This reminds me of an expression that Pattabhi Jois, a well-known teacher and contemporary of Mr. Iyengar, uses to answer a lot of his students’ questions and complaints: “Do your practice, all is coming.” Based on my own experience, not only with my knee, but in everything else, I agree completely. Everything grows from one’s practice. Nevertheless, I think it is important to add that how one does one’s practice makes a big difference in what is coming and when.

I recall, also, that in response to a question, Mr. Iyengar once wrote to me with the following advice: “Be cautious. Be bold.” Certainly in the case of my right knee, a very specific therapeutic practice which included sitting in Virasana (a kneeling pose in which one sits on the floor between one’s feet) for a half an hour (a fairly bold remedy, I would say) produced the results I was looking for. Therapy for my left knee was simply to practice carefully and patiently – a cautious approach. I can’t really say that that wouldn’t have worked in the first instance. And although what worked for the right knee definitely did not work for the left one, I can’t say that there isn’t some specific therapeutic technique that I may have overlooked, that wouldn’t have done as well or better than the cautious approach I did take. I do know that, having worked with a large number of people with a variety of problems, 90% of therapy is doing poses and pranayamas correctly. So often, a simple adjustment of a student’s pose will alleviate long-standing, seemingly insoluble pains or limitations. Occasionally, specific techniques are required, as in the case of my right knee. Mostly, though, it’s a case of “do your practice” – and doing it consistently and sensibly.

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To explore further the issue of practice, I invite you to come visit with us on Sunday, June 27, when we have our annual discussion on “Practice”. We’ll play with questions revolving around the how’s, when’s, what’s and why’s of practice. You are most welcome, whether you practice or not.

       

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