I’ve noticed on the forums regular inquiries about how to do yoga with broken legs and ankles. I have a little expeience and thought I’d share.
Over the last ten years, I’ve had two ACL surgeries, a ruptured ankle tendon, and a broken ankle. Many days I can’t stand for long. I can’t pivot my foot. I can’t hold down dog or do hero pose without having problems later. Five years ago I learned that I have PTTD (posterior tibial tendon disfunction) that according to doctors is bad enough I need to have foot surgery. With my particular case, there is no guarantee that I will be able to do anything more after surgery than I can do right now. So I’ve found other ways to manage the pain. Yoga is a big part of my pain management.
I created a list of yoga sessions that are friendly to leg and ankle injuries that I’d like to share. (The link is below.)
As a gentle reminder, you’re injured and your body needs to heal. This means that while you’re on crutches, in casts, or boots, you can take advantage of your limited movement and practice any of the guided meditations on Do Yoga With Me. For many years, I found it hard to be still for longer than two minutes and meditating helped me gain the ability to tap into the inner calm when I need it. During super painful days, I meditate and send healing thoughts to where I hurt. There are studies that indicate that meditation and positive thinking actually speed up recovery. It definitely doesn’t hurt to try it out. It’s hard in a different kind of way.
I also understand that desire to do something to relieve the achy body and feel like you did a yoga practice that eased the discomfort of limited mobility.
Depending on the day or where you are on the journey to shed casts or braces, you may need to have lots of blankets and bolsters to support the injured legs. Some of the poses aren’t going to look anything like the instructors’ because you have so many bolsters or can’t go as deep. Other poses you many need to skip or do a different pose more suitable for your body. All of this is okay.
This list has about 30 yoga sessions that I’ve found are leg and ankle injury friendly. Many of them are on the floor because I found those easier to do with an elevated leg. There are a few sessions in the list where you’ll have to do some pose modifications because of the position of legs and feet.
https://www.doyogawithme.com/node/280448
I continue to add to the list as I discover additional classes that are fun and injury friendly. I hope these sessions help others as much as they helped me.