Practice report: Second series backbends, knee

During practice on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, I re-introduced the second series backbends into my practice for the first time in two weeks, since I injured my left knee a couple of weeks ago. After not having done these backbends for a couple of weeks, they feel different in my body. Especially Laghu Vajrasana and Kapotasana. It appears that I haven't lost any backbending flexibility: I am still getting my heels in Kapotasana. But the feeling in these backbends is different now from what it was before two weeks ago. On both days, I felt this powerful pulling stretchy sensation in my quads (almost painful, but not quite) in both Laghu and Kapo. On Tuesday, I also felt this achy sensation in my thoracic spine after coming out of Kapo. I think these are good signs: It seems that whatever it was that was hurting my knee is somehow also making my front body work harder. Which also makes me wonder: Is whatever it is that is hurting the left knee related to some kind of front-back muscular balance in my body?

In any case, as a result of this re-introduction of backbends into my practice, I have been walking around with sore quads these last couple of days. I think that means I walk around with legs that are more extended, with less bend at the knees (because bending the knees more when you walk also activates the quads more, I think). I don't think anybody around me is actually noticing anything about the way I walk ;-) But hey, I much prefer walking around with sore quads than trying to walk with painful knees; the latter is very not fun.

As for the left knee, I am cautiously optimistic that it is getting better. During yesterday's practice, I took a chance, and got into the finishing lotuses with the left leg first. The sensation in the knee as I folded the left leg into lotus was more of an intense achy sensation than a sharp pain, and it passed after about a second in lotus. This seems to me a good sign that something is healing. But I should probably be more cautious here, and try to follow Megan's "any sensation is too much sensation" mantra. It's just that I'm always curious as to how far I can move things without hurting myself; and sometimes, as they say, curiosity kills the cat :-)

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