Yoga modifications with a broken leg

≤15 min. Consider this practice with your doctor’s consent. When you are told that your leg should not bear any weight, you need to modify your yoga practice. Because of your yoga practice, many things that others have difficulty with and need help or special equipment to perform daily tasks such as putting on underwear, pants, socks and shoes fortunately will not be an issue for you. Yet as pain decreases and swelling reduces in the leg, other parts of your body start to feel the pain of not doing a yoga practice. In recovery I created different ways to practice yoga poses in a very safe manner – so can you. First you learn how to get on the floor and off the floor to come to a standing position without bearing any weight on the broken leg; because of your regular practice in yoga these moves are typically accessible. Seated forward bends, a restorative backbend (so important because the mid-thoracic becomes so tight), viparita karani (legs up the wall), a pigeon variation called Bridget's cross, twisting from upavistha konasana, and marichyasana, supta padangustasana, and of course savasana. When your doctor tells you to keep the weight off of one leg and you choose to hop around on the opposite leg you will soon discover that one leg becomes stronger as another weakens from no weight bearing; the asymmetry and misalignment resulting from standing on one leg requires a floor-based yoga practice of seated and supine poses to bring you back into alignment.