Because many of us were brought up believing in the saying "no pain, no gain," most of us, at some time or another, will experience a yoga injury. After all, when we were in school, our coaches and peers encouraged, and often demanded, that we give our athletic pursuits our very best effort, even when injured.

Many of us have transferred that concept right into our yoga practice. In addition, there are many approaches to yoga whose teachers encourage their students to "push their edges."

Yet, even if we practice non aggressive yoga, it is normal that muscle soreness will follow; for it is simply the natural breaking down of muscle tissue and its rebuilding that promotes strength and flexibility, and enhances performance.

Injuries are supposed to be painful, because pain is the body's way of telling you there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Ignoring this message often creates chronic injury, which becomes more common as we age. Trying to work through pain often exacerbates what might have been a minor injury and often creates additional unwanted fascia adhesions (scarring) along with stressed and atrophied soft tissue.

When chronically injured, many structures away from a primary injury also become affected; including surrounding muscles, tendons, ligaments, joint capsules, and especially, the fascia, which when chronically contracted, becomes a primary cause of chronic overall pain, weakness, and loss of flexibility.

When applied to the healing process, yoga therapy is a non-painful and an extremely effective rehabilitative tool. When appropriately practiced, it works on the level of fascia, which serves to rebuild strength and endurance, and to restore and maintain flexibility; both during and after the therapeutic process.