My friend, Francesca d’Enrico, has just published an article after interviewing me on the subject of Yoga and Injuries, and therapy in general. It is translated to Italian but the original english is at the end…

Here I am again on Yoga and Injuries, this time talking with one of the world’s top Yoga Teacher and Therapist: Simon Borg-Olivier. Simon has been teaching for over 30 years. He founded Yoga Synergy, in Australia, holds a Bachelor in Human Biology and a Master in Sciences Applied to Physiotherapy. He studied Yoga under BKS Iyengar, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and TKV Desikachar’s guidance before meeting his Guru, Natanaga Zander (Shandor Remete), with whom he has deepened his knowledge over two decades. With Master Zhen Hua Yang, in Tibet, he integrated his Yoga studied with Shaolin Monks’ techniques. His experience is even more interesting when you learn how many accidents and injuries he has personally endured. Such experiences make his knowledge unique and he is today one of the leading Yoga Teachers worldwide (have a look at Alessandro Sigismondi’s videos of his practice).

FDE: As a long time practitioner I have gone through several injuries from various causes: bad adjustments, old injuries that come back (I used to be a dancer), muscle strains, ligaments, slipped discs… you name it :-). Yoga has been sometimes a healer, sometimes the cause. Or shall I say, my attitude towards the practice has been healing at times, and other times… the culprit!
SBO: I totally relate to what you are saying , I have had similar experiences.

FDE: You are a great teacher, with loads of experience both on personal and on practitioners’ injuries. So I am obviously very interested in knowing your approach. I believe it could be extremely helpful to all practitioners to know how a famous teacher deals with his own and his students’ injuries.
SBO: I have a whole online course on yoga therapy that maybe many students would be interested in seeing, as I discuss all this stuff in it. Read the full article here. (In Italian)

If you are interested in this subject you may be interested in our  online course on the therapeutic applications of posture, movement and breathing available to study online. Find out more here