Yoga Injuries? It's Time to Talk About Functional Movement & Yoga Therapy

Back and hip pain are common among yoga practitioners. Learn how to reduce and avoid injury

It's a common story: you practice yoga to feel good, to gain strength and flexibility, and to find peace. But then, an injury strikes—a nagging ache in your low back, a persistent hip issue, radiating sensations along your IT band, pain that just won't go away.

I've seen it over and over: you go to a physical therapist, which is great, and they tell you the one thing you don't want to hear: you need to stop practicing yoga.

In one sense, the Physical Therapists are correct, you need to stop doing what you are doing that is causing the pain cycle.

But what if you didn't have to stop your Yoga Practice?

What if you could learn to practice in a way that heals your body instead of harming it?

This is the core of yoga therapy with Trevor, and it's a conversation that more people need to have. If your PT knew it was an option, they would suggest you go to a Yoga Therapist. The problem isn't the yoga itself; it's often the way it's practiced. By incorporating functional movement, we can transform a potential source of injury into a powerful tool for healing.

From the Mat to Daily Life: The Ripple Effect of Functional Movement

Many traditional yoga poses, when poorly executed, can put stress on areas of the body that are already vulnerable. A classic example is the standing forward fold. When done incorrectly, it can increase strain on the lower back and hips, leading to chronic issues.

But functional movement used in Yoga changes the game.

Working with Trevor Chaitanya, a Certified Yoga Therapist and Licensed Massage Therapist, helps you learn how to properly activate and use your knees and hips so your glutes do their job in your forward folds. If you don't know how to get your glutes to show up in your forward folds, you can be doing all sorts of damage to not only your low back but also you knees.

In a One-on-One Yoga Therapy session with Trevor, you learn how to focus on the relationship between your knees and hips, strengthening the muscles that are often neglected in overly flexible or poorly aligned poses. This isn't just about a single pose; it's about learning how to move with your body, not against it.

What's truly transformative about this approach is how it carries over into your everyday life. The functional movement skills you learn on the mat directly translate to how you move off the mat. Think about it: picking up a heavy can of paint, moving groceries, or even just sitting down and standing up. These are all variations of a forward fold, and when your body is trained to move functionally, these daily tasks become effortless and pain-free. When your yoga practice is grounded in functional movement, the skills you learn are the same ones you use in the rest of your life.

How Trevor's Approach to Yoga Therapy Can Help

As a Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapy, a Licensed Massage Therapist, and an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant trained in Orthopedic Massage Assessment, I know how a holistic approach to wellness can help you. At Chelsea Massage and Yoga Therapy (in Ann Arbor or Chelsea), we don't just treat the injury; we look at the whole person. We work with you to understand the root cause of your pain and teach you how to move in a way that is sustainable and restorative.

Ready to get back to your practice safely and transform how you move in your daily life? Follow the buttons below to book at either our Ann Arbor or Chelsea locations.

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