By Marlene (Matrikaa) Gast, Yogaratna

“Your knee is shot,” pronounced Eva’s doctor.  An online Svaroopa^® yoga student since 2022, she injured her right knee walking her dog and doing yard work, leading to knee replacement surgery in May.  In September, I called to learn when she would resume her yoga.

Eva reported, “I was doing well with daily PT exercises, Ujjayi Pranayama, and walking.  At the gym, I spent time on a ‘new step machine,’ recumbent bike and rowing machine — 10 minutes each.  Best was the pool. I felt so buoyant!  I even did the can-can in the water — and, unfortunately, over did it.

“Two days later, I couldn’t walk with a straight knee.  To straighten it, I could barely do 2 seconds of the 5 minutes of my PT exercise.  Once every hour, I sit upright in a chair with a bench at the same height across from me.  My knee is straight while my foot rests on the bench.  I lean forward without bending my shoulders until I feel a moderate stretch.  But after my pool can-can, the pain at the back of my knee is unbearable, and my thigh spasms.”

Hearing this, I recommended yoga therapy.  Online, Eva settled into a supported Shavasana, I led her through Ujjayi Pranayama for about 5 minutes.  Then I guided her in a gentle tailbone release pose followed by Dhanurasana Leg with a therapeutic adaptation.  

Afterward, she reported feeling exponentially better.  I recommended that she do her daily PT exercise for 1 minute only and follow it with this therapeutic sequence.  I suggested increasing the PT time by 1 minute each day to return to 5 minutes.

On September 30^th, Eva returned to my beginners’ yoga class, which features the Primary Spinal Openers.  She substituted Dhanu Leg for Lunge.  Afterward, she felt “glowy, floaty and really good.”  With Svaroopa^® blankets under her knee, Eva did Lunge in the next class.   

She says, “For the first time since surgery, I had enough flexion in my knee to move forward into the pose.  Lunge does something for my whole spine like nothing else.  Lunge makes everything flow.”

By Karen (Kumuda) Schaub

Interviewed by Agnes (Aikya) Hetherington

Last November, I had intense knee pain.  

I finally was able to move from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania, to be in person with Gurudevi more often.  

I had longed to move there years before, but my mother had passed away unexpectedly.  It took several years to come to terms with the loss.  Only then could I begin the process of clearing out her home to put it on the market.  

This physically and emotionally strenuous work re-activated an old knee injury.  I was limping through life, doing daily activities very gingerly.  Once the house was ready, it sold quickly. I had 30 days to pack and move to PA. Within two weeks of arriving, I decided to begin Embodyment^® Yoga Therapy to help relieve the pain. It did that and so much more!  

I needed lots of tailbone opening to relieve the knee pain, which certainly happened. But the therapy also radically changed things on the inside. It was a profound experience of deepening into my Self. I began to develop trust around working with my body in a different way. 

As my fear of the pain receded, I no longer lived in a state of desperation. Throughout my life, I had felt a constant internal shakiness. Yoga therapy and multiple daily practice sessions of Ujjayi Pranayama filled my reservoir of prana. This brought me to a state of being more settled in my life, having less fear. 

Now I’m learning how to keep my mind on a short leash. I set a 90-minute timer when starting a physical task such as unpacking. When my mind wants me to do “just one more thing,” I tell it “no.”  If we allow the mind to rule, it’s a very painful process.