This personal revelation on social media is broadly viewed as reflecting a humble admission by that after many years of regular yoga practice, it appears time to retire from an advanced level asana practice due to what is widely accepted as ‘normal’ physical wearing in an active person over 40 years old. Understanding that it is not easy for the ego of a senior international yoga teacher to admit that they are retiring from backbends because of pain, loyal students post compassionate condolences online.

However, no one, particularly the highly experienced yoga teacher, questions why the arthritis accumulated at that location in his lower back in the first place. And more immediately, no one questions if there is any other possible alignment that could therapeutically improve the situation! Instead of seeking proactive solutions, the cause of the chronic pain is deemed ‘normal’ and just part of life. In turn, there appears no other solution but to quit practicing backbends, and to accept the debilitating physical limitations of middle age (~40 – 60+ years old)!

Overuse is the biggest excuse by modern yogis and dancers for their hip replacements, knee replacements, and for surgeries on their lower back spinal disks. There is little discussion or consideration about how regular postural misalignment led to their joint degeneration. And there is even less mention of how their routine alignment in their yoga practice could have reinforced their daily misalignments which were causal to the accelerated wear of their joints. The status quo view of joint degeneration, particularly for modern postural yoga teachers, is that such damage is typical and to be expected after ‘many’ years of practice. Incapacitating degeneration is accepted as ‘normal’ for active, athletic, yoga practitioners or dancers in their 40’s. In fact, surgical scars are proudly shown to friends and students like war wounds with tales of the toil of years of intense asana practice pushing their bodies to the limit.