Words of wisdom from
Leslie Kaminoff:
People who are flexible enough [to practice padmasana or lotus pose] don't need it. Those that are too stiff shouldn't risk it. Therefore I don't teach it.
Can I just say what a relief it is to hear someone (and someone who is a highly knowledgeable and respected yoga anatomy teacher and
author) say this so clearly and loudly?? Lotus is one of those "quintessential" yoga poses...there is always a picture somewhere of some yogi sitting contentedly in lotus, looking all peaceful and whatnot. (See Christy Turlington in bound lotus below. Something tells me lotus is also easier for those whose limbs are supermodel length.) Well, at this point in my yoga practice I can get into lotus when I am warm enough. And while it feels good for my hips, it has never felt quite like the right thing to do for my knees. I know my knees. Years of torturing them in ballet taught me a lot. And something about lotus hasn't felt responsible to me. And I have had pain in my left knee, just like Mr. Kaminoff mentions.
So I don't teach it to my students. Because I don't know their knees!! If they know their knees and want to go there on their own, that's OK. If a student is clearly flexible enough, they can take that option and I won't try to talk them out of it. But I don't feel it's a responsible pose for the majority of my students. And yet....I do sometimes feel like students think I'm not teaching "real" yoga because I don't teach lotus. After all, it is the original yoga pose, right? So I just have to remind myself that it's a lot easier to deal with the fact that someone might think I'm not teaching "real" yoga than to feel like I've led someone...anyone!...to a place of injury.
As Mr. Kaminoff says, too often the thing that tells us we shouldn't have done something is the injury we get from doing it.
