How You Can Still Exercise with Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow usually occurs after repeated shock to the ligaments of the wrist and forearm, which is why tennis players so often experience the problem. Psychologically, it is also tennis players who have the most difficult time adapting to the injury. But it is my contention as a yoga teacher that an injury is an opportunity to explore other facets of your body's myriad possible experiences.

At first, it is important to baby an injury, to nurse it back to health. In the practice of yoga we never stretch or strain to the point of pain. If it hurts to move your elbow a certain way, do not do it. Follow the advice of RICE (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate), but a little activity can keep the area lubricated to optimize healing.

Listening to the signals from your body, you will begin a routine of rehabilitation. For tennis elbow I recommend the following routine:

Mudras: Bring the tips of each finger to the tip of the thumb one at a time, one breath each.

Tadasana: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Press into the ground with all four corners of your feet and feel a lengthening upwards along your spine. Let your arms hang loose by your sides. Feel steady as a mountain. Bring that feeling to the arms as you make fists and flex as much as is comfortable.

Virabhadrasana II: Stand with your feet and arms spread wide. Turn the right toes out and the left slightly in. Look over your right middle finger, and bend the right knee over the right ankle. Relax into the pose, feeling a subtle lift through your core. Take five breaths, then transition to the other side.

Namaste: Stand in Tadasana. Place the palms of your hands together in front of the heart. Press palms together as sensation dictates. Also try with fingertips facing down, back of hands together.

Essentially any pose can be performed with tennis elbow, excluding those that bear weight on the arms. Any exercise you are inspired to do is wonderful as long as it does not hurt. So be cautious but creative.

Now is an optimum time to make thoughtful changes to your daily routine, such as better matching your sports equipment or work environment to your body, or enhancing your mind-body connection with regular yoga practice. Respect your limitations and flow with the gradual process of healing.