Ep 123: Great! You’re Not A Physical Therapist, Now What?

Saying you're not a physical therapist is one of the most limiting beliefs among yoga teachers, and it keeps you from working with students who have injuries. Believing this creates an environment where you're unnecessarily apologizing and using disclaimers, and diminishes the incredible value you offer. It's true, you're not a physical therapist, and that's exactly why your students need you. Physical therapy and yoga teaching are different roles with different scopes, and both are equally valuable and necessary. Understanding this distinction empowers you to confidently serve your students. In this episode, I'll dismantle the limiting belief, reframe your role, and show you why your classes are exactly what students recovering from injuries or living with chronic pain desperately need. I'll cover: 

• What Physical Therapy Is and Is Not
•  What Yoga Teachers Offer That PTs Don't
• How The Roles Are Different and Both Matter
• Why Yoga Serves Students With Chronic Pain
• Why Collaboration with PTs Matters
• What Is Actually in Your Scope
• Reframing How You Respond to Students with Injuries

I want you to start owning that you're a yoga teacher, and here's the value I can bring to students with pain and recovering from injuries.

Transcript

Monica 3:59

Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Monica, and I'm so glad you're here. Here we talk about the anatomy, the injuries, the nervous system insights, plus all the real life knowledge you wish had been included in your yoga teacher training. I had a discovery call a few weeks ago from a woman. Who wanted to hire me for a wellness fair, and on the call she mentioned that she had frozen shoulder, and you know that that piqued my interest because, well, unfortunately, frozen shoulder and I go together real bad. As we were talking, she mentioned that her physical therapy had run out And she was just kind of still dealing with it now, but she was in a lot of pain and she didn't know what to do, And this conversation that I had with her is the reason for this episode because what are students to do when they've already finished physical therapy and they've been clear to take yoga? But they're still recovering from their injuries. They're still feeling pain. Well, this is where you come in today. We're talking about one of the most limiting beliefs in yoga teaching. It's the idea that because you're not a physical therapist, you can't really help students with injuries. We are going to dismantle this belief completely, and by the end of this episode. You're going to understand why the fact that you're not a physical therapist is exactly why your students need you, what your actual role is, How it's different from, but complimentary to physical therapy and why that difference is valuable. You're going to feel clear about what you offer that no physical therapist can offer, you're going to stop apologizing for not being a physical therapist because maybe that's not your calling and that's okay. Okay, first, where does this belief come from? It comes from the fact that you care a lot about your students, right? You genuinely wanna help them. You're worried that you don't have the expertise to do so safely, and maybe your yoga teacher training told you to believe that you can't help them. I understand that you feel responsible for your students' wellbeing, but it's also keeping you from offering them something incredibly valuable. So let's reframe this completely. Let me start by stating clearly what we say to ourselves. You've said it. I've said it. We've all probably said it. I'm not a physical therapist, therefore, I'm not qualified to work with students who have injuries. This belief comes up in so many ways. You refer students out immediately when they tell you they're in pain. You preface every modification with disclaimers about not being a medical professional or you downplay your knowledge and your ability to help. And believing this is costing you the opportunity to serve students who desperately need ongoing movement support. It's costing your students access to a teacher who could help them rebuild confidence in their body's ability to move. It keeps you playing small when you have so much to offer and it creates this false hierarchy where. Physical therapists are the real experts, and you are just here to teach healthy students How to stretch this hierarchy is nonsense, to be frank, and I'm going to explain why. So first, what is physical therapy and what is it designed to do? Physical therapy is a medical treatment. It is typically short term, often six to 12 weeks. It's designed to address specific impairments, restore function after injury or surgery, reduce pain, and help people return to their normal activities, physical therapists. Are incredible at what they do. They assess, they diagnose movement dysfunctions. They create targeted treatment plans. They use hands-on techniques. and they prescribe specific exercises to address specific problems. And then the physical therapy ends. The patient graduates, they've regained some function, their pain has decreased, And they feel like they can return to daily activities. The physical therapist says, all right, well, you're doing great. Keep doing these exercises and stay active. And then what? This is where so many people fall through the cracks. They finish physical therapy. They're better than they were before. They're not confident that they've completely healed. They feel nervous about moving. They don't know how to integrate back into regular activity. They were given a home exercise program, but doing those exercises alone in their living room feels isolating and they stop doing them after a few weeks. They're not in acute pain anymore, but they're not thriving either. This is the gap. That yoga feels, and this is exactly where you come in. What do you offer as a yoga teacher working with students who have pain or an injury history? You offer an ongoing movement practice. A student can come to your class week after week, month after month, year after year. They have a consistent place to continue moving, to continue building capacity, to continue exploring what their body can do, and that ongoing relationship with movement is incredibly valuable for long-term wellness. Next, you offer community and connection. Physical therapy is often one-on-one in a clinical setting. Yoga happens typically in a community students practice alongside other people, whether it's in person or online. They feel less alone in their experience. They see other people navigating their own movement limitations and strengths. And this sense of belonging and shared experience is powerful, especially for people who've been dealing with chronic pain or injury recovery and feel isolated by it. Third, you offer a different relationship to the body than physical therapy because physical therapy is often about fixing what's wrong, which is necessary, but yoga is about exploring what's possible. It's about helping students build a relationship with their body based on curiosity and compassion rather than just. Problem solving for students who've been in a cycle of injury and treatment and fixing this shift in perspective can be transformative. Fourth, you offer nervous system support. You are teaching breathing practices, meditation, mindfulness, body awareness. You're creating environments where the nervous system can shift from threat response. To safety, you understand that pain is influenced by stress and fear and context, some physical therapists are starting to integrate this more, but it's not traditionally the focus of pt. It's central to yoga. Fifth, you offer modification and adaptation skills that students can use for the rest of their lives. You're not just giving them exercises to fix a specific problem. You're teaching them how to listen to their body, how to make choices about range of motion, how to honor what feels okay and what doesn't. And those are skills that transfer to their everyday lives. And six, you offer hope and empowerment. Think about it. When a student has been told by medical professionals what they can't do, what's wrong with them, what limitations they have, and then they come to your class and you help them discover what they can do that's so powerful. You're helping them rebuild trust in their body, and you're helping them feel capable Again, all of this is so powerful. None of this requires you to be a physical therapist. In fact, if you were a physical therapist, you probably wouldn't be offering most of these things because that's not what physical therapy is designed to do. Your role and a physical therapist's role are different, and both matter enormously, but they're different. Physical therapists are experts in assessment, diagnosis of movement, dysfunction, and targeted treatment of specific impairments. That's their training and their scope, and they're great at that. You are an expert in facilitating ongoing movement practice, creating community, teaching body awareness and breathing practices, offering modifications to movements, and helping people build a sustainable relationship with movement. This is your scope and this is what I have been preaching for years. Yoga teachers and physical therapists have different roles, and one is not better than the other. They're complimentary. Think about it this way. If someone breaks their risk, they need a doctor to set the bone and a physical therapist to restore range of motion and help build strength. But what happens six months later when the wrist is healed and PT is over and they're still nervous about bearing weight on their hands in downward facing dog? That's where you come in. You help them gradually rebuild confidence. You offer modifications. You give them a place to practice week after week, and you help them integrate wrist weightbearing back into their. Full movement practice. You see how the physical therapist addressed the acute injury and got them back to baseline function. Then you help them go from baseline to thriving. You help them sustain that progress and you help them continue to move for years after the injury is technically healed. Your role is not any less important than physical therapy. It's just different and is so necessary. This becomes even more clear when we talk about students with chronic pain. Physical therapy is designed for acute injuries and short-term rehabilitation, but many people live with chronic pain. Pain that persists beyond normal healing time pain that doesn't have a clear structural cause pain that's influenced heavily by the nervous system for these students. Physical therapy might help for a while, but it often doesn't address the full picture because chronic pain isn't just a biomechanical problem, it's a nervous system problem. It's influenced by stress. Fear, beliefs, past experiences, and context, And this is where you and yoga absolutely shines. Instead of trying to fix a structural problem, you're helping your student change their relationship to sensation. You're teaching them how to move in ways that feel safe, Build capacity gradually and give them tools to regulate their nervous system. You also provide a community where they don't feel all alone in their experience. Physical therapists are starting to understand chronic pain better, and some are integrating pain, science, and nervous system work into their practice. But for many PTs, the model is. Still very much about identifying and fixing the structural problem, and when there isn't a clear structural problem to fix, PT often isn't very helpful. You as a yoga teacher who understands pain science can offer exactly what these students need, A A safe place to move tools for nervous system regulation, a different framework for understanding their experience and ongoing support. That doesn't stop after six weeks. This isn't you trying to be a physical therapist, it's you being exactly what you are trained to be a movement teacher who understands the whole person Understanding that your role is different from a physical therapist's role doesn't mean that you work in isolation. In fact, the best outcomes for students happen when yoga teachers and physical therapists collaborate. I strongly encourage you to develop relationships with physical therapists in your area. Get to know them and understand their approach. Let them know about your yoga classes and your focus on working with people who have pain or an injury history. When you have a relationship with a physical therapist, you can refer students to them. When a student presents with something that is legitimately outside your scope, you can have conversations about specific students you're both working with. With the student's permission, of course, you can learn from each other. The physical therapist can help you understand the specific injury mechanics and what they're working on in therapy, and you can share with the physical therapist what you are observing in class and what modifications you are offering. This collaboration benefits everyone. The student gets comprehensive support. The PT has a place to send patients when they graduate from therapy, and you have a trusted professional to consult with when you have questions. But remember, collaboration does not mean deferring to the PT as the real expert while you see yourself as the helper, It means recognizing that you both bring valuable, different expertise to supporting this student's wellbeing. You're not the PTs assistant. You are a complimentary professional with your own scope and your own value, and when you own that, this collaboration becomes so much more. Powerful and effective. So to get really specific about what's in your scope as a yoga teacher, working with students who have injuries, know that your scope is teaching movement practices, offering modifications for different bodies and abilities, creating environments where students feel safe to explore movement. Teaching breathing and meditation practices, helping students develop body awareness, providing ongoing support and community, and referring out when a student would benefit from medical attention. What's not in your scope? Diagnosing injuries or conditions, treating specific medical problems, Prescribing exercises to fix injuries, making promises about healing or curing conditions, providing hands-on manual therapy or manipulation and giving medical advice about medications or seizures. The line is actually pretty clear when you understand it, right? You're a movement teacher. You facilitate exploration, create safe environments. You offer options, and you support a student's ongoing practice, and there's so much you can do within that scope. There's so much value you can offer and so much need for exactly what you provide. So here's how I want you to think about this from now on, when a student tells you they have an injury, instead of thinking, I'm not a physical therapist, I can't help them think this. I am a yoga teacher. I can offer ongoing movement, practice, community, nervous system support and modifications that will help them continue to move and build confidence if they need assessment or treatment of a specific issue. I'll refer them to a physical therapist, but I have so much to offer them in my role as the teacher. When a student asks you if you can help with their shoulder pain, instead of saying, well, I'm not a physical therapist, so I can't really diagnose what's wrong, you should probably see a pt. Try this. I'm not a physical therapist, so I cannot diagnose what's causing your pain or treat a specific injury, but I can absolutely help you explore movement in ways that feel safe. For your shoulder offer modifications and give you tools to build capacity over time. If you have not been evaluated by a medical professional, I would encourage you to do that, and then I would love to support you in continuing to move. You see the difference. You're clear about what you do not do, but you're equally clear about what you do offer. You're not apologizing or diminishing your value. Instead, you're stating clearly what your role is and inviting them to receive that support. let's look at a few examples of some students who might need exactly what you offer. The first is the student who finished physical therapy six months ago. They're. Knee is healed. They can walk without pain, but they're terrified to try yoga or running or hiking because they're afraid of re-injury. They need a place to gradually rebuild confidence. They need someone who will offer modifications and help them listen to their body. That's you. Number two, the student with chronic low back pain who's been to multiple physical therapists and nothing has permanently fixed it because there's nothing structurally wrong. It's a nervous system issue. They need someone who understands pain science, who can teach them breathing practices and body awareness, who can help them move in ways that feel safe. That's you. Number three, the student who's had a hip replacement a year ago, they did their physical therapy. They're functioning fine, but they want to get back to movement practices they love and they need guidance on how to modify poses for their new hip. They need ongoing support, not just six or 12 weeks of a treatment plan. That's you. Number four, the student who has never had a specific injury but has generalized anxiety and tension in their body. They don't need physical therapy. They need practices that help them regulate their nervous system. They need a community and they need to learn how to be in their body in a different way. This is you. These students are not looking for physical therapists. They're looking for exactly what you offer and reframing this understanding can help you show up with so much more confidence about your role as the teacher. If this conversation is shifting something for you, if you're starting to see that you have so much more to offer than you've been giving yourself credit for, I have a workshop that's gonna help you step fully into your role. It's called Within Your Scope. In this workshop, We dive into understanding your scope of practice as a yoga teacher, dismantling the limited beliefs that keep you playing small. Learning how to communicate your value clearly and developing competence in what you offer. We look at real scenarios and practice responding from a place of clarity. Rather than you apologizing, I'll put the link to it in the show notes. This workshop is for teachers who are just tired of feeling like they're not enough because they're not physical therapists. It's for teachers who want to own their role and step into it with confidence. It's for you if you're ready to serve these students who desperately need. What you offer. Remember, you are not a physical therapist and that's exactly why your students need you. Physical therapy is short term targeted treatment of specific impairments. Yoga is an ongoing movement. Practice community, nervous system support, and building a sustainable relationship with the body. Both of these roles matter. They're complimentary, not competing. Develop relationships with physical therapists So you can collaborate and refer appropriately, but stop apologizing or feeling guilty for not being a physical therapist. You offer ongoing support that doesn't stop after six weeks. You offer community and connection and a different relationship to the body You offer nervous system practices and modification skills that last a lifetime, and you offer students hope and empowerment. The students who have finished PT and need ongoing support, they need you, the students with chronic pain, they need you. The students rebuilding confidence after injury. They need you. so quit saying I'm not a physical therapist. Okay. And start owning the fact that you are a yoga teacher and you have lots of tools to help students. You have. So much value to give and it's time for you to step into it. I hope this episode changed your perspective and thank you so much for being here. Don't forget to check out the Within your Scope workshop information in the show notes. I wanna help you dismantle the belief that you cannot help these students and that you have to. Stay behind some arbitrary line that keeps you from being helpful. Alright, I'll see you next week. Bye.