I've Always Known I Was a Little 'Off'

For about the past month or so I have been having, what started out as, intermittent pain in my right hip.  And by right hip I mean what feels like the actual hip bone, that part that sticks out there just to the side of the tummy.  It would hurt mostly after a run, or just random for no reason, but lately its pretty much every day.  Especially when I walk.  I don't seem to notice it much when I am actually running, only after.  Today I am in a bit of significant amount of pain to be honest, but hoping by this afternoons run, it will be minimal.

Yesterday at yoga, it was giving me some issues, and I noticed that I was having some issues when doing any balancing poses where my right leg was my 'foundation' leg.   I was having a hard time first of all, balancing, and when I did balance, I was wobbly and would fall out of pose fairly easily.

After class, the instructor Juan, came up to first apologize for 'distracting' me a time or two (he likes to walk around and touch/adjust peeps, which I hate and he did that to me a couple of times and I broke concentration).  Anyway, since I had his attention I thought I would mention the hip pain.  We chatted for a bit and he had me follow him into one of the massage therapy rooms where they have what is called a 'balance scale'.  I tried to find a picture of these, but its basically 2 scales, one with each imprint of a left and right foot and then the numbers are on either side instead of like a traditional bathroom scale.

He had me position one foot on each, hands by my side and to look forward.  I heard him say 'no way' as he looked at the numbers.  He had me get off and back on again, and apparently the same numbers registered.  One side was higher than the other by about 20 lbs.  He said that generally speaking most people will be about 3-5 lbs off from one side to the other, but mine was significant enough that he was in a bit of shock.  For perception purposes, he then got on it so I could compare his left side to the right.  Sure enough just about a 4 lb difference. 

My left side is obviously much stronger than my right, and he thinks that this might be due to overcompensation on my part due to the disk issue which is on my left side, and the fact that my hip issue now is on the right also indicates that I am doing something when running to make this more of an issue now.  Either way I need to strengthen my right side something fierce.

So how do I fix it? I asked.  Well he wants me to do some form of yoga every day.  Even if just for a couple of minutes, specifically balancing poses on the right side only, to help strengthen that side a bit more.  He also wants me to try and hold the right side poses a bit longer when in practice at class.

I find this all a bit interesting to say the least.  Balance overall is so important to everyday activities, one just doesn't realize.  Since starting hot yoga I know that I am much better with balance and flexability and am thankful for that, but I can also see why maintaining these seemingly unnecessary body functions would be detrimental to a better quality of life as one ages, and how it would assist in preventing injuries to athletes no matter what their age.

Just like in life, balance is everything.