A woman has been left unable to walk after her yoga instructor allegedly broke her thighbone while practising the dragon pose.
The dragon pose is a deep plunging position that opens the hip and groin areas and forces the leg to bend at the knee, with the knee ideally higher than the person’s back, which should be horizontal.
It is designed to help with sciatic pain and to relax the legs and hips.
However, a yoga instructor in China, who has been named only as a woman surnamed Li, allegedly went too far and broke a student’s thighbone, with the woman spending 16 days in hospital and saying she has been left unable to walk.
The incident took place in an unspecified location in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, according to local media outlet the Xinan Evening News.
The victim, who has been named as a woman called Wang, was told to practice the Dragon pose.
It was her very first class and she said that the yoga instructor gave her specific instructions regarding how she should hold the pose, but she apparently did not have her leg in the right position.
Wang said: “She was pushing down on my thigh, and pressed too hard. Suddenly, I just felt severe pain and could not move at all.”
It was later revealed that her leg was broken and she required medical help. Doctors at the hospital revealed that she was suffering from a compound fracture on her femur and required an operation.
The yoga studio has paid RMB 50,000 (GBP 6,700; USD 7,700) towards the woman’s treatment but has refused to pay anything else towards the patient’s future treatment requirements, according to the South China Morning Post.
Wang said: “I paid RMB 6,000 (GBP 683; USD 928) from my own pocket for the medical treatment because the hospital charged RMB 56,000 (GBP 6,375; USD 8,683) and the yoga studio only covered RMB 50,000.”
She added that she was going to sue the yoga studio, adding: “What’s more, there will be other costs for rehabilitation in the future and my work will be affected due to this injury. I want reasonable compensation.”
The studio reportedly told the Xinan Evening News that it was taking preparatory steps regarding the lawsuit.
