[If you’re interested in exploring an impact break, I’m guiding a Yin Yoga Immersion at Schoolhouse Yoga, September 13-14. Info in bio. I hope you can join me.]

Search “muscle recovery after exercise” and you’ll get a million tips on both passive and active techniques, nutritional advice, and various studies that determine the ideal duration of rest.

For ligaments, though, the answers are different in both number and kind. There is much less research on ligament recovery, and most of it outlines steps for injured ligaments, not healthy ones that merely need rest.

With research lacking, I decided to create my own general outline of ligamentous rest and recovery. Here’s what I landed on that feels like healthy recovery:

1. I take off impact work for nine days

I call this an “impact break.” With injuries, ligaments take longer to heal than muscles. I’m assuming the same about healthy ligaments. Muscles take as long as 72 hours to recover, and I’m tripling this.

2. Yin Yoga 90 minutes a day until Day 7

Yin Yoga “exercises” ligaments very differently from how a muscle gets exercised. Ligaments and other passive tissues get exercised with long, unforced, steady holds of 2+ minutes. I’m doing this through Day 7, and then rest my ligaments for 48 hours before returning to running or plosive exercises.

3. Myofascial release

Self-massage, cupping, and what I call “rolling around” all help irrigate my entire internal ecosystem, moving lymph and blood around.

4. Walks and active yoga

During the time I typically go to the gym, I take walks and practice ‘Yang’ yoga, with a bit of flow and dynamic poses.

5. Intrinsic muscle exercises

Intrinsic muscles are ones whose main function is to support our joints, the ones wrapped around our hip sockets for example. I’m doing some ROMA (Range Of Motion Activation) practices to connect with these muscle groups.

6. Schedule breaks every 9-12 weeks

It’s hard to describe, but I get a sense of joint weariness after ~three months of steady high-impact work. I’ve learned to be intuitive with my limits, and wind up taking these 9-day breaks about once a season.