Your instructor should NOT have touched your resistance. I agree with everyone ese who has commented that is your to control and only yours to control. You go at the resistance level that you can handle. Also, there is another post on here called "spinning no nos" with good info about what can actually injure you - for example high resistance hurting your knees.

As far as recovery, here are my thoughts. If you felt pain during the class, well that was just plain bad. You should feel the burn, but not pain. Are you sure you didnt pull or tear a muscle? OK, lets just say it was some burning. I find that if I work out hard either spinning or weightlifting and I feel sore, the last thing I want to do is rest the next day. I always go for a nice walk outdoors (slow but steady) rather than do nothing. Some yoga or pilates moves and stretches help too. I find this helps me recover faster, and though I stay somewhat sore, it is not as pronounced as it would have been had I just rested.

There is a supplement called Glutamine, they sell it at nutrition stores, and its also in many protein shake mixes (ie MyoPlex) that supposedly helps you repair and recover after a tough workout. I take some of this every night after I come home from the gym. Look it up - its called L-Glutamine.

And please tell the instructor to BACK OFF! Wow, I think I wouldve slapped her.

Good luck. I started 2 months ago, and I love spinning.