you can’t plan everything.

November 19, 2010 at 5:31 pm (injury, life, practice, yoga)


 

Can I just say how much I *love* the Passport to Prana program?  I have been able to hit so many new studios and classes, that it’s opened my eyes to exactly how lucky I am to be living in a yoga mecca.  Then…just when I was getting into a serious yoga routine, I was forced to take a giant step back.

My shoulder gave out on me.

I went to a yoga class on Monday in the Mission (cute studio, happened to be no longer on the P2P list, but they let us take class anyway).  Maybe it was the teacher, the sequencing of poses, the carpeted surface (mat slipped EVERYWHERE), or perhaps I’ve just been doing way too much yoga lately (I didn’t think that was possible).  I felt fine after class, but then when I got home that evening, something felt off.  The next morning, I couldn’t lift my arm very high – my shoulder ached and it felt stiff.  You have GOT to be kidding me, I thought to myself.  It just so happened that I had actually PLANNED every yoga class I wanted to take till our passes expired at the end of November.  My entire schedule is RUINED!!!

It was quite humbling, when I thought about it.  I mean, here I was, trying to engage in a practice that emphasizes living in the moment, and controlling only the things you can control (your thoughts, your words, your actions)…and I was freaking out about missing a few days of yoga because my shoulder decided to take a vacation.

Oh well.  I’m on day four of no yoga, and I’m doing ok.  I’m planning on heading to a class tomorrow morning to see what I can do, because all I can do is try, right?

Laters, my yoga tweeps!

 

 

 

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a bit of kindness.

February 4, 2010 at 4:27 pm (injury, struggle, yoga)

photo by stevendepolo via Flickr

Injuries really suck.

I managed to give myself a touch of whiplash last week when I backed my little car into a cement column in a San Francisco parking garage, and despite two chiropractic adjustments and lots of ibuprofen, my neck isn’t quite back to normal.  But, yoga addict that I have become, I went to my first yoga class with Rhiannon F. on Sunday (just four days after my accident), called “Bliss Yoga”, which is vinyasa-based, but much mellower than the other class I take from her during the week.  Anything involving deep twists was out of the question, as were “true” Chaturanga Dandasanas and Downward Dog held for any extensive period of time.   My absolute favorite class of the week is usually my “Yoga Extreme” class with Chris S. (Tuesdays and Thursdays) – 90 minutes of really sweaty, hardcore yoga. I showed up to class on Tuesday, and made sure to tell my instructor that I was injured.  He advised me to back off as much as possible, even though I’d probably have the urge to attempt all the postures.  Frustrating?  Ugh.  That doesn’t even BEGIN to describe it.

Since in everything, there is a lesson, I wondered…what was this experience supposed to teach me?

Be kind to yourself.

Listen to your body and back off when you need it, even when your mind (or your crazy, hardcore workout friend) insists that “pain is weakness leaving the body”.   One of my favorite yoga instructors, Pete Guinnosso, has this saying when he starts class – he says, “Our motto here is, no pain, no pain.”  We are often taught that struggle is good. Though certain amounts of discomfort and struggle are necessary to facilitate growth (both mentally and physically)…there are times when suffering is just completely unnecessary. Sometimes I get this voice in my head that says, “Kick it up a few notches, would you?” – and when I’m feeling 100%, I push myself to the limit. Telling that voice to pipe down isn’t always easy. It took a lot of pride swallowing to be able to go through the entire class in “injured mode”, but at the end of it all, I made it, and I wasn’t wincing in pain from overexerting myself.  Let your body (not your ego) guide you.

I’ll leave you with this quote as a reminder that, while it’s a good thing to always strive to do more…sometimes you’re meant to just relax and ease up on yourself a bit:

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.- Buddha

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