
Whelp...an overzealous start to the new year, compounded with stress and work has left me with a manageable, yet uncomfortable neck/shoulder injury that is causing referred finger numbing in my right fingers. As some of you may know, I had a pretty stressful pre-holiday family emergency with my son (he is doing great now), but that was just the beginning. I am not sure exactly what caused my injury, but suffice to say, it has left me humbled and simultaneously grateful for my yoga and meditation practice. Rest assured, I am still teaching yoga (in fact, demand for privates and subbing has increased the past two weeks, and my practice is helping to alleviate painful symptoms). In any event, I often hear from yoga students who are injured that he/she cannot practice yoga. I would flip this around and say that when you are injured is the MOST IMPORTANT time to practice yoga...that is if you practice with mindfulness (so don't do poses that hurt you), and practice proper alignment. Yoga is therapy when you're physically or emotionally out-of-sorts.
Yoga isn't about getting a tight ass, though that's just an added bonus. Yoga is way to align our actions with our intentions and be fully present. This is mindfulness and self-awareness. Yes, I would dare say that my yoga practice has helped prevent countless injuries from other activities, but it has also been an amazing tool to realize what I actually can do, in spite of being injured. It also helps make you more content when navigating life's ups and downs by practicing non-attachment.
So, this is my take away for you - come to yoga when you feel down or are injured (that is with approval from your doctor). Shoot me a quick message if there is something I should know about in advance. I can work with you to safely modify the practice as you begin to move more mindfully, while listening to your intuition. You can even do savasana (corpse pose) or stay in restorative poses if you'd like! I once went to a yoga class while stressed out in grad school and stayed in savasana for 80% of the class because that is what I needed! It was awesome.
Take care!
Yoga isn't about getting a tight ass, though that's just an added bonus. Yoga is way to align our actions with our intentions and be fully present. This is mindfulness and self-awareness. Yes, I would dare say that my yoga practice has helped prevent countless injuries from other activities, but it has also been an amazing tool to realize what I actually can do, in spite of being injured. It also helps make you more content when navigating life's ups and downs by practicing non-attachment.
So, this is my take away for you - come to yoga when you feel down or are injured (that is with approval from your doctor). Shoot me a quick message if there is something I should know about in advance. I can work with you to safely modify the practice as you begin to move more mindfully, while listening to your intuition. You can even do savasana (corpse pose) or stay in restorative poses if you'd like! I once went to a yoga class while stressed out in grad school and stayed in savasana for 80% of the class because that is what I needed! It was awesome.
Take care!