My favourite pose - Savasana!
So, today was day 1 of beginner’s yoga. And, it kicked my well-rounded ass.
When I was younger I used to go to yoga classes regularly. I used to run on a daily basis and was interested in gymnastics. In simple terms, I was an active child and was ridiculously flexible.
31 year old me can barely move without making a bone crackling sound. And, I do not think it knows the word flexibility anymore.
I partly blame my laziness and partly blame my chronic pain.
For a little background, as I turned 18 I started experiencing excruciating pain all over my body especially on my right shoulder, arm, wrist, and upper neck area. I have been to many doctors and have been diagnosed with everything they could think of. I have gone through every single treatment that these doctors prescribed, some were beneficial on a short term basis and some just made things worse.
Anyway, you must be wondering what does this have to do with Yoga? Ahhhh, yes…so somebody had told me that yoga is really good for those suffering from chronic pain and I decided to go back to that in my early 20s. Well, go back I did but it turned out the timing (and teacher) was horrible. Not only was I taking a bad concoction of pain medicines prescribed by the doctor (which made me woozy and extra sensitive on an emotional and physical level) but the teacher I found didn’t believe that there is anything called chronic pain or that I should ease into things. Oh no, she was a go-getter. Go hard or don’t go!
“This is all in your head, you are just being lazy and not pushing yourself harder.”
Push harder is what I did and of course, the results weren’t pretty. I was almost immediately put off by the idea of yoga. And, for a long time, I would try and avoid conversations about it either. I have a very close friend who is a yoga teacher now. I know the benefits that come with yoga but that one horrible experience had stopped me from going back to trying it out again.
That is till today when I decided something needed to be done.
I recently have gone on a serious “get fit” journey. I have been walking as much as I can every day and do high-intensity training. This month I started following a plan for HIIT on an app called Nike Training Club. I am truly enjoying their sessions. But, I realised that though my pain is under control my body has become super stiff.
I am not able to do many of the exercises because of that. Of course, I was not ready to admit defeat, so I started doing what I do best, research.
Guess what everyone says online and off, about how to become more flexible? Do yoga!
So, today I decided I have to overcome this unreasonable fear and just finish one session. I mean that’s all it takes to convince me I guess!
It started off super awkward and I could barely move. But, I quickly picked it up. It was like my body slowly remembered all these movements from back when I was a regular. I know I will sound corny, but I felt at peace.
Yes, it was a minuscule achievement but I felt so happy to have been able to get over this fear. Yoga is really good for people with chronic pain and by avoiding it, I was doing more harm.
I rate my session today a solid 5/10 but hey as they say “one day at a time!”
Namaste!