Injuries & (im)Patience (Part 2)

05Oct09

(Continued from Oct 1)

I often encourage beginning students to imagine that the breath is massaging their tight muscles. Perhaps they can’t stretch their muscles quite yet, but the breath can — at least on a subtle level.

I do this imagining in my own practice from time to time, when muscles are cold and stiff, and when the body seems to want to curl up under a blanket rather than open up to the wild world.

Inhale, Exhale.

But I’ve never personally had to rely this much on the breath. Being in generally decent physical health I haven’t had to apply to myself what is, essentially, a faith in the practice of Yoga:

A faith that if you express an asana [pose] however your body can in the moment, and that if you then breathe – mindfully, purposefully, imaginatively even – then the breath, the pose, and the focused attention will create a healthy and productive change.

After a few days of gently exploring how my body could (and couldn’t) move with my new injury, my lower back began unfolding. But not without a lot of breath and patience. And not without a couple significant lessons:

1. The practice of Yoga is more than a sweaty fitness routine. (I knew this of course, but I needed a reminder!) Yoga is a way of coming home to one’s own body, of accepting it where it is and asking it, gently and compassionately, to strengthen, to unfold, and to support your life with grace.

2. Similarly, The Daily Mat isn’t about squeezing in a daily workout. It’s about showing up, every day– And finding an asana, breathing, paying attention. The length of practice time isn’t important, the chosen posture isn’t important, the location isn’t important. The attention and the breath– That’s Yoga.

Unearthing from the Difficult some kind of gift– That’s also Yoga. I’m thankful for the lesson.

Have you been knocked out of a healthy routine or commitment by unexpected circumstances? How did you maintain your commitment, or begin anew?