Post-Injury Yoga and Getting Back to Basics

It's been well over a year since I've posted here, but some recent events have reminded me why I started this yoga blog in the first place.

Event 1 - I broke my right foot. Pretty badly. In one small fall, I managed to break three metatarsals (2nd, 3rd, & 4th), sustain multiple sprains, and partially tear a ligament. The recovery requires completely staying off my foot for 12 weeks, which has effectively put both my personal practice and my yoga teaching on hold.

"Let yoga meet you where you are."

I'm nearly 9 weeks into the recovery period now and it has been a long 9 weeks! Beyond the physical pain, and the limitations of crutches (or a knee scooter), an injury like this is mentally and emotionally challenging.

Having to rely on others for help is difficult and not being able to do simple things (like walking and driving) is frustrating. There's a level of vulnerability that is hard to adequately describe.

Fortunately, yoga has helped get me through. Meditation and pranayama (breath work) has been more necessary than ever. My mental/spiritual training has helped me stay positive as much as possible and cope with the negative feelings more easily.

While my physical practice has been limited to what I can do on a chair, on my knee scooter, or lying down, that's given me a chance to explore yoga in a different way. Hopefully this modified asana work will come in handy once I'm back to teaching.

Event 2 - I began a 300-hr advanced teacher training (for my RYT-500) last weekend. This is a training that I had signed up for well before breaking my foot, though I hadn't expected to be starting it on crutches.

Being back in a training setting is wonderful, especially since I'm taking the training at my "home" studio, with a teacher I greatly respect, and with many fellow teachers/students I already know to varying degrees.

Taking a deeper dive into yoga is furthering my training, but also helping me get back to basics. It's a reminder of everything I love about yoga. Not just the physical practice, but my efforts to follow the eight limbs and be more in touch with who I want to be and how I want to interact with the world.

Life can move quickly. Since I've last posted here, I've published two novels, and have become more active in various community/social groups. I'm not sure how often I will be able to make time to post here, but I'm going to try to work it into my regular routine.

I began this blog as a way to reflect on my yoga journey and share what I learn with others. If you're interested, please follow along, comment, share, etc.

As I was reminded at my recent teacher training weekend, we learn from each other. And that's a beautiful thing.