I just hurt my freaking back doing yoga. I was doing a shoulder stand and thought I was actually doing it right for the first time. But then, I felt it. An emerging kink between my shoulder blades. The next pose was fish pose.
"Ahhhh," I thought. "This will loosen that kink that just worked its way into my back. I just need to tilt my head...a bit....more...YAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"
Instead of feeling a loosening sensation, I felt a slow searing pain replace the kink that was housed in my upper back just moments before. Not quite the solution I was looking for.
Just last night I was reading about the gentleness of yoga -- how it isn't competition, it is not a race, etc. Instead, it is a means to find balance between the mind, body and spirit. Plus, it is a gentle way to relax while building muscle strength and flexibility. Ooops. I clearly forgot the reading from last night.
So what was going on with me that caused me to push myself too far in not only one pose, but two? Why had I forsaken one of the primary tenets of yoga?
Hmmmm...well, Blake did get up early (waaaay to early) and was playing the role of spectator while I finished my practice. Could I have been showing off for him? "Hey! Look at what your old mom can do?" Perhaps.
Could I have felt invaded by those perfection police who often visit my spirit and responded to their pressure to "Push it! You're not doing it far enough!"? Perhaps.
Or could it have been my impatience screaming at me to "Get more from what you're doing! We want more results faster!" Perhaps.
The cause of my injury could have been each or all of these possibilities. Regardless of my motivation to push it beyond my own edge, I recognize that I clearly went over it -- my neck and shoulders feel like hell.
So where in life do we draw the line between gently approaching the edge and jumping straight off it with a courageous "Yeeee-haaaaaaaaaw!!!!)? This I do not know -- but I'd love to hear your thoughts about how you discern when it's time to approach the edge gently and when it is time to get a running start and leap from it.
Now, where's the Tylenol?
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1 comments:
Wow, TPB! Sorry about your neck/back! But yes, always learning to be had, durnit. :-)
I love your question. Sometimes, for me, the leaping actually comes AFTER I've sidled up to, flirted with, wondered about, peeked over, and basically related to that EDGE every way I can imagine other than actually GOING OVER IT. So, then I get annoyed with myself and say f*ck it! I'm GOIN'! Yeeeeehaw!
And other times, most times, actually, I fling myself off with glee and joy and wonder and curiosity, really bellowing at the top of my lungs! For me, that's only possible because I've developed a wonderfully trusting relationship with my gut, intuition, instinct, whatever you want to call it. When I know, I know...and when I know, I GO!
:-)
Thanks for sharing and thanks for the juicy question!
Lotsa love to you!
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