Tomorrow I begin my second module of Yoga Teacher Training – another 50 hour yoga marathon. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!
The yoga group.
Most of you who know me, know that I’ve had chronic wrist issues since high school. My wrists are probably 30 years older than the rest of my body. I think this is due to all of the tumbling and cheerleading I did growing up. I’ve broken my wrists several times. You can look at them and tell something is just not right.
My cockeyed right wrist.
In yoga we’re on our hands almost as much as we are on our feet. This posed quite a challenge for me (pose pun intended). I modified for a long time, but the longer I practiced the stronger my wrists became. They still didn’t feel “good,” but my wrists never feel “good” so I practiced on. I’ll have weeks where the thought of trying to do a handstand or arm balance makes me want to cry, and others I’ll feel great and you can’t get me off my hands.
This is what happens when the yoga teachers get together… handstands in the street! Photo By Rebecca Borden.
When I fist began practicing yoga, I would let my ego get in the way a lot. I would see the person on the mat next to me get into a deep back bend, and I thought “Hey, I can do that too! Watch!” I was stupid. For the next few months after that, I would regularly visit the chiropractor to decompress my lower back. Then came The Incident… I was in yoga, thinking I was a rockstar – totally “winning” the class, if you will. We all came into a twisting posture – I got over zealous, and twisted a little too deep. POP! And just like that, 2 ribs out of place. Oh, the agony. I spent the next month at home, no yoga, no running, nothing. My chiropractor and I practically became best friends.
…and I got my ego in check REAL FAST.
Post-John work.
I now visit John, my chiropractor, every couple of weeks for general maintenance. I can completely tell the difference when I’m out of alignment. I feel better overall when I go see him. At one of my maintenance appointments, I asked John about my wrists. I’ve lived with a constant ache in my wrists for at least 10 years. I’ve been to numerous doctors, had X-rays, MRIs, the works. They’ve all told me the only way to fix it is to re-break it, add some rods and pins, and I MIGHT be 90%. It would be a terribly invasive process.
Not thinking John could do anything, I asked anyway… He has been adjusting my wrists every couple of weeks for about 2-3 months, and I have to tell you, they haven’t felt this good in years! My left wrist is still having some tendon issues, I currently have 3 acupuncture needles in my wrist that I’ve been instructed to wear to my marathon yoga training session.
Getting these wrists under control.
I know they are not going to get better until I rest. I’ve promised myself (and now cyber-land) that as soon as this training session is over, I will rest. I will focus more on my running, spinning, and try to stay off my hands as much as possible. We’ll see how this goes…
Norman friends – go visit John at Sparks Clinic! He is seriously a miracle worker.
And if I happen to cross your mind this week, please send some good vibes my way. 🙂
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