“Therapeutic might not be a lot about getting higher, as about letting go of every little thing that isn’t you—the entire expectations, the entire beliefs—and changing into who you’re.” ~Rachel Naomi Remen
For years, yoga was my secure area—the place the place I felt robust, grounded, and entire. My observe wasn’t simply bodily; it was my sanctuary, my transferring meditation. So, when a shoulder damage pressured me to alter the best way I practiced, I wasn’t simply in ache—I used to be misplaced.
At first, it appeared minor. A nagging soreness, nothing I hadn’t labored by earlier than. I satisfied myself that extra motion would assist, that yoga—my without end healer—would repair it. I stretched, I modified, I doubled down on my alignment. However the extra I attempted to push by, the more severe it turned.
Finally, even the best duties—getting dressed, washing my hair—turned tough. That’s after I lastly sought medical assist. The prognosis: shoulder impingement and frozen shoulder. A mix of overuse, growing older (a humbling realization as I turned forty), and elements nobody might absolutely clarify.
I requested the physician how one can stop it from occurring once more. The reply wasn’t clear. There was no good components, no assure. That uncertainty unsettled me.
Surrendering to the Course of
Therapeutic wasn’t linear. It was gradual, irritating, and at occasions, disheartening. I cycled by bodily therapists, reluctantly took remedy, and spent months modifying my actions. However the hardest half wasn’t the ache—it was the psychological and emotional wrestle of letting go of what my observe was.
I grieved the lack of my outdated yoga observe. I felt betrayed by my physique, resentful that the factor I liked most had, in a means, turned in opposition to me. And but, someplace within the frustration, I noticed—this was a part of my observe, too.
Yoga isn’t nearly motion. It’s about presence. Acceptance. Give up.
I began leaning into the teachings my damage was attempting to show me:
- Ahimsa (Non-harming): I needed to cease combating my physique and as a substitute prolong it kindness, simply as I’d for a liked one who was struggling.
- Satya (Truthfulness): I needed to acknowledge that my observe would change—and that wasn’t essentially a nasty factor.
- Aparigraha (Non-attachment): I needed to let go of my inflexible expectations and open myself to a unique, gentler means ahead.
- Santosha (Contentment): I needed to discover peace with what my physique might do, quite than mourning what it couldn’t.
The second I finished resisting, one thing shifted. My physique didn’t heal in a single day, however my perspective did. I began seeing therapeutic as an ongoing relationship quite than a vacation spot. I gave myself permission to decelerate, to hear, to belief.
Rebuilding with Compassion
As I modified my observe, I found new methods to maneuver that honored my limitations quite than fought in opposition to them. My yoga observe turned softer, extra aware. I targeted on breathwork, grounding postures, and mild motion. I let go of the concept I needed to push myself to show one thing.
I additionally realized one thing deeper: therapeutic isn’t nearly getting again to the place we had been—it’s about rising into who we’re changing into.
All of us face moments the place we’re pressured to decelerate, to reevaluate, to shift. And in these moments, we have now a alternative. We will resist and endure, or we will soften and develop.
In case you’re navigating an damage, a setback, or an surprising change, know this: Your therapeutic doesn’t should appear like anybody else’s. You might be allowed to grieve. You might be allowed to really feel annoyed. However you’re additionally allowed to search out pleasure within the course of. To find new methods of being. To belief that even within the slowing down, there’s knowledge.
Therapeutic shouldn’t be about returning to what was—it’s about embracing what’s and discovering magnificence in what’s attainable now.
About Michelle Lamansky
Michelle Lamansky is a trauma-aware yoga teacher (RYT-500) and a holistic well being & wellness coach who helps girls transfer by high-functioning stress and anxiousness with compassion, breath, and body-based instruments. Via non-public periods and self-paced packages, she guides college students again to calm, connection, and a way of dwelling inside themselves. Be taught extra at www.balancedyogatn.com.