“Therapeutic is probably not a lot about getting higher, as about letting go of all the pieces that isn’t you—all the expectations, all the beliefs—and changing into who you’re.” ~Rachel Naomi Remen
For years, yoga was my protected area—the place the place I felt robust, grounded, and entire. My apply wasn’t simply bodily; it was my sanctuary, my shifting meditation. So, when a shoulder harm compelled me to vary the way in which 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 via earlier than. I satisfied myself that extra motion would assist, that yoga—my perpetually healer—would repair it. I stretched, I modified, I doubled down on my alignment. However the extra I attempted to push via, the more serious it grew to become.
Ultimately, even the best duties—getting dressed, washing my hair—grew to become tough. That’s after I lastly sought medical assist. The prognosis: shoulder impingement and frozen shoulder. A mixture of overuse, getting older (a humbling realization as I turned forty), and elements nobody may totally clarify.
I requested the physician the right way to stop it from taking place once more. The reply wasn’t clear. There was no good formulation, no assure. That uncertainty unsettled me.
Surrendering to the Course of
Therapeutic wasn’t linear. It was sluggish, irritating, and at instances, disheartening. I cycled via bodily therapists, reluctantly took treatment, and spent months modifying my actions. However the hardest half wasn’t the ache—it was the psychological and emotional battle of letting go of what my apply was.
I grieved the lack of my outdated yoga apply. I felt betrayed by my physique, resentful that the factor I cherished most had, in a approach, turned towards me. And but, someplace within the frustration, I noticed—this was a part of my apply, too.
Yoga isn’t nearly motion. It’s about presence. Acceptance. Give up.
I began leaning into the teachings my harm was attempting to show me:
- Ahimsa (Non-harming): I needed to cease combating my physique and as an alternative prolong it kindness, simply as I might for a cherished one who was struggling.
- Satya (Truthfulness): I needed to acknowledge that my apply would change—and that wasn’t essentially a foul factor.
- Aparigraha (Non-attachment): I needed to let go of my inflexible expectations and open myself to a special, gentler approach ahead.
- Santosha (Contentment): I needed to discover peace with what my physique may 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 apply, I found new methods to maneuver that honored my limitations quite than fought towards them. My yoga apply grew to become softer, extra conscious. 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 have been—it’s about rising into who we’re changing into.
All of us face moments the place we’re compelled to decelerate, to reevaluate, to shift. And in these moments, we now have a selection. We will resist and endure, or we are able to soften and develop.
In case you’re navigating an harm, a setback, or an surprising change, know this: Your therapeutic doesn’t should seem like anybody else’s. You might be allowed to grieve. You might be allowed to really feel pissed off. 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 may be knowledge.
Therapeutic is just not about returning to what was—it’s about embracing what’s and discovering magnificence in what’s potential 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 via high-functioning stress and nervousness with compassion, breath, and body-based instruments. Via personal classes and self-paced packages, she guides college students again to calm, connection, and a way of house inside themselves. Study extra at www.balancedyogatn.com.
