Why Yoga?

As part of my Bodhi Yoga Instructor certification, I am to blog about my experiences…what I learn…as a way of learning how to express myself and simply to articulate the vast amounts of knowledge I am presented.  I chuckle a little, because (over the years and through various events) I have become so shut down on an expressive level, that my voice is no longer what it used to be.  I used to be a soprano, and could sing for hours and hours a day with no fatigue.  Now, I can barely make it through 2 verses of a hymn at church without my voice/throat becoming raw and painful.  That has spread through other areas of my life, like my extreme difficulty with public speaking.  Or even writing my thoughts. Or not speaking up in defense of what I know is right. The fact that I am now writing these thoughts shows me the progress I am making. So, I chuckle that expressing myself is a large part of my homework for this course.  Coincidence?  I think not.

 Why Yoga?  It would be easier to ask the question, why NOT yoga?  Because—seriously—yoga makes everything else better. Yes, everything. So to answer the “why yoga” question for me personally, I thought I’d delve into my past a bit and share my “yoga history”. 

My first experience with yoga “up close and personal” was about 8 years ago at a chakra workshop. The presenter had a co-presenter, Syl Carson of White Mountain Yoga.  Syl would demonstrate a yoga flow (or series of poses) that would help balance each chakra.  I was intrigued.  My perception of yoga up to that point was simply that it was for super-flexible people only….and that you had to get into some gnarly pose and hold it for as long as you could, then change the pose and hold that as long as you could….and so on.  Therefore, I had no desire whatsoever to do yoga, (knowing how NOT flexible I was).  But Syl was not doing that.  Sure, she appeared to be super flexible, but what she was doing looked more like a flowing dance, not acting like a statue.  In fact, she made it look beautiful.  The presenter also commented that Syl did something called Thai Partner Yoga Therapy, and that it was “divine”.  I was intrigued enough that I found White Mountain Yoga on the web, and found that Syl was offering a guided Thai Partner Yoga Therapy workshop.  I signed my husband and me up for that, though it was clear down in Orem.  We ended up LOVING the workshop, and using what we learned for years afterward. 

I loved it enough that I wanted to learn more about yoga.  I found a website (nestacertified.com) that offered an at home, online, Sport Yoga Instructor certification.  I had very little desire to teach yoga to others, but I figured going through the certification process would definitely teach me.  And it did. In the spring of 2005 I finished the course (along with a Stress Management Specialist certification) and learned a great deal.  Though, in hindsight, I had barely even scratched the surface of the surface of yoga.  As is the case, when people find out you are certified to teach (anything, really) I was asked to share what I’d learned with different youth and church groups.  I shared what I knew, usually geared towards beginners, because that’s what I was. 

A pic of me, in 2005, practicing the Pigeon Pose or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

  

Doing yoga (the little that I knew) and changing to a mainly vegan diet, I began to feel really good.  I felt stronger and more energetic than I could ever remember, having been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia years earlier.  In fact, I was basically symptom free. 

Then May 24^th, 2006 happened.  Woah. Talk about life-altering.

After having my nearly 1000 pound horse flip over backwards and land on my pelvis, crushing it and my hips, I had to start all over.  A new beginning of sorts.  I refer to that day as my re-birthday.  Or, rebirth-day.  At the age of 29, I had the experience of being “put back together again”. Then relearning how to walk. Then hike. Then ride. Then live…with lots of metal hardware.  Because physical therapy was not covered under our health insurance at the time, and because it was very difficult to get to (in a wheelchair), with my husband’s help I used what I’d learned from yoga for my healing and physical therapy.  And guess what?  Instead of being back on a horse after a year of intense physical therapy (like my doctors told me) I was back hiking in southern Utah after only 4 months, and a couple weeks later, back on a horse.   (Yes, my surgeon was shocked-pleased-astounded). 

A pic of my permanent stainless steel hard-wear...

However, because of the extensive damage I received, some things would never heal (in this lifetime).  Because of the nearly constant pain some movements (or lack of movements) would cause, over the next few years I gradually atrophied.  The pain was just too much to deal with, so I avoided anything that would cause it.  I only became physically weaker, which took its toll on my self-esteem. 

Yoga at Lake Powell, 2008

Then the need to surprise my husband with something REALLY cool for his birthday shocked me back into…something….  I decided to get him a private Thai Partner Yoga session with none other than Syl Carson of Bodhi Yoga (was White Mountain Yoga). Yes, I succeeded in surprising him!  The session was so awesome, in fact—that I signed up for the Bodhi Thai Partner Yoga Therapy certification course.  I finished that in the Fall of 2011, and I am now (through some twists of “fate”) embarking on the 200-hour Bodhi Yoga Instructor certification. 

Yoga and me, here at the ranch, 2008

Why Yoga? Because it makes everything else better.  Everything.  And I am one who is always looking for ways to better my experience here on this planet. I can’t help it. I almost didn't  live to see 30. I have a zest for life—for the joy of living it fully. Anything that can help me do that gets my time and attention. 

So, here on this blog of mine, I will practice expressing myself, and document my journey for the next few months…maybe you can join me for part of the ride…simply by reading these things inside my head.  I hope so.  Of course, you may just end up sitting on the floor with me, wondering did she really just say 'breathe like you mean it?!'