Sometimes, it can be very important
to remember that the phoenix has to burn, before it can rise up from the
ashes. A break trough often comes hand in hand with a break down.
Remember that you have to die to be able to rise. You might never be
able to find new and better paths and strucures in life, if you don't run
your head against a brick wall some time - if you don't find
yourself in pain and great frustration or unhappiness. And from time to
time, we all need a wake-up call to find out that we are doing something
wrong - and to find out how to fix it.
Some time ago, a new student came to one of my classes and told me that she might be a little careful with her asana practice, because she had recently pulled a muscle in a yoga class. "A pulled muscle? In a yoga class? A yoga class?!" I was very surprised. In my world, pulled muscles occured in sports like badminton, football and activities with quick and explosive movement - but in a yoga class? She told me that she had simply tried to hard to dig deep into a pose, stretching as much as she could, and suddenly the muscle fibers simply broke.
It was of course an awful experience for her. And it was awful for me to hear that it was actually possible for my yoga students to experience the same, if they weren't well enough warmed up and trying too hard to do something, their muscles weren't ready to do yet. But after working with her during the class, I realized that her injury was actually just a very important message from her body.
She was very flexible, and her stretchable muscles had made her a little too fearless when it came to her yoga practice. The pulled muscle wasn't just an injury. It was a wake-up call. It was a wake-up call for her to listen to her body's signals and find out that her body - like every other body - has limits. She needed to start listening to her body. She needed to start working with her body, not on her body.
Some time ago, a new student came to one of my classes and told me that she might be a little careful with her asana practice, because she had recently pulled a muscle in a yoga class. "A pulled muscle? In a yoga class? A yoga class?!" I was very surprised. In my world, pulled muscles occured in sports like badminton, football and activities with quick and explosive movement - but in a yoga class? She told me that she had simply tried to hard to dig deep into a pose, stretching as much as she could, and suddenly the muscle fibers simply broke.
It was of course an awful experience for her. And it was awful for me to hear that it was actually possible for my yoga students to experience the same, if they weren't well enough warmed up and trying too hard to do something, their muscles weren't ready to do yet. But after working with her during the class, I realized that her injury was actually just a very important message from her body.
She was very flexible, and her stretchable muscles had made her a little too fearless when it came to her yoga practice. The pulled muscle wasn't just an injury. It was a wake-up call. It was a wake-up call for her to listen to her body's signals and find out that her body - like every other body - has limits. She needed to start listening to her body. She needed to start working with her body, not on her body.
I
spoke with her about it after the lesson, and I was happy that she
could understand my thoughts about the injury being a sign for her to
find a new path of development in her work with the body.
She needed to start protecting her joints and strenghtening her muscles - increase her sense of stability, sensibility and well-aligned strength. And even though very few get as far as to pull a muscle in a yoga class, the story is a great reminder for us to build up strength where we are soft and weak, and soften up, where we are tight and strong. Usually, all of us have to think about both elements in our practice. Normally, people are very soft and weak on the back side of the shoulder area, while we are much stronger and more tight on the front side. Therefore, it's good for most of us to open and stretch the front side of the thoratic body and strenghten the muscles on the back side. But some of us in general need to soften, let go and open up, while others already are very soft and flexible, and need to strengthen the body to keep it working in a constructive way.
Injuries and other kinds of obstacles in life isn't necessarily a bad thing. It might be a very important sign for us to stop and listen, and find out what to do or change to keep living and developing in a pleasant, gentle and appropriate way. We need to remember that the benefits of a yoga practice is completely dependent on what it consists of and how we work with your body. And that we might need to die before being reborn with new knowledge and understanding of ourselves - just like the phoenix needs to burn, before it can rise up from the ashes as a new but yet the same creature.
She needed to start protecting her joints and strenghtening her muscles - increase her sense of stability, sensibility and well-aligned strength. And even though very few get as far as to pull a muscle in a yoga class, the story is a great reminder for us to build up strength where we are soft and weak, and soften up, where we are tight and strong. Usually, all of us have to think about both elements in our practice. Normally, people are very soft and weak on the back side of the shoulder area, while we are much stronger and more tight on the front side. Therefore, it's good for most of us to open and stretch the front side of the thoratic body and strenghten the muscles on the back side. But some of us in general need to soften, let go and open up, while others already are very soft and flexible, and need to strengthen the body to keep it working in a constructive way.
Injuries and other kinds of obstacles in life isn't necessarily a bad thing. It might be a very important sign for us to stop and listen, and find out what to do or change to keep living and developing in a pleasant, gentle and appropriate way. We need to remember that the benefits of a yoga practice is completely dependent on what it consists of and how we work with your body. And that we might need to die before being reborn with new knowledge and understanding of ourselves - just like the phoenix needs to burn, before it can rise up from the ashes as a new but yet the same creature.
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