“Therapeutic might not be a lot about getting higher, as about letting go of the whole lot that isn’t you—all the expectations, all the beliefs—and turning into who you might be.” ~Rachel Naomi Remen
For years, yoga was my secure house—the place the place I felt robust, grounded, and complete. My apply wasn’t simply bodily; it was my sanctuary, my shifting meditation. So, when a shoulder harm pressured 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 by means of earlier than. I satisfied myself that extra motion would assist, that yoga—my endlessly healer—would repair it. I stretched, I modified, I doubled down on my alignment. However the extra I attempted to push by means of, the more severe it grew to become.
Ultimately, even the best duties—getting dressed, washing my hair—grew to become tough. That’s once 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 absolutely clarify.
I requested the physician how one can stop it from taking place once more. The reply wasn’t clear. There was no excellent formulation, 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 means of bodily therapists, reluctantly took medicine, 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 apply was once.
I grieved the lack of my outdated yoga apply. I felt betrayed by my physique, resentful that the factor I liked most had, in a method, turned in opposition to me. And but, someplace within the frustration, I spotted—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 a substitute prolong it kindness, simply as I might for a liked 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 distinct, gentler method ahead.
- Santosha (Contentment): I needed to discover peace with what my physique may do, fairly 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 fairly 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 fairly than fought in opposition to 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 that 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 turning into.
All of us face moments the place we’re pressured to decelerate, to reevaluate, to shift. And in these moments, we’ve got a selection. We are able to resist and undergo, or we are able to soften and develop.
For those who’re navigating an harm, a setback, or an surprising change, know this: Your therapeutic doesn’t must appear like anybody else’s. You might be allowed to grieve. You might be allowed to really feel pissed off. However you might be additionally allowed to seek 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 isn’t about returning to what was—it’s about embracing what’s and discovering magnificence in what’s doable now.
About Michelle Lamansky
Michelle Lamansky is a trauma-aware yoga teacher (RYT-500) and a holistic well being & wellness coach who helps ladies transfer by means of high-functioning stress and anxiousness with compassion, breath, and body-based instruments. By way of personal classes and self-paced packages, she guides college students again to calm, connection, and a way of house inside themselves. Be taught extra at www.balancedyogatn.com.
