Learning to Listen

Back in this entry I mentioned feeling a pull in my lower back due to overtwisting. Well I went to bed later that night and woke up the next morning feeling fine, peachy keen. So when I took the same class earlier this week I was careful with the twisting. The next day I started to feel a pain whenever I stood up from sitting. I'm not too good with anatomy but it is where the butt cheek ends and the thigh begins but it almost wrapped around to my inner thigh. Forward bending is one of my yoga strengths along with hip openers but I believe that in my forward bending frenzy the night before, I might not have been as warmed up as I thought. So Wednesday I tried to take it easy because I still wanted to go to my class on Thursday. No luck but I went to class anyway and spoke to my instructor about it.

Thursday night's class was a real lesson for listening to my body. My mind was telling me Come on, you can go further than that! You don't need blocks!!!! but my body was saying Take it easy on the left side, grab that block, don't fold all the way down, stop pushing yourself, you're not impressing anyone. For once, I listened to the latter. I am such a stubborn person. I push and push and push. I am fortunate to not have seriously hurt myself, only little things like straining my groin muscle and jamming my lower back by not coming down properly from a handstand (that was some serious pain). I'm sure there will be more but with each pull and strain comes another yoga lesson to benefit from. Don't be afraid to use props! Props are not a sign of weakness, they only help to enhance a pose and improve your alignment.