Waking up every morning rolling out my mat, with the exception of Saturdays and moon days, is the main reason I have a long-term and established yoga practice. But unfortunately, here is the element that often gets left out: It is not the breath, certainly not the asana nor the drishti, but rather it is paying attention to when my body needs to stop.
My point is this: Injuries are part of the human condition. There isn't a teacher or therapist that can read the internal indicators my own body gives when the signal is "enough". Now when that happens, I've learned to roll up my yoga mat.
"No one can take care of me, better than I can take care of myself."
With that stated, clearing out any preconceived expectations of a specific outcome is mandatory for me. The chant reminds me to surrender my monkey mind. Actually, it seems like the obvious, but to really listen takes some practice and a lot of dismantling of old behavior and thought patterns.
My knee has been an issue from years of not truly listening to the internal indicators of my body. You may have experienced the same voices in which I'm talking about- thoughts like: "I paid for this class I'm going to finish it" or "I scheduled this practice for this time period and I'm going to finish."
Notice the theme of "finish" in the attachments we play over in our minds to keep moving towards a preconceived finish line.
On November 6, 2009, I had surgery to repair my torn meniscus. My rehabilitation was slow and mindful. I returned to my yoga practice three weeks following the procedure. My teacher was extremely supportive in the process as were my fellow practitioners.
My point is this: Injuries are part of the human condition. There isn't a teacher or therapist that can read the internal indicators my own body gives when the signal is "enough". Now when that happens, I've learned to roll up my yoga mat.
Practicing Ahimsa (non-harming) starts right here.
Love and Light,
Ro
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