It is close to my one-year anniversary of throwing my back out. Hooray!
While it may seem odd to celebrate an injury, this particular injury happened at an intersectional point in my life: I had just quit smoking (quite literally the prior week).
I was working on re-surfacing my kitchen countertops and had been hunched over the counters for a good 8 hours.
Because I had just quit smoking, I wasn’t taking regular (read: hourly) breaks to smoke. I just kept powering through.
When I finished the job, it looked amazing, so after shortly admiring my work, I went to sit down on the couch.
Quite quickly after sitting down, my back seized up, like Carl Winslow style. I couldn’t get up for the remainder of the day and couldn’t straighten my back out for days.
After never having any back problems before in my life, I found myself calling into work for several days. I cursed myself for quitting smoking. I cursed my countertops.
During my convalescence, my husband and I had a conversation about what I should do. Because he had suffered from back pain for several years, he had much to say on the subject.
At the time he suffered his back injury, I had quit practicing yoga for 10 years. However, I still hounded him to try yoga to help heal his back.
He reciprocated in kind when I found myself suffering as well, and a bet was formed:
If I could heal my back with yoga, he would try to incorporate more yoga poses into his self-proclaimed “freestyle yoga” stretching routine.
Lo and behold, I healed my back. All from starting with simple stretches and building from there.
It is possible to make a small lifestyle change and it have a snowball effect in your life. I promise you that. And I want to help make that possible.
To that end, here are eight things I wish someone had told me when I started practicing yoga:
It’s called “practicing” for a reason.
Bend your knees way more often than you think you should.
Sometimes beginner’s yoga is still too much. This can lead to (completely valid) feelings of discouragement because “I can’t even do beginner’s yoga”. This is an instance when the yoga instruction needs to be adjusted, not you.
Don’t be afraid to start small. Incorporating an hour’s yoga class into your daily routine is too much for anyone. Consider doing 5-15 minute classes on lunch breaks, or first thing in the morning. A little dab’ll do ya!
On those days when you feel like you “should” do yoga, don’t. Do light stretches instead.
Focus on moving your body rather than adhering to a yoga class/routine/schedule. Consider “freestyling”, focusing on stretches that feel good and target those muscles that are tight. You know your body best.
If you don’t like a certain yoga practice, consider trying another style. Sample around 5 different types of yoga/yoga instructors/classes before deciding on whether or not it’s right for you.
Don’t try to replicate the pose of the teacher; this can lead to feelings of discouragement. Even in beginner’s classes, they’ll be stretching more deeply into poses because of their ongoing practice.
You may feel silly at first. That’s ok and completely normal! Moving the body in unconventional positions after periods of low movement may feel uncomfortable. It’s because you are creating new neural pathways in your brain. Over time, as the pathways strengthen, it will feel more natural.
I’d love to hear other suggestions from you! Let us know what other tips would be of benefit.
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