Everyday, I am reading more and more articles about the negative effects of yoga, but no one is focusing on the benefits of yoga and how it heals more than just the body.
Of course, I am only able to speak for myself but I can tell you that the yoga didn't just help my physical rehabilitation, but also my spiritual and mental rehabilitation. When I was a kid, diagnosed with scoliosis and severe asthma, Yoga was my beacon of light in not such a pleasant time. I was embarrassed about wearing this insanly large and obtuse plastic back brace, I was embarrassed I couldn't play sports like other kids my age without gasping for air, and so I became very complacent with the idea of "I can't.". I was a musician and stuck to just that, but everything else scared me.
I eventually found my way to a yoga class with the coaching of doctors, and the first class I took I hated so much I wanted to walk out after only 10 minutes. It hurt, it was slow, I couldn't breathe and I was bored. But I was told how good it was for me, and I needed something. The impact it had on my physically in only a few weeks time was amazing and kept going.
The physical impact was, in my eyes, all I needed. My spine was becoming more and more flexible, I was able to breathe better, my knees stopped hurting.. And all from yoga!! I was satisfied enough to get my own certification and help kids just like me. What I didn't know was how much yoga affected me mentally and spiritually, and the journey isn't over yet.
The thing that makes me so upset and angry about all of these articles that are coming out lately, is they are focusing on individuals who had extreme cases of injuries, and many of the injuries were self inflicted. Nor was there any mention of their pre-existing conditions. I too, have many pre- existing conditions, and I have "injured" myself in yoga from time to time, but I used them as a learning experience, learning about my body and what it is capable of.
Sometimes yoga is something that sneaks up on you, suddenly colors are brighter, the air smells different, your confidance get a littler stronger, you stop being so uncomfortable in your own skin and you start to appreciate everything you have... At least that's MY experience. Why is no one talking about this?
