where the body often does more than is necessary. Rotating the leg whilst keeping the pelvis and back still, though they often aren’t. A slow movement of the pelvis whilst lying on your side, which often raises a lot of eyebrows. Moving the vertebrae in different directions, without stretching. And moving the shoulder blades, which also often doesn’t work well for back pain.
Movements that sound simple, but where compensatory patterns have become so commonplace that people no longer even feel them, and so all sorts of things happen throughout the body.
At the end of the workshop, a woman shared in the chat that she’d found it difficult. That she’d tried to do what I was doing, but it hadn’t really worked out. That she felt she hadn’t done it properly.
I knew her; she’s been following my classes for a while and she also had a consultation with me last year. So I knew she was struggling – with her body, with pain, and with the feeling that it wasn’t working.
and I always stay a little longer to answer any questions or comments in the chat – a new message appeared in the chat.
“Miracles do happen. I had back pain and now it’s gone. And I thought I’d done everything wrong today.”
Because this is exactly the point. Yoga isn’t a performance where you have to do what I do and make it look a certain way. It’s a practice in being present with what you’re doing, with what you’re feeling, with what’s happening. And if you do that, even if it feels awkward and uncertain and as though you’re doing it wrong, you might just be surprised. Your body can release that tension because you’re curious enough to really stay with it.
So she didn’t do anything wrong – that’s impossible – she was simply feeling.
Lots of love,
Rianne
