life after asana

"When an asana class is done, the real study begins." - Rod Stryker
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I have experienced first hand how important it is to apply the principles of alignment to open my body safely! Thank goodness for 9 intense months of BODY of LIGHT Immersion and Yoga Training with Gina Minyard. Little did I know that only one week after completing the training I would injure my knee. I fell off a skateboard and tore my lateral menisci and ACL in my right knee. These two injuries are the most common knee injuries for athletes or for someone who twists their knee like myself.  I keep reminding myself that at least I was having fun when I injured my knee.  Blog author, Esther Ekhart describes the Principles of Alignment used in Anusara yoga as a way to achieve balance between the front and the back of the body, the inner and outer body, right and left side, contraction and expansion, mind and heart. In the last few days I have settled in my body more than ever before. I have been given the opportunity to study my body in new and explorative ways. I take my time moving my body. I close my eyes, tune into my breath, scan my body, and honor what my body needs at the time. An example, applying outer spiral to the thigh to relieve pressure on the knee. I have been asked by some nurses and a few doctors why I take so long to move from the wheel chair to the table? How come I cannot straighten my knee for x-rays and/or for an MRI? It took me all of 30 minutes to get up on the table for x-rays. One of the nurses asked me, "What is going on? Talk to me." while I had my eyes closed, tears flowing down my cheeks and breathing through the frustration. I apologized and just asked for patience. At the time she did not understand why my knee was locked. Hours later, after the nurse saw the x-rays I received a call from her with an apology. Through this injury the discussion of yoga has arisen several times. Most of the doctors have been supportive of me wanting to heal my injury through physical therapy and yoga. In fact, if my knee were not locked due to the menisci being twisted, bent and tucked inside the knee I most likely would not of had surgery. But, in order for my knee to heal fully my knee needed to be adjusted and straightened. Yoga is about finding our center. When we find the center in our body, our mind follows along. So it is important to observe the results of our actions and make sure they are balancing us.