Lessons In Healing: What My Injury Taught Me (& Might Help You)

Practice + Life Disrupted: Now What?

When I tore my MCL (medial collateral ligament) it hit me hard. I felt down and depressed. So many questions swirled through my head. Will I ever fully recover? How long will it take to heal? What about my yoga practice? I am a yoga teacher, how will I teach?

Prior to the injury I had a fairly strong yoga practice. I was making great progress with my strength, flexibility, and mobility not to mention my emotional landscape. After this injury I instantly thought of all the things I would not be able to do for awhile and it brought me down. It felt like starting all over.

Now several weeks into my recovery, I realize that was all a bit dramatic. I would not be starting from scratch but I would have to adapt my practice. This injury would be a teaching tool and that is how I approached it.

Injury as a Teaching Tool

My injury has taught me a lot. First and foremost there are a lot of feelings, emotions, and thoughts that come up. Since I’m rarely injured and almost never get sick, I threw myself quite the pity party. Disappointment, regret, frustration, doubt, fear, and bummed are all words that come to mind especially in those first few days post injury. When all you can do is rest, apply an ice pack, use compression, and elevate the leg - the feeling of being helpless comes to mind.

But after a time I finally said "get over yourself, this is hardly the end of the world". Sometimes you have to give yourself a pep talk. After my pity party stage I reminded myself of the incredible toolkit I have available to tap into. I dove into my toolkit and emerged with plenty of options to help navigate this injury with a more positive mindset and a good dose of patience.

When I reframed my injury as a learning experience I was able to shift my mindset and set a path forward. This would take time, lots of patience (a word worth repeating), and a reminder this is only temporary.

Five weeks ago my yoga practice came to a halt after an injury to my knee. Since then I have had the gamut of emotions and feelings surrounding this injury and what it means for my yoga practice and my daily life. Read on for my thoughts and tips for navigating an injury.

Where to go from here? Well hopefully up. Recovering and back to pre-injury self. That's the hope.

As for me I am hopeful for the future of the health of my knee. I also feel I will be more resilient after this injury. It is teaching me something every day. I know I will have days where I am feeling frustrated and bummed. But I will also have days I feel gratitude and resilience.

Take each day as it comes. Have patience (last time I promise), be grateful, adapt your movement practice, and learn from the experience. Remind yourself injuries take time, it is temporary (even if it takes several months), and listen to your body it will guide you along on this healing journey.

Gratitude is a big one. Now I am not suggesting you have gratitude for the injury, no one wants to be injured. But this injury taught me to have gratitude for what I could still do. It was so easy to focus on what I could no longer do. A simple mind shift towards gratitude works wonders. There is still plenty I can do. Be grateful that's step 2 after the initial rest phase.

After the injury I took the time to rest and allow my body to do what it is designed to do. Our bodies have an innate ability to heal. When we trust in our own body's intelligence, add in some patience (that word again) and listen to what our body needs the healing process is more manageable.

So take the time to rest and have gratitude for what you are still able to do.

When it was time to think about getting back on my mat, I had to do so with patience (anyone keeping a tally yet) and modify my practice. And that's the beautiful thing about the yoga practice, modifications are built in. As a teacher I offer my students modifications in my classes. It allows for the opportunity to practice while honoring what your body may need at the time.

During this phase of reintroducing my practice I moved slowly, listened to my body, stopped if it caused pain, and modified a lot. My first practice back was one done completely lying on my back. The class was very simple with basic movements with the option to simply visualize if unable to do the pose. And it felt good to be back on my mat. My haven! The next practice was easy going and slow. I did what I could, modified as needed, and skipped what I couldn't. That first down dog felt so good. I could feel my trust and confidence in my body increase.

A note on ego, it is very important you do not allow your ego to step in. You have to be willing to admit when you are not ready to do a pose or a movement. Be ok with that. Don't try and push past it and try and prove to your ego you can do it. By doing that, you risk re-injuring yourself. Be patient (5 times) and check your ego at the door.

With each practice I found I could do a little more and it fed my healing journey. The only caveat I had to move in a slower more mindful way. Really noticing how I felt before, during, and after my practice.

First Lesson: Rest + Gratitude + Patience

Hopeful + Resilient

Lesson 2: Modify + Adapt

Lesson 3: Dealing with Plateaus + Setbacks

One thing I am learning with my injury is there will be a period of plateau. A time when you feel you are not progressing but not regressing. This is where I am currently. Some days I feel like it will never improve past this point. Frustration, disappointment, and fear creep in. That's when I reach in my back pocket for Captain Patience (6 times) and his side kick Gratitude.

I remind myself of how far I have actually come. From having a hard time walking and not practicing yoga at all, to now back to a regular but modified practice. I give myself that pep talk again. The body is doing it's job, keep the positive mindset and help it along. Don't give up this is just a temporary situation.

It is normal to hit a plateau or to have a set back. They are all part of the healing journey. When setbacks occur or you find yourself at that plateau point remember how far you have come, have gratitude for that and shift the mindset away from a negative to a more positive outlook.

I recorded a short video about my injury for YouTube. Check it out here.

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