Healing Crisis as Teacher: Share with Us

I have been an athlete my whole life. I am now 48. I always did a little yoga as a supplement to my fitness swimming. A few years back, my shoulder started to hurt so I decided to take classes with Liza at the Vineland, NJ YMCA. I loved the Ashtanga style classes and really got in to practicing and even taught my own beginner's class. Well in October 2007, I was in a terrible automobile accident. I broke my neck!!! The final diagnosis was cervical C6 fracture with a subluxation. I was in a hard collar for 10 weeks and was obviously told to take it easy. How did I survive. Well as my sister said, as I was laying in the emergency room, "Don't forget your yoga breathing." Breathing did get me through those first several scary days...and then savasana and then gentle poses and now guess what??? I am back at my Ashtanga class!!! My spine specialist and the insurance people were amazed at how fast I recovered and went back to work!! They attribute my recovery to YOGA!!! and so do I! Unfortunately, I healed with some scar tissue and will require surgery in June. How will I survive? Yoga and the Breath! In the meantime, I am keeping myself strong, so that I know I will recover more quickly! I thank Liza and everyone at Yoga Journal for teaching me the skills I needed to get through a horrible injury!

Two years ago I started a Hatha yoga practice after hearing that it would be very therapeutic for my lower back problems. I found that I liked yoga more and more each time I went to class. I felt like by body and muscles were just singing after class was over. I now start each day with an hour of yoga which helps with my lower back pain. If I miss a day, I'm very uncomfortable all day. Another added benefit of a daily yoga practice, which was quite unexpected, I started feeling more and more peaceful and better able to handle whatever life handed me each day. After a year of classes I realized that my mild depression had just about disappeared and I was able to stop taking anti-depression medication. For this I am truly grateful and I thank God and the Universe for bringing yoga into my life.

Years ago (before anyone knew how serious it was) I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Last year the viral count got so high that my doctor recommended that I begin treatment and sent me to a specialist. I participated in a clinical trial, which entails getting a shot every other week (in the stomach) and taking 6 pills a day. All of this goes on for 11 months! It made me quite sick and weak and the only exercise I could tolerate was yoga and thai chi. It helped me relax and be able to sleep at night. I am done with treatment now and recovering from the effects of the medication, but yoga as still there for me!