Combatting Hurt with Yoga

        Even when a good friend at work was raving about the benefits of yoga, I could not be persuaded to give it a try. I stubbornly insisted that I was not flexible enough. This was 15 years ago.
        After I turned 40, I resolved to experiment with a variety of exercises like Zumba, Piloxing, TRX and even yoga. It was definitely not love at first sight for yoga and I, but I gradually found my body getting more and more attuned to it.

I still cannot perfect the Downward Dog pose but am slowly getting better (picture taken from the Internet)

        Despite people and articles extolling the multifarious benefits of yoga, I was only half convinced. However, a recent incident changed my perception and belief in yoga.
        An unfair and cruel action from a vengeful hypocrite had spiralled me into the doldrums. I broke down, at home and even at my workplace. Although I know I was a fool to be so badly affected, I could not help it. In spite of being on medication, my blood pressure was high, partly also because my sleep was affected.
        I remembered that one of the virtues of practising yoga was the calming effect it induces. So I rolled out my mat,  forced my body to move from pose to pose, and willed my mind to filter out negative thoughts. For the first two mornings, it hardly worked as my mind was still in turmoil. On the third morning yoga practice after that spiteful incident, I felt a strange sense of calm and detachment. I could think of that person without feeling anything, not even anger. And when I checked my blood pressure, it was within normal range although I had not even taken my morning dose of medication! No wonder people say yoga can battle depression.
        Sitting cross-legged on the mat and just meditating is an excellent pose to begin a yoga session. Most of the time, I have to force myself to just sit still, abandon all thoughts and focus on my breathing. This is best done early in the morning as I can hear the birds chirping outside my window. And this time around, I found myself smiling with each breath I inhaled.

Meditating on the mat (picture taken from the Internet)

        Side twists have been touted to be a wonderful posture for dealing with stress, hurt and anxiety.  I do side twists at every yoga practice and had felt my back muscles being soothed. But this time, I could feel my stored tension being released with every twist. And the longer I held my twist, the lighter I felt.

Side twists (picture from the Internet)

        Everyone who practises yoga knows that the Child's Pose is one of the most soothing poses. Doing the Child's Pose with the aid of my yoga wheel enables me to experience a deeper stretch. And the further I stretched, I could feel the tension ebbing away.

Wheel-assisted Child's Pose (photo taken from the Internet)

        I have always loved using my yoga wheel to do a backbend. It may seem rather daunting at first glance but you have to convince yourself to just let go. A backbend always works wonders in relieving back pain. And this time as I bent my back and let my head rest on the mat, it felt like more than just the back muscles relaxing. With my shoulders and arms limp, I surrendered and let myself loose.

Wheel-assisted backbend (photo taken from the Internet)

        Although all these poses are usually incorporated in my morning yoga sessions, it was this time around that I felt it working through my mind and body. I had desperately needed the release and must have willed my mind to purge all negativity so as to concentrate on every move. And with that, I reaped the benefits of yoga for the very first time.