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Tending to Deep Structures

December 1, 2014 •

After choos­ing well-being as my yogic focus for 2014, it’s ironic that my prac­tice has been inter­rupted since May by health issues. Well-being sym­bol­ized my intent to build core strength, endurance and flex­i­bil­ity before an intense, week­long yoga retreat in April.

Buddha meditation garden in Mexico

Bud­dha med­i­ta­tion gar­den in Mex­ico

Thanks to an unlim­ited yoga pass, 2014 got off to a great start.

I attended lots of classes, prac­ticed at home when not in class, and began to med­i­tate. Each week my body got stronger and more flex­i­ble; my over­all con­di­tion­ing improved. I could enjoy a 75-minute flow prac­tice with­out sweat­ing like a pig or col­laps­ing on the mat — a huge improve­ment from where I started 5 years ago!

Thanks to this prepa­ra­tion the yoga retreat was a peak life expe­ri­ence, one I was delighted to share with a dear friend from Cal­i­for­nia.

Since then I’ve con­fronted some painful lessons about soft tis­sue health, the body’s deep struc­tures, and what’s required to keep shoul­ders and foun­da­tional ele­ments in good health. Who knows what trig­gered it, but my left shoul­der became frozen in May.

Per­haps it was too many long flights, unwieldy lug­gage, over­loaded brief­cases, or inat­ten­tion when lift­ing heavy items over­head. Or too many vinyasas with repet­i­tive plank, down­ward dog and chat­u­ranga sequences.

Rebuilding

Image of yoga pavilion roof

Hand­made roof, Mex­i­can yoga pavil­ion

What­ever the cause, rota­tor cuff issues have kept me off the mat since May.

Inflamed or dam­aged ten­dons can take a long time to heal — 6–9 months or more. It’s hard to remain patient in the face of such a slow recov­ery period, espe­cially when most of the yoga asanas are beyond my reach.

Four months of PT and rehab exer­cises have helped me regain some mobil­ity and reduce the pain, but they weren’t enough for full recov­ery. I hit a plateau and then began a slow decline. No mat­ter how much I worked on strength build­ing, my shoul­der remained weak. Nerve sig­nal­ing is com­pro­mised in my left arm.

I’ve had to invest in X‑rays, MRI and ultra­sound imag­ing pro­ce­dures. I now have a deep under­stand­ing of why my shoul­der has been suf­fer­ing and unable to func­tion nor­mally. Over-use, the insults of aging, per­haps some arthri­tis. Com­mon chal­lenges for older ath­letes (and yoga prac­ti­tion­ers!)

I’ve switched to a doc­tor who spe­cial­izes in tendinopa­thy and the soft tis­sue chal­lenges fac­ing ath­letes and sports enthu­si­asts. His pre­cise cor­ti­sone injec­tion last week has stopped the pain, and hope­fully trig­gered a more effec­tive heal­ing process.

A Deeper Kind of Practice

Now it’s time to resume the care­ful, method­i­cal work of shoul­der mobi­liza­tion, core strength­en­ing, and shoulder+arm strength­en­ing, espe­cially for “over­head activ­i­ties.”

These con­di­tion­ing and rehab exer­cises are not the yoga asanas I’m eager to do, but they’re a prac­tice in their own right. (I have to remind myself of that.)

Before it’s safe to resume a daily yoga prac­tice, my shoul­der must be ready for the phys­i­cal chal­lenges of many foun­da­tional poses. Think: plank, down­ward fac­ing dog, the war­rior poses…

It’s not just a ques­tion of rebuild­ing strength or mobil­ity. It also takes a more care­ful approach to the process of “recruit­ing” the right mus­cles at the right time, to stay safe and healthy.

And that means I need to attend to the inner foun­da­tions of well-being — learn­ing to be more mind­ful of every breath and every move my shoul­ders make.

Sting’s lyrics should be my inspi­ra­tion for 2015:

Every breath you take
And every move you make…

Mind­ful­ness in motion. A daily dis­ci­pline, what it takes to restore and then sus­tain well-being and bal­ance in life.

About This Blog

Reflec­tions on life, travel, books, and yoga. Think­ing out loud about the pur­suit of mind­ful­ness and well-being.

Learn­ing how to recover from the loss of a beloved spouse, and then to find a trans­for­ma­tive path for­ward.

About Me

Semi-retired marketing exec, transitioning from a career in high tech. Now "managed" by two Tonkinese cats. Missing travel and friends on the West Coast. Avid reader and foodie. Staying active with long walks, biking, kayaking and yoga.

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