Since finishing the ten-weekend long Anatomy and Myofascial Movement course for Yoga Teachers with Gary Carter last year it is safe to say I move completely differently and view the body in a new way. There is more freedom in my movements and I have more trust in my body. I now roll my hips when I walk as I know they are designed to roll. I allow my shoulder blades to move freely around in the upper back as I know they are part of the arm structure. My joints feel better as I know there is space in all of them. I also breathe in a more spacious way and feel I am feeding my whole being with my breathing. I can allow myself to trust the wisdom that is present within me.
Still, there are things that can very easily interrupt this great feeling I get from moving and breathing (and yes, it can happen frequently). That is when I allow stress into my life. The stress comes from thoughts which go on to affect emotions which somehow get stuck in the body. Which go back to produce more emotionally charged thoughts and allows another loop of signals to be sent around. It is a vicious circle. However it is how it works as everything is connected.
A couple of weeks ago I started getting some aches in my left knee where I had surgery several years ago, and also in my lower back on the left side where I have had on and off disc problems since I was twenty. I thought I must have done something wrong in my yoga practice, walked too much with my dog on hard surface or worn the wrong shoes, and so on. A few days ago I woke up in the morning thinking that now it had gone on for ten days and I could not understand or remember what I had done wrong. As soon as I thought “ten days” I remembered that that was the exact same time since the house market had opened up again since lockdown, and that my mind had been stuck on making a decision about moving or not moving from my house. The week before everything closed due to the virus I was supposed to exchange and then it all had come to a still. Until now.
It became obvious to me immediately. The moving house question had triggered stress in me and my body had started reacting. I had ignored emotions of uncertainty even though I had spoken to friends and family about what to do. As a result of all this, injury sensations had started showing up in areas where there had been weaknesses before. As soon as I realised there was no real injury with my knee and lower back I smiled and knew I could relax. So much so that a few days later my knee and back felt nearly completely fine again. Oh the power of letting go of resistance in the body and the power of stress!
This is how it works. Everything is connected within you. The fascia is everywhere and links up everything. It is not only about your body, it is about your whole being. Thoughts are super powerful and whatever you think will in some way reflect in your emotions and somehow get stuck in your body. By the way please don’t worry or be hard on yourself. I believe we all have some degree of tension stuck in the body so it is normal and fine and not wrong.
I must smile thinking it took me ten days to “get it” since I say “everything is connected within you” on repeat.
To conclude: Awareness of thoughts and trust in the ability of the body to heal and wanting to be well – pretty cool concepts if you ask me.
