“Step one in caring for your body, whether you are sick, injured or healthy is to practice being in it.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn
“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured. Even when pain has to be endured, yoga teaches us how to use the affected part so that we can function with ease and protect that part so that it does not deteriorate further.” BKS Iyengar
As Living Beings we are at every age susceptible to wear and tear.
It is a part of everyone’s experience as we go through life.
Most people at one time or another have felt back pain, knee, hip or shoulder strains or pulled muscles. Or the body finds some other way to remind us to take care of ourselves.
The question is why do these pains occur?
What can we do to prevent or repair and heal?
The causes of course can be as varied as our own experiences, the habitual ways we have used our body and genetics can play a part as well.
One place we can look though is an imbalance of the use of muscles causing some muscles to be underdeveloped and some to be overworked (causing the wear and tear). This is where our yoga practice can be a huge asset.
Yoga practices develop;
- body awareness
- the ability to free joints
- stronger muscles
- stronger bones
- healthy patterns of movement
- alignment in the body
- allow it to rest and heal
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Yes, these are tall orders and not easy fixes. They are asking us to:
- be curious,
- develop our awareness
- be compassionate towards ourselves.