I am back doing yoga on a fairly regular basis...and in the last few weeks, my left hip seemed to straighten out, allowing me to walk straighter. However, with this adjustment, it seems that my left lower back now is feeling the pressure. It reminds me how connected we are.
The lower left back seems to be out of alignment and in many postures it is very uncomfortable. Yet, if I relax with my breath in them, it seems to release the tight muscles. It almost feels like these muscles have been clenched and balled tight, and now I am asking them to release and strengthen.
Instinctively, I want to either back out of the pose or grip even tighter, when what really works is to relax, breath and go deeper.
I am sure this is how we are in all of life's tight spots. It seems un-natural to be with, and to find comfort in pain...to push in further, to breathe and to engage with the pain.
In yoga, my tender back and jolting nerves are a bit skittish going into poses, but if I take my time, go steady and slow, and enter into the painful spots, I loosen them up and my flexibility expands and my muscles grow stronger.
If I were to follow my fear, I would turn away from my pain. Doing so would leave me with a body that isn't in alignment and would even deteriorate further.
Going into the pain is the only way through it...
