For ten years, I practiced in pain and had to hold myself up through my shoulders. I was unable to receive the mental and spiritual benefits of my yoga practice because of my constant back pain. I was only able to focus on trying to get the correct alignment, and it was exhausting.
After many years of struggle, I found a surgeon who was able to perform an anterior lumbar fusion and that procedure changed my life.
Not long after my surgery, my recovery process began with Gentle Back Care classes at the Yoga Loft. (The Loft was my home studio until they were forced to close due to the pandemic).
Once recovered, I chose to attend the Loft’s Yoga Teacher Training, focusing on Gentle Back Care in honor of my teacher and my own healing.
As I continue my post-surgery and yoga journey, I begin my days with a short home practice before taking a True Self Yoga class. My focus is to create and maintain strength and taking my practice upside down with inversions, which have always been my favorite. Even though there are still poses that I am unable to do, I improvise knowing that True Yoga goes beyond the asanas.
Now, I am daily flooded with gratitude and I genuinely enjoy practice. And yes, I know yoga is much more than a physical practice, but it truly benefits to the mind and spirit if the body can surrender.
“Strength in body, Peace in Mind, Love in heart”
Wendy Diddy
True Self Yogi