One week from today I will be ON the plane from Toronto to Delhi. I don't know how many hours that is and I don't think I want to! I am doing well packing and making sure all my loose ends are tied up before I go. All of my yoga classes are covered with great subs and all of my competitive swim coaching practices are covered by great coaches as well. My best friend Laura and then my sister Jana are both scheduled to stay at my place while I'm away to take care of the cats and the weasels. I will miss those little fuzzy beasts. And my pets too. haha ;)
The only hitch in my plan (there always is one, right?!) is that I have recently hurt my back. I have not really dealt with a back injury since I have been a yoga practitioner. I did fracture my spine in 3 places before I was a yogi, and I honestly credit yoga for helping me heal and eliminate pain and weakness from that accident. But now this is a whole new experience. I have been working on deep backbends (seconds series kapotasana and it's precursors) for a handful of months now, and making slow and steady progress with them. My low back has felt a little bit sore the whole time, kind of an achy dull pain which did not worry me much as I assumed and was told it was part of the process.
Now that I have started working on legs behind the head poses though, the pain has gotten much worse. I actually think I may have sprained a muscle between the ribs from getting adjusted in eka pada shirshasana, which is starting to feel better. Soft tissue injuries do not worry me much. BUT, I think I might have also somehow injured a disc in my very low back, S1 or lumbar. I got very deep into kapotasana on my own for the first time last week (easily grabbed heels without help) and that may have just done it. There is sharp pain right between two of my vertebrates and pain deep in my QL muscle (are you going to google that?!) and across my iliac crest to my hip. Owie owie owie. All backbends now hurt. It has felt like this for a week despite taking my yoga practice super easy and even taking a few days off. Looking on the internet (BAD idea, I KNOW!) it says discs should heal on their own in 6 months. Oh. Great. And that is probably if you totally lay of the activity that was hurting it in the first place!! I know injuries are ok and there is always a lesson to be learned so it's not the end of the world. If nothing else, I shall grow more compassion as a teacher for my students who come to me with injuries.
Anyhoo, I shall stop with the lamenting and self diagnosis. I have a sports med and chiro appointment this coming week to see what's up before I go away. My guess is I will have to take a very light and careful practice the whole time I am in Mysore. Which was certainly not my intention while planning this trip. However, we cannot direct the winds right? Only change our sails. I will have to go with the flow, and do what is best for me in the long run. No matter what the state of my spine, my trip to India will be superb. I cannot wait!
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